Vintage Steel Reeds On Lachenal Concertinas

[synchopepper]

I have a Lachenal New Model EC made in the 1880's. Compared to other concertinas I have played and heard and according to the expert judgment of others it has exceptionally fine sounding steel reeds. It was this quality that convinced me to purchase it.

 

In other threads on this forum it has been mentioned that Lachenal obtained reeds from different reed makers over the years and some makers were better than others. I have learned from some of the excellent treatises posted on those threads about the construction techniques and mechanics involved in traditional concertina reeds and that many other factors play a part in the sound a reed produces when mounted inside a concertina.

 

I am curious about these makers of vintage reeds and wonder what is known about them.

 

Some questions -

 

Were many of these reed makers independent (suppliers vs. employees) of the concertina makers?

 

Did some reed makers produce reeds for multiple concertina manufacturers?

 

Did some vintage concertina manufactures have more consistent quality of steel reeds in the same model line/time period than others?

 

Can vintage steel reeds be identified today as the work of specific makers?

 

Are these perceived differences in the quality of sound between different vintage steel reeds always traceable to demonstrable differences in construction, materials, design, etc?

 

Is there any evidence regarding whether the original reed sets in vintage instruments were usually/always produced by the same maker or, conversely, that the concertina manufacturers may have ordered quantities of specific reeds in lots and made up reed sets for new instruments without regard to source?

 

Is there really a noticeable difference between the sound qualities of steel reeds in different examples of one model, say New Models, manufactured during the same period?