Concertina repair - reed not speaking

Opening up a vintage English concertina to "ping" a reed that is not sounding. This video doesn't cover a reed that needs "gapping" I'll add that if requested. I will just say that the recorded sound of the concertina, through the camera's own microphone, doesn't sound nearly as nice as in reality! It's a brass reeded Wheatstone instrument. Note the wacky glasses! My wife and I use the same strength of ready readers and pick up whatever comes to hand!

[@juliansanders6324]

Very clear and helpful film made by a methodical person who knows what he is doing (unlike some on TH-cam).

[@lindalosse7980]

Thank you so much for this video I was able to repair my concertina and get it up and running again. This video gave me the confidence I needed

[@josephostrowski3866]

Thanks for teaching us....☺

[@berniarmstrong]

Fascinating. I have "inherited" a cheap anglo which has a few notes that are not sounding. It is not a vintage or high end instrument, so a professional repair would probably cost me more than the instrument is worth, so I will follow your instructions and see if I can solve the issues myself first. On top of anything else, I live in Catalonia, where concertinas are as rare as kangaroo eggs, and none of the music shops I visit know anyone who can repair them professionally. Indeed most of them had never seen one before.

[@enavallaingvar]

Thank you! This was very helpful!

[@RustyKnorr]

Would this be a similar process for an Anglo?

[@guildenford]

Hi Rusty - yes very much the same, the reeds will probably be parallel rather than arranged like spokes of a wheel but the principles are the same. Tom

[@bigbraincontent]

Nice, any tip for replacing the little flaps?

[@guildenford]

Thank you! The little leather valves? They are pretty easy to replace, you can get spares from concertina-spares.com in the UK. The old ones normally just pull off. Ordinary craft PVA glue is fine for installing the new ones. Make sure that they don't either interfere with the other reed in the cell, or catch on the sides. There should be tiny pins to stop the valves opening too wide. If you're doing much in the way of repairs Dave Elliott's "Concertina Maintenance Manual" is worth getting.

[@bigbraincontent]

@@guildenford great thank you! I was gifted a 48 key lachenal, will be fixing it up