No. 14: A 48 Button Viennese Duet

Illustration by Nina Dietrich

My fourteenth concertina was a small, lightweight, 48 button duet with an unusual keyboard layout inspired by an antique Viennese concertina. We modified the concept slightly by giving the instrument the same keyboard curve, spacing, and hand rails/straps as a Crane duet rather than the slanted straight rows and English-style thumb straps and finger grips of the Viennese original. We felt this change improved the ergonomics as well as freeing up all four fingers to be used for playing.

No. 13: A 40 Button Müller English

My thirteenth concertina was a beautiful English concertina with Müller-style keyboard and hand rests/straps, plus some additional thumb-operated bass drone buttons.

Specification
  • 40 buttons: 18 treble + two bass buttons on the left, and 19 treble + 1 bass button on the right. Also has an air button on the left.
  • Six sides, 6 1/3″ (161mm) wide.
  • 5.7mm diameter nickel-silver capped buttons with domed profile.
  • 3mm button height and 3mm button travel (buttons stop flush with end plate).
  • 2:1 action lever ratio giving 6mm pad lift.
  • Three bass drones operated by 10.6mm diameter flat topped nickel-silver capped thumb buttons.
  • Brass reed frames with long scale steel tongues, except for the bass reeds which are extra-long and have phosphor-bronze tongues.
  • Brass sheet riveted action levers.
  • Full-width flat nickel silver end plates with crimped edges.
  • Extra-fine hand cut fretwork with custom decorative elements and hand engraving.
  • Dark red button bushing cloth.
  • Black bog-oak thick-veneered action box sides.
  • Solid bog-oak hand and thumb rests.
  • Seven fold black goatskin leather bellows, fully leather covered.
  • Real gold tooling on the bellows ends.
  • French polished external woodwork.
  • Hand engraved silver decorative inlays on the hand rests.
  • Sycamore reed pans with parallel chambers and multiple chamber depths.
  • Tuned Equal Temperament, A=440Hz.
  • Weight: 1600g
  • Special hand made brown leather hexagonal hard case.

No. 12

No. 12: A 40 Button Maccann Duet

My twelfth concertina was a special 40 button Maccann Duet with some custom ergonomic features.

Specification
  • 40 buttons (+ air): 20 notes per side, one octave apart
  • Lowest note on left hand is G3
  • Six sides, 6 3/8″ wide
  • 3/16″ diameter brass capped buttons
  • 2mm button height and travel (buttons stop flush with end plate)
  • Air button in right thumb position, 8mm high
  • Black button bushing cloth
  • Amboyna veneered end plates and walls
  • Thuya burr, ogee profile borders
  • Thuya burr handrails, extra tall with curved top and adjustable position
  • All external woodwork stained dark red and French polished
  • Flat ends with fancy fretwork
  • Seven fold plain black goatskin bellows
  • Black imitation leather bellows papers
  • Aluminium alloy reed frames
  • Aluminium alloy action levers
  • Long scale steel reeds on both sides
  • Radial sloped sycamore reed pans with no inner reed chambers
  • Bach/Lehman tuning, A=440Hz
  • Weight: 1305g

No. 11: A 32 Button C/G Blackbird Anglo

My eleventh instrument was another C/G Blackbird Anglo, this time a 6″ model with 32 buttons (+ air).

Specification
  • 32 button C/G Anglo based on the Jeffries layout with some customisations.
  • Six sides, six inches wide across the flats.
  • Seven fold plain black goatskin bellows with sycamore pattern papers.
  • Flat laminated end plates, dyed-black tulipwood veneer on a solid sycamore core, with traditional-style foliate fretwork pattern and bloodwood border inlay.
  • Wheatstone-style ogee border shape.
  • Sycamore action box walls with black tulipwood veneer.
  • Bloodwood flat hand rails with leather thumb pads and integral brass strap fixings.
  • Dimensions and location of hand rails, and length of strap customised slightly.
  • French polished finish.
  • Brass reed frames with long scale steel reed tongues.
  • Sycamore reed pans with parallel Jeffries-style chambers.
  • Sycamore action boards.
  • Brass sheet riveted action levers.
  • 3/16″ diameter brass capped buttons.
  • Slotted brass end bolts.
  • 3mm button travel (giving 6mm pad lift at 2:1 action lever ratio).
  • Black wool bushings.
  • Tuning: Equal temperament A=440Hz.
  • Weight: 1238g