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Where To Repair In Florida?


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My father is giving me my grandfather's old concertina, made in Chicago around 1938 (I don't know the name as I write this, but can find out later). My father lives in Florida and I live in Arizona. The concertina needs some repair (4 keys are broken and the reeds need some repair. I suppose that there are more concertina repair shops in Florida than Arizona (but that is my own guess), and would like my father to take it in for repair before he sends it to me. Does anyone know of a good concertina repair shop located around Ft. Meyers, FL (or anywhere in Florida would do)? Thanks very much for your suggestions.-Sheri

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Hi Sheri,

 

What a great heirloom!

 

If your grandfather's concertina was made in Chicago in 1938, it may be a chemnitzer system, or a relative - these are German style concertinas, and are more common in the upper midwestern states.

 

I'm in the Ft. Lauderdale area and I don't know of any concertina repair shops in Florida. There are some accordion repair people in the state, but accordions and concertinas are very different, and repair persons who are unfamiliar with concertinas may do unsatisfactory work.

 

If the instrument is of significant value, the quality of the repairs will be more important than the proximity of the shop. I do not hesitate to send my instruments out of state when they need major work.

 

Knowing more about the instrument will help us suggest where to get it fixed. Given additional information, several of us will probably have suggestions for you.

 

There is great diversity in the concertina family, so here is the kind of information that would be helpful:

 

brand name

number of buttons (number of buttons on each side would be ideal)

shape (hexagonal -octagonal - square)

fingering system (for example: English, Anglo, duet, Chemnitzer, bandoneon)?

 

If your father is going to be in the Ft. Lauderdale area anytime soon, I'd be happy to take a look at the instrument and make suggestions.

 

All the best,

Brian

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We are happy to advise you here, but there are really two issues to address. There are the (usually small) six (or 8 or 12)-sided concertinas of several fingering systems that most of us here play or aspire to play. These designs originated in the British Isles, with other influences, esp. Germany in the case of the anglo concertina. For these there are only three established repair people in North America that spring to mind (disclamer: all are site sponsors), the Button Box, Frank Edgley, and Bob Tedrow. Am I forgetting any shops? if so forgive me folks. House of Musical Traditions in Maryland may do work also, I'm not sure. I know a few people who repair privately for friends but if they wanted to advertise I presume they would let us know. [Note to my friends here: I know I'm generalizing about concertina history!]

 

But if your grandfather's concertina was made is Chicago the odds are better than even that it is a Chemnitzer or related system, larger than our hex jobs, with square ends and up to 72 buttons. These were (and are) popular in German and Polish music, and a cousin, the Bandoneon, is used in parts of South America. For those, a different set of repair shops tend to work on them, but there may be more places to advise you. I've seen Baldoni in Milwaukee working on them (are they still going?), while Star in Chicago is now closed. Faithe Deffner (Minnesota?) is another expert on accordions, perhaps she would know something. Button Box has sold a few over the years; I don't know if they work on them.

 

For concertinas of any system there are not so many well-established repair shops, even for piano accordions they aren't real common. My colleagues will no doubt have more to add.

 

Of course, you're going to learn to play it, aren't you? ;) Welcome to Concertina.net.

 

Edited to add: Brian posted while I was writing this and already covered most of this. So let me just say welcome!

Edited by Ken_Coles
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Thank you both Brian and Ken for you information. I have asked my father for the information Brian suggested. I have seen it once - it is large and square, and I think I counted about 40 keys (that was a few years ago). It has to be set on my knee to play, as it is very heavy (for me at least!)

 

Brian, my father does go to Ft. Lauderdale to see my sister there, so I will ask if he could arrange for you to look at it.

 

My father also gave me my grandfather's little squeeze-box type concertina, which I have in my possession now. It has a reed or two that could be looked at, so the information on that is much appreciated.

 

And to Ken's question - I play a little on the squeeze box concertina - things like Happy Birthday and Jingle Bells! I want to get into playing it more - I need to find a group here in Arizona to really have fun with it. I have played the flute for years, and my husband plays piano, so we are a musically-inclined family. It would be fun to carry on my grandfather's passion for the concertina. (His story is that he used to play in a band in many bars in Chicago when he was a young man. He gave it up when he married my grandmother... because the temptation to meet girls (groupies, I guess =) was too strong and he wanted to be faithful. What a guy!)

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Does anyone know of a good concertina repair shop located around Ft. Meyers, FL (or anywhere in Florida would do)?

I'll add my bits to what Brian and Ken have said.

 

Your big one is almost certainly a Chemnitzer-style concertina, and your little one is probably a German make, though pictures would let us know for sure. You should have the big one restored by somebody who's expert at that kind, and that probably means sending it to the Midwest. We here won't be much help on details, because there are basically two different concertina families (dynasties?), and we concentrate on the other one. But one of our members, Paul Groff, is Florida-based these days, and he's a restorer whose expertise I think includes your kind of concertina as well as ours. He'll let you know if he can help.

 

To learn more about the different types, check out this page in Chris Timson's Concertina FAQ. For more on the Chemnitzers, you should try Theodore Kloba's and Ken Yagelski's web sites. Both are very informative, and in my experience both men are quite helpful. They can probably advise you on where to get yours restored, if Paul says he's not your man.

 

But I'm not suggesting that you abandon us. I think you'll find us friendly and helpful, and we might like to learn a bit more about the Chemnitzers along with you. As well as contacting Paul, you should consider Brian's offer to look at your instrument and advise you and your father. As for concertina players in Arizona, it's a big state, but we do have one member, Dan Madden, in Tucson.

 

Best of luck, and welcome to Concertina.net. :)

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And Len Rheaume is in Phoenix, except that right now he is overseas...he sent me a very interesting story about it (building bridges of trust using music you might say) that I need to post.

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Sheri,

 

I'll e-mail you via your concertina.net contact information to discuss setting up a "concertina consultation".

 

[Jim, I'm glad to hear that Paul Groff is in Florida]

 

FYI, here are the people I know of who repair chemnitzers:

 

Jerry Minar, 213 1st St., New Prague, Minnesota 56071; 612-758-4797, has taken over the manufacture of Hengel concertinas, a highly regarded brand of chemnitzer. When I lived in Minnesota, I visited his shop, talked with him, and bought a few supplies. I would consider him to be a good choice for repairing a chemnitzer.

 

Ken Mahler, of Mahler Music, in St. Paul, MN, 651-224-6493, also sells and repairs chemnitzers. I used to live a couple of miles away and did a fair amount of business there. His web site is at: http://www.accordionheaven.com

 

Dr. Helmi Harrington, 1401 Belknap St, Superior, Wisconsin, 218-393-0245 would also be a good choice for chemnitzer repair. She works on all kinds of concertinas and accordions, and teaches accordion and concertina repair. She did some button accordion repairs for me when she lived in the Twin Cities and I found her to be a meticulous craftsperson.

 

Brown's Music, in New Ulm, Minnesota, is another possibility:

http://www.brownsmusic.com

 

I'll look forward to hearing from you and seeing your grandfather's instrument.

 

Brian

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Hello again - I got the info on my grandfather's concertina. It is a Gorgi & Vitak "Peral Queen". It has 22 buttons on one side and 29 on the other (count may be slightly off). It is 9'w x 9"h x 10d. Has anyone ever played or seen one of these? Thanks.

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