Troubleshooting, Where To Go...

[Dana Johnson]

I've noticed from time to time that people with "modern" instruments will often use concertina.net forums to ask about how to fix their concertina. While there are a number of good repair persons to answer questions here with years of experience to draw on, I don't know any of the extant makers who aren't completely willing to assist with troubleshooting and such repairs as those at home are capable of. Having made the instruments involved and some fair stake in their reputations, They all try to keep the owners happy.

 

For older instruments no longer being made, and given the sparseness of repair people ( and taking into the account the remarkable spread of the concertina across the globe, these forums are a great resource. Many problems can be fixed quickly at home with the right diagnosis and a few helpful suggestions ( by the people who actually know what they are doing ).

 

However good they are, it is possible that many of the best repair people haven't seen the insides of some of the modern concertinas ( most of them haven't needed any repair yet ) and though they may be expert on the traditional ones, may not know all the issues that may affect some of the newer ones.

 

I recently fished out a crumb of leather from a reed on a lovely 1987 Dipper ( you don't even want to know what was paid for it ! ) because the owner was worried about messing it up before a gig. But Colin's advice was spot on, and it could have easily been done by the owner.

 

Concertina.net is a wonderful resource, but if they are still alive, ask the maker first. Well, that is my thought anyway. Doubtless there are other sides to the matter.

Dana

[Jim Besser]

Concertina.net is a wonderful resource, but if they are still alive, ask the maker first. Well, that is my thought anyway. Doubtless there are other sides to the matter.

 

Sadly, I don't have occasion to work on a Dipper, but the modern accordion-reeded makers are all very willing to walk buyers through simple repairs and adjustments. You're right, that's the place to turn first, since they know their instruments better than anybody else.

 

Frank Edgley provides buyers with a one-page users guide that deals with simple repair issues.

 

Also, Paul Groff has talked me through several repairs of the vintage instrument he restored; he offered a level of expertise and familiarity with the instrument that eased my (considerable) concern about delving into its innards.

Edited April 3, 2007 by Jim Besser

[Dave Prebble]

 

Concertina.net is a wonderful resource, but if they are still alive, ask the maker first. Well, that is my thought anyway. Doubtless there are other sides to the matter.

 

Sadly, I don't have occasion to work on a Dipper, but the modern accordion-reeded makers are all very willing to walk buyers through simple repairs and adjustments. You're right, that's the place to turn first, since they know their instruments better than anybody else.

 

Frank Edgley provides buyers with a one-page users guide that deals with simple repair issues.

 

Also, Paul Groff has talked me through several repairs of the vintage instrument he restored; he offered a level of expertise and familiarity with the instrument that eased my (considerable) concern about delving into its innards.

 

While most general repairers would not turn away someone with a problem and nine times out of ten, will be able to provide a fix, I do agree that the maker should be the first point of call where modern boxes are concerned. Apart from the maker being the best source of advice regarding his own instruments, going back to them with problems provides valuable feedback on little glitches in materials or construction and can help shape and improve future manufacturing design.

 

Regards

 

Dave

Edited April 3, 2007 by Dave Prebble

[JimLucas]

Concertina.net is a wonderful resource, but if they are still alive, ask the maker first.

So far, from this thread I've extracted the following arguments for asking the maker first:

• They're most likely to be able to quickly diagnose and prescribe, because they know exactly how their instruments are built.
  
• They're willing to help, because their helpfulness is part of their reputation (not just a reputation for being nice, but for their instruments being "trouble free").
  
• They're willing to help, because that way they learn more about what can go wrong, and they can use that knowledge improve their designs and construction techniques.
  

I would add two more:

• As far as I know, all of today's individual makers guarantee their instruments. If you contact them and follow their advice, I expect they would continue to honor their warranty even if something went wrong. That's less likely if you don't ask them before you tinker.
  
• If your tinkering does make things worse, with the result that the instrument has to return to the maker for repairs, that's a lot more trouble for them than just responding to phone calls or emails. The "I don't want to trouble them" (or divert them from building new instruments) argument just doesn't hold water.