Dream Reeds

[Dave Weinstein]

In an ideal world, I'd want reeds that had:

 

1. The durability and responsiveness of steel

2. Wide dynamic range

3. The sweetness of the brass reeded instruments

 

With the increase in builders making concertina reeded instruments, has anyone got any information on whether or not these dream reeds are even possible, and if so, what sort of metal they'd need?

[Theo]

Dave

 

The best Wheatstone long scale brass reeds approach your specification. I've no idea what alloy the "brass" actually is.

 

I happen to have a set of such reeds and reedpans for a 56 key English Aeola, just waiting for someone to build a concertina around.

[Dave Weinstein]

Did the long scale brass not suffer from the durability and tuning issues that the usual brass reeds did?

[Theo]

I don't think the scale length would have any bearing on the durability or tuning issues but it does have a bearing on the playing qualities of response and tone. I have a friend who has a brass reeded Aeola with top quality brass reeds, these seem to be pretty stable and durable, and they get played quite hard.

 

Reed fracture can be made much more likely when the surface finish of the reeds is rough, or has deep scratches from careless filing. With brass as with steel its true that well made reeds will be less likely to fracture, and will be more stable, compared with cheaply made reeds. In large part the poor reputation that commonly attaches to brass reeds is because most brass reeds are cheaply made for entry level concertinas.

[Greg Jowaisas]

I might second Theo's comments in that my experience with dozens of brass reeded instruments is that it is not necessarilly the brass itself but the manufacturing tolerences that make a difference.

 

I have several 20b Lachenal brass reeded instruments that I use for conducting workshops that play like champs! and rival their steel reeded counterparts in responsiveness with nearly as much volume.

 

Although the majority of the brass reeded Lachenal englishes that I have rehabilitated cannot compete with steel reeded instruments, I have on occasion found some that were very responsive. If played without over expectation of volume they have a distinctive sweetness of tone especially with chords and they seem to stay in tune.

 

The two brass reeded, bone button Wheatstones I have on the workbench are very responsive and I wouldn't consider them quiet.

 

Brass does not have the resilience of steel. Early in my repairwork I quickly realized that a brass reed does not recover from an accidental bending. Once over stressed it is only a matter of time before the brass reed will break. I'm sure that deep filing marks are potential points for dislocation and subsequent reed faiure.

 

It is very important to "be on point" and paying strict attention when tuning brass reeded instruments.

I tune brass reeded instruments by using abrasive paper rather than a file. It takes more time, but I prefer the outcome.

 

I've heard some suggestions of using surgical stainless steel for reeds and even seem to remeber a proposal for titanium.

 

Greg