About
As an accordionist I have often had instruments that needed repairs of some sort: tuning, broken reeds, jammed mechanisms.
Accordions are complex instruments, mostly hand built and with around 380 reeds in a full size machine.
Each of these reeds are connected to the keyboards in a variety of ways allowing multiple combinations to be played at the touch of a key or button.
The bass mechanisms of a full size converter accordion can be a daunting prospect when you first look inside.
After a lot of hunting around, I discovered that there are very few people in the UK that can tune and repair these instruments. If you have a high quality instrument, whatever its age, you may be advised to send it back to the factories in Italy to get it repaired... but be patient, a year can pass before your instrument returns.
So I started repairing and tuning mine and other peoples' instruments... and that's how this business started.
Art & Science
Musical instruments: one of the true craft skills
By background I'm an engineer: and there's a surprising amount of engineering in an Accordion.
When you play a reed, how soon it starts to sound, how far from its nominal pitch it shifts with changing pressure and how many harmonics it produces depends on the steel it's cut from, the way it's formed and placed in the reed plate, and the consistency with which it's finally tuned in the instrument.
Then the choice of voice for the instrument: straight, swing, musette and every variation between. That's a matter of choice and there are almost as many voices as there are instruments.
Then there's the mechanism: the choice of felts, metals, glues and woods - again, each instrument is unique.
So with care and the artful application of some practical science much can be achieved.
Every musician and instrument is unique - so most important is understanding what you and your accordion need...
My name's Paul Lethbridge, if you think I can help, please get in touch.
