Replied: Mon, 25 Nov 1996 02:15:23 EST Replied: "Chris Timson " From chris@harbour.demon.co.uk Sun Nov 3 11:51:02 1996 Received: from MIT.EDU (PACIFIC-CARRIER-ANNEX.MIT.EDU [18.69.0.28]) by bloom-picayune.MIT.EDU (8.7.6/2.3JIK) with SMTP id LAA17450; Sun, 3 Nov 1996 11:51:00 -0500 Received: from philabs.research.philips.com by MIT.EDU with SMTP id AA27003; Sun, 3 Nov 96 11:48:54 EST Received: from frank.philabs.research.philips.com (frank.philabs.research.philips.com [130.140.55.10]) by philabs.research.philips.com (8.7.1/8.6.12) with SMTP id LAA09989 for ; Sun, 3 Nov 1996 11:48:51 -0500 (EST) Received: from philabs.research.philips.com (philabs-gw) by frank.philabs.research.philips.com (4.1/SMI-4.1) id AA08514; Sun, 3 Nov 96 11:48:49 EST Received: from relay-4.mail.demon.net (relay-4.mail.demon.net [158.152.1.108]) by philabs.research.philips.com (8.7.1/8.6.12) with SMTP id LAA09985; Sun, 3 Nov 1996 11:48:46 -0500 (EST) Received: from post.demon.co.uk ([(null)]) by relay-4.mail.demon.net id ah29352; 3 Nov 96 16:47 GMT Received: from harbour.demon.co.uk ([158.152.54.64]) by relay-3.mail.demon.net id aa07693; 3 Nov 96 16:45 GMT Message-Id: Date: Sun, 3 Nov 1996 15:55:44 +0000 To: rec-answers@moderators.uu.net From: Chris Timson Newsgroups: rec.music.makers.squeezebox,rec.answers,news.answers Subject: [rec.music.makers.squeezebox]Concertina FAQ Path: harbour.demon.co.uk!chris Followup-To: rec.music.makers.squeezebox Keywords: concertina Summary: This FAQ consists of historical, purchase, stylistic, repair and Internet information about the Concertina (English, Anglo and Duet). Lines: 1125 Organization: home Mime-Version: 1.0 Archive-Name: squeezebox/concertina-faq Posting-Frequency: monthly Last-Modified: 1996/11/03 Version: 1.10 Url: http://www.harbour.demon.co.uk/concerti.htm Distribution: world X-Newsreader: Turnpike Version 3.00 CONCERTINA FAQ -------------- VERSION : 1.10 AUTHOR : CHRIS TIMSON chris@harbour.demon.co.uk DATE : 3 November 1996 CONTENTS 1 ................................... Introduction 2 ................................... History 3 ................................... Types of Concertina 4 ................................... Buying Advice 5 ................................... Tutors etc 6 ................................... Repair Techniques 7 ................................... Miking Concertinas 8 ................................... Makers and Repairers 9 ................................... Shops and Dealers 10 ................................... Clubs and Organisations 11 ................................... Magazines 12 ................................... The Internet Appendix 1: Wheatstone Dates of Manufacture "Concertina ... the result of an accident between two moving vehicles" English - Thai dictionary 1 INTRODUCTION This document is a brief introduction to the concertina. It attempts to answer some of the questions I have seen in rec.music.folk plus others which would have been helpful to me when I first picked up this fascinating, frustrating and delightful instrument. It is not a true FAQ in that it is not in question-and-answer format, but I have never found that a conducive form in which to write. As I am a UK player this document will unavoidably have a British bias. I would welcome any information from players elsewhere in the world that I can incorporate into later versions. Please e-mail me with any corrections, additions and comments. I myself play the anglo concertina. My partner in crime, Anne Gregson, plays the English. Thanks are due to various people who reviewed this document, and in particular Colin Dipper of C & R Dipper Concertinas who made many helpful suggestions, and Phoebe Sengers who produced the hypertext version. All opinions not directly credited are, however, my own. 2 HISTORY The concertina belongs to a class of instruments known as Free Reed instruments, which also includes accordions and harmonicas. It was developed in 1829 and 1830 by Sir Charles Wheatstone of Wheatstone bridge fame after several years of building prototypes, a few of which still exist (in 1829 he patented its direct predecessor, the Symphonium, but he did not actually patent the concertina itself until 1844). He founded the firm of Wheatstone & Co to manufacture concertinas, each one expensively hand-made by highly skilled craftsmen, and at first the concertina was very much an instrument of the middle and upper class drawing room. Its fully chromatic range was suited to classical pieces, with its fast action lending it to "party pieces" such as The Flight of the Bumble Bee. In due course other firms such as Lachenal and Jeffries were founded (several by ex-Wheatstone employees) the cost of concertinas lowered, and the instrument moved out of the drawing room and into the world of popular music. It became popular with music hall performers, several of whom, such as Percy Honri (who billed himself as "A concert-in-a turn") and "Professor" J. H. MacCann, were musicians of the highest virtuosity. The Salvation Army liked it for its portability and strident tone. Concertina bands were formed, playing marches and other popular pieces (and commemorated to this day by the Concertina Brewery, who brew in the cellar of the old Mexborough Concertina Band Club in South Yorkshire). It also became a favourite of traditional musicians throughout the British Isles. In the 20th Century the instrument gradually fell out of favour, and one by one the makers closed or went out of business. Wheatstone's themselves (by this time owned by Boosey & Hawkes) closed in 1968, the last survivor being Crabbe & Co of Islington who closed in the late '80s. What saved the instrument from gradually dwindling away into obscurity, as far as the UK was concerned, was the Folk Revival from the '60s onward. Performers looking for a different sound from the ubiquitous guitar were drawn to the concertina for all its old virtues of versatility and flexibility combined with portability. In addition the concertina permitted song accompaniments that were free of the rhythmic straitjacket that the guitar in unskilled hands tends to impose upon everything. For folk and morris dance the anglo concertina and its accordion cousin the melodeon proved ideal. People started making concertinas again, many of a quality to equal anything made by the old companies. 3 TYPES OF CONCERTINA There are several distinct types of concertina, all sharing the same basic design of folding bellows with buttons at each end, and anything from 6 to 12 sides in cross-section. Where they vary is in the layout and function of the keys. The variation is so great between the types as to effectively render them different types of instruments - the player of one type or "system" will almost certainly not be able to pick up a concertina of a different system and play it without starting almost from scratch to learn it. Concertinas come in various sizes which govern the range of notes they can play. The most common are treble concertinas. The range of a standard 48 key English concertina is from G below middle C to C 3 octaves above middle C (i.e. the same as a violin). Below them are baritone concertinas which play one full octave below the treble, and the bass which plays one octave lower again. Also fairly common are tenor-trebles which cross the range of the treble and baritone. VERY occasionally you find piccolo concertinas which play one octave above the treble. The main types are the English, the Anglo and the various systems of Duet concertina. ENGLISH CONCERTINA This is the original concertina as invented by Wheatstone. You can recognise one by the 4 parallel rows of buttons and by the supports for thumb and little finger on each end. (There is quite a good picture in Microsoft's Encarta encyclopaedia, except that it is upside down!). The larger baritone and bass English concertinas frequently have wrist straps as well, to help with the greater weight of the instrument. The two centre rows on each side are in the key of C, the accidentals are distributed between the outside rows. Playing a scale involves alternating between the left and right hands. The layout of buttons is very logical and fully chromatic, and permits very high speeds to be achieved when playing melody (e.g. the Flight of the Bumble Bee mentioned above), but is more restrictive if you want to play melody with low accompaniment, e.g. ragtime. Normally the English concertina has 48 keys, but some models had 56. The extra 8 keys are at the high end of the scale and are thus not so useful on the treble, but they can be helpful in tenor-trebles and baritones. ANGLO CONCERTINA The anglo concertina (or to give it its original name, the Anglo-German concertina) was developed soon after the English, using as a model the diatonic German instruments which were also the ancestors of the melodeon and harmonica. It can have two or three curved rows of buttons on each side and a wrist strap for support. Some of the duet systems described below can look a bit like an anglo, but the firm diagnostic test is "if I press a button, do I get the same note when I close the bellows as when I open them". If the answer is "no, I get different notes" then it is an anglo. Only the anglo of all the main types of concertina plays different notes on the push and on the pull. (It has been pointed out to me that occasionally English and duet concertinas can be so horrendously out of tune as to play very different notes on the pull from the push, and thus fool the unwary into thinking that they are anglos. This is, fortunately, very rare). On two-row anglos each row is in a different key, so the instrument is capable of playing in two keys only. The three row is the same, except that the third outside row is a collection of assorted accidentals that enable the skilled player to play in other keys. Anglos are referred to by the 2 keys. The most common is the C/G anglo, where the outside row (or middle row on a three row) plays the key of C and the inside row plays the key of G. Also fairly common are D/G instruments, mainly used for folk dance music. Occasionally you find C/C#, which are chromatic between the two main rows, and a whole variety of odd tunings made to the request of the purchaser. Anglos are also referred to by the number of keys (here meaning buttons!) they have:- a 20-key is a two-row, a 30-key is a three row, a 40-key is also a three row but with additional buttons dotted around to make playing in different keys or more smoothly a little bit easier. You can play good music on a 20-key instrument, but it is limiting - you have to fudge any accidentals you encounter. 30-key concertinas are fine for all normal use. When you get into the expert bracket look for a 40-key. The low notes on all anglos are on the left hand side, and the high notes on the right, which brings us on to the last type of concertina... DUET CONCERTINAS In fact there are several systems of duet concertina, each as separate from each other as an anglo is from an English, but all set out to cure the same perceived problem: how to give an accompaniment to a melody without going schizoid. The answer is the same in all cases: put the low notes on the left hand side, and the high notes on the right hand side. The player can then play the melody on the right hand, with an accompaniment on the left, thus the name of "Duet". The main duet systems are: MacCann, the key layout looks fairly illogical, but there are some very fine players around! Fairly easy to get one. Sometimes can be huge instruments with up to 80 buttons and the range of a piano! Crane, also known as Triumph by the Salvation Army who used it a lot. Much more logical system, I'm told. Fairly easy to obtain one. Jeffries, designed for anglo players to convert to. Has a "home key" such as G and is apparently difficult to play chromatically, thus players tend not to stray far from the home key. Somewhat rarer than the first two. Hayden, a modern system. Much the most logical, easy to learn and straightforward duet system, but quite hard to get because it's modern. I once asked Brian Hayden how many Hayden duets there were in the world, and after some thought he said "Oh, about 60". This may be an underestimate as Bastari made them at one time, though unfortunately Stagi are not carrying this on. I understand that The Button Box (see section 8) are well advanced with a project to make Haydens of mid-range quality but otherwise the only option is to get one built to order by C & R Dipper or Steve Dickenson. CHEMNITZER CONCERTINAS These should be included in that, even though they have a totally different evolution to Charles Wheatstone's invention, their players refer to them as concertinas. Indeed many of them have the word "Concertina" designed into the fretwork on the ends in very large letters! In fact the Chemnitzer concertina was invented in 1834 in Chemnitz in Germany by Carl Friedrich Uhlig. He called his new instrument the "Conzertina". It is related to the bandoneon, being approximately the same size and shape, square or slightly rectangular; the treble end of a Chemnitzer concertina usually has three rows, and in layout is not unlike an anglo. The bandoneon however has several different layouts, both chromatic and diatonic; the treble end probably has five or six rows. I know of only one player in the UK, though there are many more in North and South America. The construction appears to be accordion like, as is the sound. The Chemnitzer concertina is particularly popular among players of polka music originating in Poland. Steve Litwin's Home Page (see section 12) has lots of additional information about this instrument. There are probably other systems around - concertina makers and players of the 19th century were a very inventive lot. 4 BUYING ADVICE Joel Cowan (see section 9, Shops and Dealers) produced the Handley Cross Concertina Buying Guide, which is excellent and highly recommended reading, but now sadly out of print. The good news is that he has nearly completed a new improved edition provisionally entitled "The Lore of the Concertina". In theory, before buying a concertina you would consider what you want it for and decide which type you need from the list above. For instance here are a few guidelines you may hear on the uses to which you might put the various types of concertina:- If you want to play in groups or ensembles of concertinas, go for an English. For folk or morris dance the in-out pattern of the anglo scale gives a "lift" to the music. It is also a good band instrument. For song accompaniment or for solo instrumentals duets are ideal. For fast flowing melody lines the key layout of an English gives it an edge. If you intend to play from music or to compose music for the instrument, choose an English or a duet. If you intend to learn to play by ear the anglo is significantly easier to learn than the other two, and in fact is surprisingly easy to get started with. Unfortunately life is never that simple. The English is widely used for song accompaniment. Alistair Anderson has shown how successful the English can be for dance music and band work. I, like quite a few other people use the anglo for song accompaniment. The anglo is the concertina of choice for many Irish musicians, who get round its inherent "bouncyness" by dexterous cross-fingering between the rows. At the end of the day all you can do is try the various systems as far as possible and see which suits you best. If you can, talk to other players about why they chose their instruments and listen to what they play. When buying a concertina you have two choices: buy new or buy used. If you buy used then TAKE SOMEONE WITH YOU WHO KNOWS CONCERTINAS. I cannot stress that too strongly. You will likely be buying an instrument that is 60 or more years old. There is nothing wrong with that per se - many of the finest instruments around are of that age or older (we have a beautiful baritone that is 100 years old), but an old concertina may have faults not immediately apparent that will be expensive to fix. In particular check that it is in concert pitch and not "old" pitch if you intend to play with other musicians. Retuning a concertina is a specialist job, and expensive to boot. If you are seriously considering a particular concertina don't be afraid to ask the dealer to take the ends off and let you look inside. After all, you may find anything up to and including woodworm. It is only fair to state that some dealers disagree with people doing this! Old concertinas come with steel reeds most commonly, or brass reeds. Brass reeds have greater sweetness of tone than steel reeds, but if played forcefully (e.g. in band or outdoor work) can go out of tune more quickly. The "best" name in second-hand English concertinas is undoubtedly Wheatstone. (Be aware though that instruments made after they were taken over by Boosey & Hawkes in the 1950s are generally regarded as being of poorer quality than before). Other good makers include Jones, Crabb and also Lachenal, who made instruments ranging from the cheap-and-cheerful to the excellent. Their Edeophone range (distinctive for having 12 sides and rolling off tables if you aren't careful) matched the very best Wheatstone Aeolas. The leading name in anglos was Jeffries. Again Lachenal also made a wide range of instruments. It is quite common for players to start with a mid-range Lachenal, graduating when time, expertise (and money!) allow to a Jeffries. Crabb also made many fine instruments, as did Wheatstone with their Linota range. With concertinas, you get what you pay for. There are few bargains around, but you have the consolation that if you have an instrument of reasonable quality or better it will hold its value and you will have no trouble selling it if you decide it is not for you. For a first class treble Wheatstone English or Jeffries anglo in excellent condition expect to pay from UKP1300, US$2500. A mid-range Lachenal may cost you UKP500, US$800. Duets and the larger sizes of English and anglo tend to be cheaper. It is a quite reasonable strategy to buy a cheaper concertina that needs some work and then get it renovated. If you are offered a modern mass-produced instrument such as a Stagi (formerly Bastari) second hand check it very carefully. The method of construction owes much more to accordions than concertinas and as such they tend to degenerate with time in a way that true concertinas do not. (Note that I am not disparaging accordions here. Concertinas are small and the interior is cramped compared to accordions, and each has its appropriate construction techniques). Buying new means either buying a mass-produced concertina from Stagi and others, or commissioning a hand-made concertina from the likes of Steve Dickenson or C & R Dipper. In the UK Bastari/Stagi apparently rarely sold their better intruments in the past, and mass-produced concertinas in general are sometimes quite hard work to play with a fairly coarse tone. I have been told that Stagi have a significantly better name in the States. Hohner concertinas are, I believe, badge-engineered Stagis. If funds allow you may prefer a mid-range second-hand instrument. Note that (especially in the UK) you can rarely resell a mass-produced instrument once you have outgrown it. However it may be the only option open to you if funds are low or you have no access to second-hand instruments - and you could always give it away and spread the addiction when you upgrade. (Pete McClelland of Hobgoblin (see section 9, Shops and Dealers)has since emailed me to say that they are "very keen to buy secondhand Bastaris, Stagis, Gremlins & Hohners", which may help UK players). Buying a hand-made instrument means being prepared to wait years and pay in excess of UKP1500. For that, though, you will receive a concertina that is made precisely to your requirements and probably among the finest concertinas ever made. 5 TUTORS Here is a list of tutors that have been published for the concertina. It is not exhaustive and I would welcome further information for this list. Some of these books may now be out of print. ENGLISH CONCERTINA Concertina Workshop Now out of print but Tutor for the English Concertina excellent if you can by Alistair Anderson get it. Folk oriented. Topic Records Ltd Accompanying record 50 Stroud Green Road used to be available, but London N4 3EF not necessary. (Authorised) England photocopies available from Andy's Front Hall, Voorheesville, NY The Concertina: A handbook and I do not have an address, tutor for beginners on the but it should be obtainable English concertina from Hobgoblin. Classically by Frank Butler oriented. Recommended Oak Publications by those who've seen it. Handbook for English Concertina Specifically aimed at by Roger Watson the Hohner concertina, Wise Publications but applicable to other Distrib. by Music Sales Ltd makes. Rather perfunctory 8/9 Frith Street but covers the essentials. London W1V 5TZ England Salvation Army Tutor for This is a new reprint, English Concertina cost UKP10 + UKP1.50 for T & J Pearson P&P in the UK. 7 Ravens Mount Pudsey West Yorkshire LS28 9HT England ANGLO CONCERTINA The Anglo Concertina Demystified This is still in print, by Bertram Levy and is excellent. Comes Front Hall Enterprises, Inc with two cassettes. Voorheesville, New York Distributed in UK by C & R Dipper West End House High Street Heytesbury Warminster BA12 0EA England The Irish Concertina Published this year (1996), by Mick Bramich an excellent tutor for the ISBN 1 899512 25 X C/G Anglo in the Irish Dave Mallinson Publication style. Optional cassette 3 East View of tunes. Moorside Cleckheaton West Yorkshire BD19 6LD England Phone 01274 876388 Handbook for Anglo-Chromatic Concertina Specifically aimed at by Roger Watson the Hohner concertina, Wise Publications but applicable to other Distrib. by Music Sales Ltd makes. A bit perfunctory 8/9 Frith Street but covers the essentials. London W1V 5TZ Good chord list. England First Steps Concertina Anglo-Chromatic Still in print, but in International Music Publications attitude seems from an Southend Road earlier age. Classically Woodford Green oriented. Essex IG8 8HN England DUET CONCERTINA Salvation Army Tutor for This is a new reprint, Triumph (Crane) Duet Concertina cost UKP10 + UKP1.50 for T & J Pearson P&P in the UK. Although 7 Ravens Mount specifically for the Crane Pudsey system the exercises and West Yorkshire LS28 9HT arrangements are suitable England for any duet concertina. The following books are available from House of Musical Traditions (see section 9) and are almost certainly available elsewhere. I have not seen them myself and would be grateful for feedback on them. I quote from HMT: Best Concertina Method Yet - Bob Kal, for 20 button Anglo $8.95 Concertina & How to Play It - Paul DeVille, 79 pp, 264 tunes for 20 button Anglo $6.95 Concertina Book - Frank Converse, 52 pp, 49 tunes English Concertina & an Introduction to Music - Oliver Heatwole, 63 pp, includes useful fingering charts and reed diagrams for 48 key Italian made instruments in treble, tenor, and baritone ranges $4.00 Handbook of the Concertina - Fred Quann, 75 pp, repair book for all concertinas $13.95 6 REPAIR TECHNIQUES This section only describes repairs on a conventional concertina. Bastari/Stagi type concertinas that are derived from accordions require different techniques that are described in the accordion FAQ (see section 12). Don Nichols Home Page (also section 12) has much useful information. First, a couple of dos and don'ts. Don't try and tune a concertina unless you are *absolutely* certain of what you are doing. It is very easy to ruin a reed. It is very much a specialist job. Don't touch the two screws that hold a reed in place in its metal frame. Don't leave a concertina dismantled overnight. The screws keep the wood clamped into shape. If left too long the wood can warp and the repair will be expensive. Work on one end at a time and reassemble it before starting work on the other end. There are an awful lot of screws in a concertina, sometimes hand-turned, so keep careful track of where they come from. If you have a concertina with leather baffles fitted to sweeten the tone think very carefully before removing them. The spacers inside the end of the concertina sometimes assume their presence and you can cause the wood to distort when you reassemble it. Personally I prefer to fit baffles in our concertinas - I like the sweetness for song accompaniment and it is an easy job with double-sided tape! Many of the makers in section 8 will supply spare parts such as pads, valves and springs if requested. If you remove the screws round the endplate of the concertina you can remove the end containing the action (i.e. the buttons, levers and pads which control the air flow). This exposes the reed pan which is held in the end of the bellows. Remove the screws one at a time from opposite sides of the endplate so as to distribute the strain, and replace them the same way when you are reassembling the instrument (do not overtighten as you may cause the ends or reed pans to warp). The reed pan has reeds on both sides as a reed is only designed to play in one direction. Reeds on the inside play when the concertina is being pushed or closed, and reeds on the outside play when the concertina is being pulled or opened. Small leather flap valves on the opposite side of the pan from their corresponding reeds control the air flow. If you look on the inside of the end then you will see the holes through which air passes as you play. Press on a button and you will see the corresponding pad lift to allow air through. If you are having a problem with a reed then to identify it press the button on the end corresponding to the note of the problem reed. This will show the hole for that reed, which you can then tie up with the reed pan. Sometimes the reed has the note it plays stamped on its frame. The pan is not normally screwed in and can be removed by careful pulling with one finger hooked through the centre hole. Make sure before you remove it that you know which way round it must be to go back in! (Frequently matching numbers are stamped into the reed pan and frame to help with this). There are two repairs that can be carried out easily on reeds:- silent reeds and buzzing reeds. Silent reeds are frequently due to a small piece of dirt or fluff lodged in the reed, and can be cleared by gently twanging the reed with a Stanley (US X-acto) knife, or by gently sliding a piece of thin, clean, stiffish paper under the reed and over the frame to dislodge the offending object. A buzzing reed can be due to the reed having shifted slightly in its frame. You should be able to see or feel the reed snagging on the frame. Gently ease it straight with your knife or a thin steel shim A note sounding when not being played in one direction only may be due to a flap valve getting stuck out of position. This can sometimes also prevent a note from playing (again in one direction only). Ease the valve back and all may be well. Reed frames can come loose within the pan. This sometimes manifests itself as a sort of mournful mooing sound. Remove the reed frame, cut a thin, short piece of masking tape and wrap it round the top and side of the frame before easing the frame back into the reed pan. Don't force it - if you have to force it you have put on too much tape and you may cause the reed to jam in its frame. Try removing some tape from the side of the reed frame. If the spring breaks on a button or a pad gets dislodged causing a note to sound continuously in both directions you have to get inside the end to expose the action. The way you do this differs for English and anglo concertinas. For an English there are normally two screws that need to be removed, one in the middle of the thumb strap and one in the middle of the little finger support. Remove these and the whole faceplate should come off the end, exposing the action. On an anglo there is normally a screw on the inside of the end which you can remove. There may be additional screws in the centre of the outside on some instruments which will also need to be removed. The action looks quite complex but is quite logical in its layout and you should be able to work out the required repair by comparing the action for the broken button with a working one. You may need a new pad or replacement spring from one of the makers or repairers in section 8, however I have heard of cut-down safety pins being used in an emergency! 7 MIKING CONCERTINAS ...is frankly a bit of a bugger. The problem is of course that sound comes from both ends of the instrument, and those ends move around. Usually sound men aim a mike somewhere at the middle of the bellows and hope for the best. A little better is to use two mikes, one for each end, but this feels limiting somehow to the player though the sound is much improved. In the studio life is much easier as you don't have to cope with ambient sound and can thus use an omni- directional mike some way back from the instrument. Use the best mikes you can lay your hands on - the timbre of a concertina will defeat cheap mikes. I have used an AKG C1000S mike with some success. There are manufacturers who make a living from devising mikes for awkward instruments - some are listed in section 8. As an example we use Microvox kit. Their system consists of two close mikes which you attach one to each end of the concertina using Velcro. Each mike has a lead which runs into a small box you clip on your belt. From this one single lead runs to the DI box. The advantage is that since both mikes are held in proximity to the concertina you can move freely, and the sound quality is quite good too. It is worth considering in any situation whether you can get away without miking at all. The tone of a concertina is quite penetrating and sometimes in smaller venues where PA is in use we have used mikes for our voices but not for our concertinas. I asked the concertina maker Colin Dipper whether it would be possible to fit mikes permanently within the body of a concertina, but he advised that this would probably have a detrimental effect on the overall sound of the instrument. 8 MAKERS AND REPAIRERS If sending your concertina through the post for repair or tuning (e.g. from the US to one of the UK repairers) PLEASE make sure it is properly packed first. Please contact the repairer in question before dispatch - they may have moved! This list is not exhaustive and I would welcome further information. I have only expressed opinions where I am familiar with the instruments. Accusound Make specialist microphones for 19 Bitteswell Road miking awkward instruments - Lutterworth including concertinas. Probably LE17 4EL have the edge on Microvox for England quality, but Microvox are cheaper! Phone 01455 552306 Mike Acott Repairs. Recommended by Colin Cater. 33 Kelvin Road Ipswich Suffolk IP1 5EH England Phone 01473 743080 The Button Box Repairs (also see section 9). 9 East Pleasant Street Also organise the Northeast Amherst MA 01002 Squeeze-In in Massachusetts USA every September, a weekend event Phone (413) 549 0171 for all free-reed players. E-mail squeeze@buttonbox.com WWW pages at:- http://www.buttonbox.com Malcolm Clapp Repairs (also see section 9). 8 Sandra Street Recommended by Wayne Richmond of Woodpark the Australian Concertina Band. NSW 2164 (Woodpark is a suburb of Sydney) Australia Phone: 61 2 632-7144 Connor Concertinas Repairs and makers of new 30 Eastbury Avenue concertinas. Rochford Essex SS4 1SF England Phone 01702 546745 C & R Dipper Concertinas Repairs and makers of West End House concertinas of all systems. High Street Make outstanding anglos - Heytesbury I have a baritone on order. Warminster BA12 0EA England Phone 01985 840516 Frank Edgley Repairs and tuning. Fergus O'Byrne Complete Concertina repair says "My machine...needed a complete 2346 Meldrum retuning job as it was a quarter tone Windsor out of standard. Frank did a great Ontario N8W 4E4 job for me". Canada Phone (519) 948-9149 Richard Evans Recommended by Bob McKay, who says Lot 5 "anglo maker and general free reed Sandham Rd repairer (and also all-round nice guy)" Bell NSW Australia Paul Groff Recommended by Greg Bullough, who says: 27 Vaille Ave "He's a very good reed fixer and restorer Lexington, MA 02173 for both concertinas and accordions". USA Phone (617) 862-9665 Hamish R Bayne, trading as Makers of English tenor treble Holmwood Concertinas concertinas to their own design. 134 Pitt Street One owner (Don Nichols) says "It Edinburgh EH6 4DD is a visual work of art, as well U.K. as being wonderful to play". Phone 0131 554-6663 Jurgen Suttner Concertinas Maker of English and anglo Albert-Nll-Str. 78 concertinas. I recently had the D-57078 Siegen chance to play a Suttner anglo (a Germany Jeffries copy) and found it a very Phone +49-271 8706939 nice instrument. E-mail 02732582345-0001@t-online.de Microvox Make specialist microphones for Westfield Music miking awkward instruments - Westfield Villa including concertinas. We use Belgrave Mount them ourselves. Wakefield WF1 3SB England Phone 01924 361550 Star Concertina & Accordion Make the "Star Beauty Quadruple 5808 West 35th St Reed Concertina", which is a Cicero Chemnitzer concertina. Will Illinois 60650 also repair Chemnitzers. USA Phone (708) 656-8884 West Country Cases Maker of instrument cases, Barry Wallace but specialises in cases 18 Whitebrook Terrace for concertinas. Holcombe Rogus Wellington Somerset TA21 0PY England Phone 01823 673021 Steve Dickenson, trading as Repairs and makers of concertinas of C Wheatstone & Co Ltd all systems. Excellent instruments, 21 Bridge Street I would hate to have to choose Stowmarket between Dickenson and Dipper for Suffolk quality! IP14 1BP England Phone 01449 615523 9 SHOPS AND DEALERS This list is not exhaustive and I would welcome further information. Barleycorn Concertinas Usually carries a good range of Chris Algar second hand concertinas. Callers 67 Little Chell Lane by appointment only. Sometimes Tunstall has a stand at UK folk festivals. Stoke on Trent ST6 6LZ England Phone 01782 816504 The Button Box Dealers in new and 9 East Pleasant Street second-hand instruments. Amherst MA 01002 Particular interest in duets. USA WWW pages at:- Phone (413) 549-0171 http://www.buttonbox.com E-mail squeeze@buttonbox.com Malcolm Clapp Dealer in second-hand instruments 8 Sandra Street (Woodpark is a suburb of Sydney) Woodpark NSW 2164 Australia Phone: 61 2 632-7144 Joel M Cowan Dealer in second-hand instruments PO Box 6706 (and also editor of Concertina Ithaca NY 14851 and Squeezebox). Offers a search USA service for hard-to-find instruments. Phone (607) 273-2440 Currently revising his buying guide. Dutch Concertina Connection Probably the only dealer in the Wim Wakker Netherlands. Information from Jan de Withof 15 jeroen Nijhof. 5709 AM Helmond Netherlands Phone +31 492 513611 The Folk Shop Run by Hobgoblin Music (see below). Cecil Sharp House 2 Regent's Park Road London NW1 7AY England Phone 0171 284 0534 Hobgoblin Music Probably the biggest dealer in new 17 The Parade and second-hand concertinas in the Northgate UK. Own brand Gremlin concertinas Crawley mostly contain Stagi-made reed-pans, West Sussex RH10 2DT though some anglos are made by A. C. England Norman using Antonelli accordion Phone 01293 515858 reeds, and are significantly better. E-mail Pete@hobgoblin.co.uk Also has shop in Bristol UK. WWW at:- http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/hobgoblin Homewood Musical Instrument Co Sells Stagi concertinas. Bob Tedrow 3027 Central Avenue from the store teaches concertina. Birmingham Has his own WWW page at:- Alabama http://hmi.homewood.net USA Phone (205) 879-4868 House of Musical Traditions As well as buying and selling, they 7040 Carroll Ave also teach concertina. Takoma Park MD 20912 WWW page with some good info and USA concertina buying advice at:- Phone (301) 270-9090 http://www.cais.com/hmtrad toll free in US 1-800-540-3794 E-mail hmtrad@cais.com Lark In The Morning Dealers in new and second-hand PO Box 1176 instruments. Mendocino California 95460 USA Phone (707) 964-5569 Has WWW page with astonishingly E-mail larkinam@mcn.org long address:- http://www.mhs.mendocino.k12.ca.us/MenComNet/Business/Retail/Larknet/larkhp.html Marcus Music Usually has a good range of second- Tredegar House hand instruments. Sometimes has a Newport stand at UK folk festivals. Gwent Wales Phone 01633 815612 SqueezinArt Produce T-shirts, mugs and all sorts of P.O. Box 2001 things related to squeezeboxes, including Rockville, MD 20847-2001 concertinas. Phone (301) 279 8716 E-mail squznart@laser.net 10 CLUBS AND ORGANISATIONS This list is not exhaustive and I would welcome further information. The Horniman Museum in London has purchased Neil Wayne's concertina collection, and apparently intends to make it the centrepiece of a display devoted to the concertina. Watch this space for more info. Alabama Concertina Support Described as "a support group for Group southern players". Has WWW page at:- 315 Laplaya Place http://hmi.homewood.net/concertina Homewood Alabama 35209 USA Concertina Contact Germany Organises an annual meeting for Mario Kliemann concertina players (English and Am Bach 17 anglo) on the second weekend in D-33602 Bielefeld May in Bielefeld. Phone +49521 170536 Concertinas at Witney Witney is in Oxfordshire UK. J Cox C@W is an intensive weekend 26 Hill Grove course for concertina players Bristol held annually with tutors of BS9 4RJ the calibre of John Kirkpatrick England and Dave Townsend. Phone 0117 9629931 Next course: 27 - 28 September 1997 Concertina Band Weekend 25 - 26 January 1997 International Concertina Has been around since 1953. Association Has an extensive library of 1A Virginia Road music. Newly revitalised and Gillingham useful newsletter. Subscriptions: Kent ME7 1PB UK UKP8 England Europe UKP9 Phone 01634 855738 Rest of the world UKP10 Midland Concertina Group A & R Davies 42 Patricia Drive Arnold Nottinghamshire NG5 8EH England North East Concertina Players Restarted having found a new home: Alan Alden monthly on the 2nd Sunday 2 - 5 p.m. 2 Church Street Mews at Ceddesfield Community Centre (opp. Guisborough parish church), Sedgefield. TS14 6HG England Northeast Squeeze-In A major annual weekend event for all Bucksteep Manor free-reed players in the States, but Washington MASS always has a large contingent of USA concertina players. Reviews I have For info/tickets contact read make it sound a great weekend. The Button Box 1996 dates 20 - 22 September. 9 East Pleasant Street Amherst MA 01002 USA Phone (413) 549-0171 West Country Concertinas A flourishing group. They have a Barry Wallace series of workshops during Sidmouth 18 Whitebrook Terrace Festival week which is inspirational: Holcombe Rogus hundreds of concertina players! 15th Wellington Annual Concertina Weekend 21 - 23 Somerset TA21 0PY March 1997 at Kilve Court, Somerst England with Alistair Anderson, Andy Turner Phone 01823 673021 and others, UKP98. Yorkshire Concertina Players J Edwards 63 Wrenbeck Drive Oxley West Yorkshire LS21 2BD England 11 MAGAZINES This list is not exhaustive and I would welcome further information. Concertina and Squeezebox An excellent magazine, some of the PO Box 6706 information in this FAQ was culled Ithaca NY 14851 from its pages. Issued irregularly, USA subscription is for 4 issues rather Distributed in UK by than for a year. R Dipper West End House High Street Heytesbury Warminster BA12 0EA England Phone 01985 840516 Distributed in Ireland by J McNeill's 140 Capel Street Dublin 1 Ireland Phone 722159 12 THE INTERNET This list is not exhaustive and I would welcome further information. Anglo Concertina Excellent page produced by Dave Glenn. Good info and diagrams and some very useful hints on how to finger various keys on the anglo. http://www.prairienet.org/~daglenn/conctina.html Concertina Maintained by the UK Anglo player Howard Mitchell, this has lists of back issues of the old Concertina Newsletter and Free Reed Newsletter publications, plus details of how to obtain them. http://www.tcp.co.uk/~hmitchell/concerti.html Concertina! Maintained by Toby Koosman, contains links to many sites of direct and peripheral interest to concertina players. http://funnelweb.utcc.utk.edu/~tkoosman/boxlinks.html Concertina FAQ This FAQ in HTML format. http://www.harbour.demon.co.uk/concerti.htm Concertina Spotters Guide Maintained by Nick Robertshaw, a larger-than-life individual who plays Jeffries Duet. This site has a fine collection of photos of the different types of concertinas. http://www.clark.net/pub/bignick/indentina.html Don Nichols Home Page Very knowledgeable gentleman when it comes to the interiors of concertinas, his home page has some fascinating info and diagrams. Also carries the text of Neil Wayne's magnificent article on the history of the concertina. http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html Squeezebox mailing list Formerly the Accordion mailing list. Has a 2-way gateway with the new squeezebox news group (see below). To subscribe, send an email with no subject containing the following line to majordomo-squeezebox@cs.cmu.edu: subscribe squeezebox Also distributes this FAQ and the accordion FAQ, which contains useful information particularly for Bastari/ Stagi owners. Also has WWW server at: http://www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs/user/phoebe/mosaic/accordion.html rec.music.makers.squeezebox Also formerly the Accordion mailing list! Covers all aspects of free reed instruments including the concertina. A very friendly, helpful and welcoming community of players. WWW server as above. Steve Litwin's Home Page Steve is the polka editor of the Polish American Journal, and Chemnitzer concertina player. He has assembled some good stuff about this instrument. http://www.spectra.net/~slitwin/ APPENDIX 1 Wheatstone Dates of Manufacture If you have a Wheatstone concertina and you can identify the serial number (it is normally on one end) then this list will tell you the year of manufacture. Sometimes, if the label has been lost from the baffle in the older instruments, it can also be found stamped inside the bellows frame, in the treble-most slots of the reed pan, and on the reed-pan side of the action-box. Unfortunately I do not have lists for any other make of concertina, and I would very much like them, particularly for Lachenal concertinas - though I have been told that this information was burnt along with a lot of other stuff when Wheatstone took Lachenal over. Serial no Year Serial no Year 1 - 499 1830/42 23500 - 23999 1904/06 500 - 999 1842/45 24000 - 24499 1906/08 1000 - 1499 1845/48 24500 - 24999 1908/10 1500 - 1999 1848/49 25000 - 25499 1910/12 2000 - 2499 1849/50 25500 - 25999 1912/13 2500 - 3499 1850/51 26000 - 26499 1913/14 3500 - 3999 1851/52 26500 - 26999 1914/16 4000 - 4999 1852/53 27000 - 27499 1916/17 5000 - 6999 1853/54 27500 - 27999 1917/19 7000 - 7999 1854/55 28000 - 28499 1919/20 8000 - 8999 1855/56 28500 - 28999 1920/21 9000 - 9999 1856/57 29000 - 29499 1921/22 10000 - 10999 1857/59 29500 - 29999 1922/24 11000 - 11999 1859/63 30000 - 30499 1924/25 12000 - 12999 1863/65 30500 - 30999 1925/26 13000 - 13999 1865/67 31000 - 31499 1926/27 14000 - 18499 1867/70 31500 - 31999 1927/29 18500 - 18999 1870/73 32000 - 32499 1929/30 19000 - 19499 1873/77 32500 - 32999 1930/33 19500 - 19999 1877/82 33000 - 33499 1933/35 20000 - 20499 1882/86 33500 - 33999 1935/36 20500 - 20999 1886/89 34000 - 34499 1936/37 21000 - 21499 1889/92 34500 - 34999 1937/38 21500 - 21999 1892/95 35000 - 35499 1938/45 22000 - 22499 1895/98 35500 - 35540 1945/51 22500 - 22999 1898/01 35541 - 36400 1951/57 23000 - 23499 1901/04 36401 - 36680 1957 This list was originally prepared by Nigel Pickles and published in Concertina & Squeezebox, and is reproduced by permission of Joel Cowan, editor of Concertina & Squeezebox. Concertinas made by Steve Dickinson under the Wheatstone trade mark have serial numbers commencing 60000. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DOCUMENT HISTORY v1.0 11 Feb 1995 Initial release v1.1 3 March 1995 Various amendments and updates following feedback on v1.0 v1.2 8 April 1995 Minor amendments, additions and updates v1.3 6 May 1995 Quote at head of introduction added: found by Alan Clarke of Manchester Morris and quoted in Concertina World, the ICA newsletter. Other minor amendments and additions. v1.4 1 July 1995 New Internet section. Address for Frank Edgley (at last!). Substantial rewrite of text on Chemnitzer concertinas. v1.5 28 October 1995 Minor amendments, additions and updates. Another rewrite for Chemnitzers (I promise I'll get it right one day). Wheatstone dates of manufacture added in an appendix as it is of minority interest. v1.6 28 December 1995 Record change of accordion mailing list to rec.music.makers.squeezebox. One other minor tweak. (1.6a new URL for Bob Tedrow). v1.7 1 April 1996 Minor amendments, additions and updates. A few corrections of historical fact in sec. 2. v1.8 29 June 1996 Further minor amendments, additions and updates. v1.9 15 September 1996 Ditto v1.10 3 November 1996 Ditto ditto COPYRIGHT STATEMENT The text in this document is copyright (c) 1995, 1996 Chris Timson. This document may be freely distributed. You may even add things provided you make clear which text is your addition. Please do not delete anything, however. You may quote from it as extensively as you wish, but please give credit. I have done the best I can to make this document accurate. However addresses change, information becomes out of date, and I can accept no liability for any problems however caused which may arise from this document. I welcome updates, comments and advice about this document. I would also be interested in knowing where it ends up! You can e-mail me at chris@harbour.demon.co.uk --- End of FAQ ---