Bellows Noise

[meph]

I bought a new Connor anglo about 3 months ago. It is well made and now beginning to play nicely as the bellows have become a bit more flexible but I sometimes get an annoying clicking/ slapping sound when the bellows are about a quarter open. I couldn't see anything amiss when I looked inside but I suppose the only answer is to look more closely! Any suggestions?

[Dana Johnson]

I bought a new Connor anglo about 3 months ago. It is well made and now beginning to play nicely as the bellows have become a bit more flexible but I sometimes get an annoying clicking/ slapping sound when the bellows are about a quarter open. I couldn't see anything amiss when I looked inside but I suppose the only answer is to look more closely! Any suggestions?

 

Don't think this is too likely, but does this only happen on a direction change? Sometimes especially whe the bellows are more closed than open, adjacent peaks on one side will flex towards their neighbor, and bump/ slap together. Some bellows have more of this flexibility than others and are prone to this. especially if it has deep folds. People who make no effort to control the paralellism of the concertina ends and just let them tilt one way and another as they play have much more trouble with this. If that is the problem, learn to control the ends as you play. If the bellows are particularly flopy this way, establishing a slight forced curve to the bellows by angling the ends inward just a bit will stabilize the bellows. If you can learn to keep the ends paralell all the better though. I've seen some playing styles that curved the bellows a lot ( the over the knee style, and the wrist twisting style ) that keep so much curve int he bellows that the slapping can't happen, but they are quite limiting in their use and the over the knee style can cause rapid wear on the bellows.

New leather will sometimes make creaking or popping sounds as it moves, but this should go away after a while, and you can help it along by opening and closing the bellows a lot.

Dana Johnson

[meph]

Thanks for your helpful advice Dana. Yes it does happen only on bellows direction change. I haven't had the same problem with the other concertina that I play but that is an old Lachenal English with a much easier action. I bought the Connor new but I think it had been in the shop for quite some time and the bellows (and reeds) were quite stiff to start with. It is a good quality instrument and is only just loosening up so I hope the problem will eventually go away. Then again, poor technique may well play a part and I'll take on board your suggestions.

Regards

Brian Johnson