from out West

Bob,
It’s C. out here in the Denver Colorado area. How have you been? It’s been a long time since I’ve contacted you. My concertina that you built for me is still playing and looking great. I don’t think a day goes by without me picking it up and playing something. I was wondering about the carrying case that I wanted to order when you built my concertina and you said then that you didn’t like the design that you had come up with at that time. Has the design changed for the better and can I order a case from you now?

Best regards,
C

Keep up with the shop

http://twitter.com/HomewoodMusic

Local music events; current projects here at Homewood Music; new products; brief and interesting.

Happy Thanksgiving

Dear Bob,

My Tedrow Standard Baritone arrived the day before Thanksgiving (as promised) and I have to say I felt just like a little boy at Christmas. Even though we had a house full of 20 kids and grandkids for the holidays, I closed myself away for the afternoon to play with my new toy.

I have read a number of posts from players who appear to be quite skilled and are moving from one professional grade instrument to another. That is not my story. I am a real amateur. I have had 4 concertinas over the past 44 years. The first three were 20 button, German made. The 4th was the Rochelle, you sent me in August (so I could get up to speed with the extra 10 buttons).

And now this. I have entered a new world. It is truly a thing of beauty and a joy to play. I am slowly learning the feel of the instrument and am having the time of my life. (And I made the right call in ordering the Baritone. I love the sound.)

I was concerned when I ordered it that at my playing ability it would be overkill. Wrong! It has done more to encourage me to improve my skill level in the past 2 weeks than I have accomplished in the past 10 years. If anything, I regret not upgrading sooner. On the other hand, if I had upgraded too soon I wouldn't have been able to get a Tedrow. So I guess everything works out for the best.

Thank you, Bob. You do great work.

Bill P
.

no stage fright here!

Bob,

The baritone and I have adjusted to each other well, and your advice that the thousand parts need to get comfortable with each other and with me was sound.

I have always had stage fright issues when playing my fiddle but find the concertina very relaxing and play it in all sorts of public places.

The top story so far was last month when I had a trip to Washington D.C. on business. When I had time to kill I dropped by the Manassas battle field. Sitting under some trees for about an hour I could look over the park at the statues and the artillery batteries while I played out of the book "The Singing Soldiers". I think my favorite was Just Before the Battle Mother, but I can also play Dixie and The Battle Hymn of the Republic from memory and gave them a try. As always when I play the baritone I collected some audience. Despite my level of performance I have never had a negative comment from the public.

On the way home I got caught in Dulles airport by a canceled flight. To heck with this, I found an empty spot and got her out. I played for about an hour and had several people drop by and listen, including several children.

The fact that I could play in public, let alone an airport is a real testament to how nice the concertina is to play. Yours was a real star there.

G

to make your own adjustments to reeds

Hi Bob,

I've *finally* had a chance to give the concertina a real
workout for a week.

It really is a fabulous instrument. Workmanship and
playability are great.

I love the custom key layout, it's even better than
I expected after working through many tunes with it.

Only one annoyance, and I'm pretty sure it's me, not
the instrument:

I play, and always have played on the quieter side,
-- it's just my nature. On the left side, many reeds
take a lot of air to get going, and I first noticed
it on the C-row, the G/A button. On the draw, the
A reed starts up noticeably easier than the G on the
press. I was having trouble on runs using those
notes because the G wouldn't sound. After some
experimentation I noticed that was the case on many
other of the reeds on the left side.

I have started adjusting my playing style to accommodate,
but I must admit I miss the ability to play a little
quieter.

My understanding is that there is a tradeoff in the
way reeds are set, so they can be played with better
action at either a low volume, or a high volume, but not
both. Is that really the case, and would it be possible
to adjust the reed setting on this instrument?

Thanks,
J
***************************
Hello Jeff,

Yes, correct, reeds can be set favor at high pressure or low pressure. This is an adjustment that you can make if you wish, or I can do that for you. By levering the reed up or down at the base, you can adjust the reed set.
see: http://hmi.homewood.net/reedset/ and this: http://hmi.homewood.net/rset/

Bob

*****************************

Hi Bob,

I just finished setting the reeds.

It's AWESOME!

I love it, love it!! Now I can hit the air button
more naturally while sounding a note too!

Thanks a million!

Cheers,
J

notes on a big baritone

Bob,

I've had my custom baritone for a week now, and wanted to drop a note of appreciation for the instrument. A thing of beauty is a wonder to behold, and my Anglo is a wonder. This is a real work of art. I have only held and played one other concertina, a Rochelle, so I did not know what to expect. Wow, the bellows are supple and effortless, I just did not realize how much easier and quicker a quality instrument would play.

While the baritone is reasonably fast, I now see that I will be wanting a Standard one of these days for some songs, so expect to see me back.

Oh, and by the way, thanks for the help in some minor fine tuning, I now know a lot more about concertina mechanics than I did before, and realize that they're not that scary inside.

Here's the link to the video, in case it's not up on your site: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4IOTStb6eA

My compliments again on a beautiful work of art.

G

From Italy

Hi Bob
wonderful day today!!
I got the concertina and I am really ENTUSIASTA!!
A little bit difficult as I come from 15 years of Stagi but I'm sure I will succeed! The instrument is esthetically bellissimo! and the sound is really good. I want to thank you for this. I will certainly "sprad" your high professionality among my friends in the music environment. Thanks a lot.

Let me know if there is any special care I have to take concerning the maintenance of the instrument.
Let me also know your adress as I want to send you my last CD.
Ciao ciao
A

re bellows

Hi, this post is just to enthuse about my new bellows. The original five-fold bellows on my 1937 Wheatstone treble English had gotten leaky again. I had already had them patched at the Button Box once, but they were leaking again, so I decided it was time to get new bellows. I had some concern about break-in time, as the bellows on my wife's early-1970s Crabb treble always seemed a little stiff to me, especially compared to the butter-smooth bellows on my Wheatstone, but after seeing some of Bob Tedrow's bellows on a visit to his shop (my wife has kin in Birmingham, AL, so I usually stop by Homewood when I'm in town), I decided to save up for some new bellows from him.

Now I have had my new bellows for three months, and, boy, am I satisfied! My original bellows were 5-fold, and between that and the leakiness, I was frequently running low on air when playing sustained chords. Not so now; my new bellows have 7 folds, which is unusual for an English. Between that and the airtightness, I have an almost ridiculous amount of air for any purpose. On top of that, I needn't have worried about the stiffness of the bellows, as they are as soft and quick as the old, original bellows had been. They lack _nothing_ compared to the Rosalie Dipper bellows on our Lachenal baritone, and have one more fold. All in all, I can't recommend these bellows highly enough. BTW, standard disclaimers, etc.

E

from our Nation's Capitol

Had an opportunity to hang out with Bob Tedrow at a harp festival outside Washington today (never heard so many harps in my life; I thought I had died).


I've played a few of Bob's earlier instruments and they were nice and all, but didn't really grab me (I have a strong preference for the sound of traditional reeds).

But his new stuff is fabulous. The "Zephyr" he brought along had just superb action; no other way to describe it. As good a feel as any concertina I've played. Sound was outstanding, though I'd like to play one on the street with a bunch of rowdy Morris men dancing with bells an clashing sticks instead of a big hotel room with dozens of harpists playing funeral music. Very, very good bellows.

His square Dandy was surprisingly light and the sound and action were very good. Very nice workmanship all around.


I've noticed in the past few years the striking improvement in the sound and action of hybrid Anglos. This guy's stuff is really impressive.

J

(blush)

Hi Bob,

Thought you'd like to know that I just posted a myspace bulletin about you that my online friends will be able to read.

Thanks again,
M

Sometimes it's easy to feel like our lives are being processed rather than lived. An example of that for me was yesterday, when a Blue Cross Blue Shield operator needed for me to give her three pieces of personally identifying information before she could tell me where to mail the form they had faxed to me once I'd completed it. Typical, isn't it?

Every once in a while we have a situation that reminds us that there are still real live human beings in this world. Here's a short (and true) story about one of them.

His name is Bob Tedrow, and he owns Homewood Musical Instruments in Birmingham, AL (hmi.homewood.net). Most of the instruments that Bob sells are concertinas he makes to order, but he also handles some vintage concertinas and beginner concertinas for newbies like me. Last week my new concertina arrived, and I've been wrestling with it ever since -- in a nice way, of course. I love it, but there is a vibration in one of the reeds. I notified Bob of the buzzing and he recommended what we both hoped would be an easy fix. It wasn't. So, he said he would send me a new one.

I thought that was great, but what really made Bob a "Good Guy" in my eyes was that he didn't give me an RMA number to use when returning my concertina, or tell me that he would send the new one when he got mine. Nope, he told me to hold on to the one I have and keep practicing until I got the new one; then send it back.

I don't know about you, but I'm not used to being treated that way anymore. Sure is nice when it happens.

Thanks, Bob.

from the UK

Hi Bob,
Just had a week at the Whitby Annual Folk Festival and I took along my second hand Tedrow G/D. It stood the sessions very well. Plenty of volume in pubs with literally 50 plus instruments playing at the same time and I could actually hear myself playing for a change.

Now this may sound like brown nosing but believe me when I state the following:
I visited the various musical instrument stalls which are a feature of the festival (Hobgoblin, MusicRoom et cetera) and tried many different types of concertina both new and vintage. I even had a few tunes on a Jeffries on sale at £4000 (UK pounds). With hand on heart and my girl friend can vouch for me as she was with me, I did not find one concertina that was as vibrant and as responsive to play as my Tedrow G/D and you may quote me if you wish on your website. The Jeffries came close but if I had been blindfolded during my time at the stalls my Tedrow would have won easily. In addition, of the one or two friends I allowed to have a tune on my Tedrow, every single one was pleasantly surprised at the responsiveness and playability of my G/D and all agreed that I own a very musical box and that any limitations are on the player, not the instrument. The only minor critisism came from a concertina purist one who commented "...it's not concertina reeded though, is it?"
Well to be perfectly honest Bob, I am not all that impressed with concertina reeded instruments and my tastes are for the type of reeds you use. So all in all it boils down to individual tastes (and concertina snobbery perhaps).

February 2008

Bob, what a quality experience I have had as one of your customers. It started with our first phone conversation, continued with the visit to your shop and now I get to enjoy the quality of your work everyday. I love the new box. It plays like silk. The difference between my two early boxes and your concertina is like switching from driving a straight shift truck to a Lexus.

The ergonomics of the keys and the silky smooth bellows are a delight.

Thanks for the networking contacts that you shared. They have added to my enjoyment of concertina music.

I’ll stop by the next time I’m in Birmingham.

J

From North Dakota

Hi Bob, The concertina arrived today at 12:18pm. I let it sit in the carton for a good 2 hours because our overnight low temperature was minus 15 (Fahrenheit). After opening the carton, I let it warm up inside the clear wrap for another half hour. I'm sure there's been no condensation on the reeds. I like the box - the workmanship is EXCELLENT & I love the tone!

M

from England

Hi Bob

It was nice to talk with you and even better to receive the concertina, it's great.

If you could send a couple of your oval name tags to fit into the ends I
would very much appreciate them.

For my first concertina I am well chuffed. You might be interested to
know the group I am in (the Gloucestershiore Morris Men), see attached
photo. I have yellow flowers in my hat (crouched down behind the white
bearded Abe Lincoln lookalike). I'm sure the box will generate some
interest.

If you could price the gold mesh for under the fretwork I would
appreciate it.

long distance repair jobs our specialty

Thank you for answering your cell phone - even though you were on vacation - and talking me through the clearing of a "stuck" reed. And thank you for making an instrument that has been played almost daily for 4 years without needing to be opened until this morning! It's a thing of beauty inside and out!

Cheers,
M

more.....

Hi,Bob
I recieved the concertina yesterday, and have only put it down to eat and sleep. The look, feel, and sound are all that I could have wanted and more. I am amazed at how LOUD this box is! The action is so swift, and the response so lively that I will have to re-learn some habits that I developed on the third-hand Bastari that I learned on and have played for these last 5 or 6 years. The bellows are butter smooth, much to my surprise. I had expected to have to spend some time easing them in but that won't be necessary. The gold tooling adds just the right touch of elegance that I imagined it would. Beautiful work!

All said, I am delighted with my new box and I am sure that it will last throughout my lifetime and beyond.

A thousand thanks and may you live a long and satisfying life.
R

Two in one day! (albeit succinct)

Hi Bob,

T here. The new concertina is great and I'm loving it. Even the dog, who has traditionally not been a fan of free-reed instruments, hangs around for a listen.

regards,

T

the very latest comment

I just thought I'd drop you a note to mention that the Standard Tedrow
concertina I bought recently just had its first outing earlier tonight
when I took it to the 4th Saturday contra dance here in Salt Lake. I sat
in with the band for the second half of the dance.

An accordionist also sitting in with the band mentioned to me that on
the tunes I knew but he didn't, mine was the melody instrument he could
hear best and was following.

Another person sitting in with the band, who was playing banjo, is
learning Anglo concertina on a (insert Brand X here) borrowed from one of the
actual band members, who plays banjo and (mostly English) concertina.
They both had a look at my concertina and tried playing it, and I think
they both liked it - one of 'em spent a while playing it, and he
particularly liked the smooth bellows.

(I did have to take out the foam pads I installed so that other people
could try it: because of past wrist problems, I use Ken Coles' method of
putting foam pads cut from pipe insulation over the handles, described
at . On some concertinas this
makes it difficult to reach the lower buttons, but I can reach
everything on the Tedrow.)

Anyway, I'm quite pleased with the concertina's performance. It was
great fun to play and I'll be taking it there again next month.

Here's another comment

Dear Bob,

A bit tardy in delivering this note, but thank you so much for the hospitality when I visited your shop in July. I went away the proud owner of the rosewood C/G Anglo you had available that day. The instrument is admired by all I show it to, and its intonation praised by my musician friends. I am now the envy of them all! In another couple of weeks, the voice of this lovely concertina will be wafting notes over the waters at Catalina Island's annual Buccaneer Days from aboard the sailboat Mara Skye!

Thank you again,
TB

New owner comment

Dear Bob,
It was a wonderful present to open, try, play, and smile at my first
attempt at playing the beautifully crafted concertina you sent to me.
It is a magnificent instrument, and I thank you for your craft, your
artistry, and your musicianship.

I look forward to many years of enjoyement.
Sincerely,

CM

fifteen minutes of fame

Here is a little local TV clip of the shop. hmm, click one one of those bars above to see the clip

from the UK

Hi Bob,
Just had a week at the Whitby Annual Folk Festival and I took along my
second hand Tedrow G/D. It stood the sessions very well. Plenty of
volume in pubs with literally 50 plus instruments playing at the same
time and I could actually hear myself playing for a change.

Now this may sound like brown nosing but believe me when I state the
following:
I visited the various musical instrument stalls which are a feature of
the festival (Hobgoblin, MusicRoom et cetera) and tried many different
types of concertina both new and vintage. I even had a few tunes on a
Jeffries on sale at £4000 (UK pounds). With hand on heart and my girl
friend can vouch for me as she was with me, I did not find one
concertina that was as vibrant and as responsive to play as my Tedrow
G/D and you may quote me if you wish on your website. The Jeffries came
close but if I had been blindfolded during my time at the stalls my
Tedrow would have won easily. In addition, of the one or two friends I
allowed to have a tune on my Tedrow, every single one was pleasantly
surprised at the responsiveness and playability of my G/D and all agreed
that I own a very musical box and that any limitations are on the
player, not the instrument. The only minor critisism came from a
concertina purist one who commented "...it's not concertina reeded
though, is it?"
Well to be perfectly honest Bob, I am not all that impressed with
concertina reeded instruments and my tastes are for the type of reeds
you use. So all in all it boils down to individual tastes (and
concertina snobbery perhaps).

Jody Criskall (not sure of the spelling) was there as a quest artist for
a few events and he seemed to be having a good time. He's very good on
the concertina.
Anyhow, how's the new G/D progressing you are making for me. Everything
still ok for February 2008 delivery? Also, are the original requests
still feasible? For example raised metal ends, 8 or 12 sided and then
the really tricky one possibly the 'g' drone & 'd' drone with some kind
of locking/latching facility so i don't have to keep my finger on the
button when using either one of them.
If you could give me some kind of up-date it would be appreciated.
Well Bob, that's it. Feel free to use any part of this email for
whatever purpose you think fit.
Best wishes,
Mike (UK).

The "Green" Tedrow Anglo Concertina http://hmi.homewood.net/green/

Hi Bob
I received your Green Concertina yesterday and words can't describe how
wonderful it is. First thing that struck me was how light it was when I
picked it up. The pictures on your website were good, however the Green
was more brilliant in person like you said it would be. The sunburst green
really looks good with the gold tooling! The pictures in the folds in the
bellows really look great also and the extra bellow you installed makes a
difference when playing. Thank You! This is my 3rd concertina I have
purchased and I must say it far exceeds the previous ones. It was well
worth every penny! The other concertinas I had to fight with them to sound
good yours just responds to every move I make with ease; the response to
when I push the buttons on your concertina is truly remarkable and I am
able to play my songs a lot faster now. I immediately played some songs
for my mother and some of my friends and they all loved how well it
sounded. I played all of my Irish tunes and also some of my favorite
church hymns which actually sounded a lot better then the old guy we have
in my church that plays the organ on Sunday. I just wanted to thank you
once again for all of your help in our venture together in getting me a
concertina that I needed and which far exceeded all of my expectations!
Thank You.

sincerely
A

one more

Hi Bob,
I received the concertina. It's a beautiful work of art. How did I rate the felt bushings? I decided to learn it the way you did, without an instruction book. Thanks again. I can't keep my hands off it.

Mxxxxxxx

just one more...

Hey Bob!

Love the instrument. Lots of fun to play, and it sounds GREAT!

Sorry I've not told you sooner that you're the man.

What's the lowest-pitch 'tina you make, out of curiosity?

S

'nother owner

Bob, I am xxxxxxx I purchased your Zephyr last August.....This unit is unbelievable!!. Excuse me for my over zeliousness (sic) about it. But I am greatful that you have been so fair, honest & goodwilled toward your concertina business. Per our conversation about the buzz on the "A push button" I disassembled & tweaked a screw & that fixed the problem! Truly a great instrument....I don't think you could beat anything better than this model...... It should be your most popular. Would it be possible to make a g/d model in the same size & use concertina not accordion reeds instead? What would it cost......

Thanks again

xxxxxxxx

more...

At least you didn't jump from a wooden action in an ancient italian box to a Tedrow, like I did. Not that the old style action doesn't have its charms. After all, it has to be very similiar to what was played in most of the US in the nineteenth century, and probably Ireland as well.

But lets face it, the Tedrow boxes are a pure joy to play, quick, responsive, and I really enjoy the extra ten buttons allows me to add a more bluesy feel to some of the traditional american music I've been playing. Plus, it is far easier to set down with that box and just read the music off the page now, then it ever was with the other box. Those of you that were at NESI, when I had the Tedrow for only a month just will be surprised at the progress I've made.

A

and another.....

I've had my new Tedrow for about a month, now (Thanks, Bob!) and the experience has been far more educational than I could have expected.

For those of you who have been considering an upgrade from Stagi or a box of similar quality, I have to say DO IT!

The first thing that one notices is the volume and tone. I was totally unprepared for how loud and clear this instrument is. Stagi, having their reed blocks mounted projecting into the bellows space, have a much softer, muted sound, that I had become so used to that I just assumed that this was the typical concertina sound. Wrong! I am reminded of the first time that I played amplified harmonica; so many of the lazy little short-cut techniques that I had been able to get away with just playing acoustically, and all those tiny mistakes that the listener couldn't hear, were laid out, bald as my Uncle Henry. I had to go back a long way and do much relearning.

Such is the case here. This machine is a paragon of clarity. It demands, therefore, that I (attempt to) become one too. The action is so immediately responsive that I've had to make many adjustments to my fingering and attack. I have found that even how firmly I hold the instrument, and how much pressure I apply to each button is very different from what I have spent the past few years learning. I've had to change how I hold it to give each button the proper attention and to review most of my bellows work.

But boy! how my playing has improved! Since it is so much clearer and louder I don't have to play as hard to get a full sound. That lets me play with a subtilty that the Bastari would never have allowed. Staccattos come off crisply, legatos flow more smoothly than ever before,the slightest change in bellows directions are instantly communicated to the reeds.

I shan't disparage the Stagi or the Bastari, for they caused me to fall in love with the concertina and the various musics in which it excels, but if you long for an upgrade, trust your instincts.
Nothing could have consolidated my love for music and playing more than a good quality instrument.
Thanks again, Bob; it's a beautiful instrument.

Any other upgrade stories?
R

and again

It came. What can I say. It's GORGEOUS!
Thank you!
I'm taking to afternoon off to go play with it.
Love it,
XXX

And thanks for the case.

another new owner......

Hi Bob, Feedback regarding the Tedrow G/D I purchased from Jxxx in the USA.
I have had the concertina now for two days and what an excellent instrument it is proving to be. Air tight (unlike my XXXX anglo), reeds economical with air. Excellent tone and first class workmanship.
In summary a superb instrument.
Regards, Mxxx (from the UK).

yet another new owner

Bob,
Just a note to let you know that my concertina arrived this past Wednesday. Everything was fine...Great packing job! The sound is great, and well balanced across the range of the instrument. It held its own very well in a strong session at a crowded pub. I received many complements on the fretwork, sound, overall appearance, and even the smell ( Yes. We're the sort of people who smell our instruments, I'm ashamed to admit.)!

Thank you very much. It was well worth the wait, and I will recommend you to all and sundry seeking a worthy instrument.

I believe the plan was for you to charge my credit card? If you had a different idea, please let me know.

Regards,
xxxxxxxxx

happy new owner

Hi,Bob
I recieved the concertina yesterday, and have only put it down to eat and sleep. The look, feel, and sound are all that I could have wanted and more. I am amazed at how LOUD this box is! The action is so swift, and the response so lively that I will have to re-learn some habits that I developed on the third-hand Bastari that I learned on and have played for these last 5 or 6 years. The bellows are butter smooth, much to my surprise. I had expected to have to spend some time easing them in but that won't be necessary. The gold tooling adds just the right touch of elegance that I imagined it would. Beautiful work!

All said, I am delighted with my new box and I am sure that it will last throughout my lifetime and beyond.

A thousand thanks and may you live a long and satisfying life.
xxxxx

So, where have I been?

Still here. I am designing a traditional reeded concertina for the rest of the tour. Stay tuned!

Bob Tedrow

review 12/4

Bob,
After playing the C/G Standard over the weekend I have to say, not only is it visually beautiful, it plays and sounds like a dream. I just hope some day that I can do justice to it in my playing. Sincereful grateful xxxxxx

Tour Review 12/3

Bob,
Thanks for the opportunity to play one of your concertinas. I think it looks great and it has a great layout for my hands. I like the nice clear, even tone, and its responsiveness, both the button action and the possible dynamics. I am sad to have to send it off, now it is back to my Bastari. I just handed the concertina off to xxxxx. Thanks again. xxxxx

tour review 11/27

Bob,
Thanks for including me in the tour. The concertina spent Thanksgiving
with me, saw one of, if not the wettest Portland Novembers on record as
well as being privy to a snow flurry. I was going to have some friends
over but the weather turned and they didn't make it, so all you have is
a photo of me playing to the cat (what a discerning animal).

Do you have the address for the next tour destination yet?



Here are some of my thoughts on the tour concertina.

Hit:
The bellows are just great, they are very easy to play and supple whilst
giving good support. If they remain like this when fully broken in and
for many years after, then they will truly have proved themselves.
Button force is set very light and consistent across all buttons. Air
button is also only requires a very light touch (just how I like it). If
anything, it could do with a hair stronger spring, not too much though.
This is a feather light instrument, good for someone with wrist problems
or someone who likes playing whilst standing.
The craftsmanship is great. I really like the Jeffries style fret work
and the satin finish. The bellows papers add a really classy touch to
the instrument.

Miss:
The pads make a lot of noise when closing. It is fine for slow airs
where you can control the closure of the pad but when playing fast and
releasing the buttons quickly the pad noise starts to dominate. Although
to some extent I think it is heard more by the player than the audience.

(note from Bob, I do not use wool in my pads. I have found that failure of the wool by shifting or insect damage to be one of the most common problems in older concertinas. Wool pads are indeed quiet. I hope that my pads will last indefinately)

Neutral observations:
The button spacing feels a little closer than other concertinas I have
played (Jeffries, Crabb and Suttner). This proves no problem once you
have adjusted and may be a benefit. It would certainly be a plus for
people with smaller hands. Distance of the G row from the palm rest is
just right.

Personal preferences (may not be the same for everyone):
I would prefer stiffer leather for the hand strap, although it takes
longer for the strap to mould to the hand shape I think it gives better
support in the long run.
I would like a slightly shorter hand rest, approx. 7/8" with the wood
being wider where it contacts the palm.

Regards,
xxxxxx

concertina review 11/26

Hi Bob,
Well, now that Thanksgiving has settled down a bit and the work week picks up again tomorrow, this is an ideal time for me to give you my impression(s).

I really miss playing your concertina. The sound is very sweet, not harsh. Initially, I thought that yours must have concertina reeds instead of accordion reeds...but I realize that that is not so. I think that the wood palm rest may be a little too big; but then I have small hands....I wear a 6 1/2 glove in the operating room.

The bellows is easy to work with, very compliant, not stiff. The buttons are very responsive, not hard to press. I found that your concertina enhanced my playing which is wonderful. I practice a lot and just knowing that a better instrument can make all the difference in the world is intriguing.

I am going to Noel Hill's Concertina class in Ireland in late February, is there any chance that your concertina would be available for purchase prior to that time, or do you have any concertinas that are near completion? If so, I would be interested in speaking with you about the possibility of purchasing one.

All the best to you,
xxxxxxxxx

Since the last post

Sorry for the delay since the last post. Holidays you know.

Here is a link to the rosewood concertina just completed

http://hmi.homewood.net/wale

I have also completed a mahogany baritone concertina in c/g

http://hmi.homewood.net/mahogbari

paste these into your browser, I don't know how to make active links on my blog service!

Bob

The End

Well, not of the tour. It has only just begun.

However it is the end of work on the Rosewood Concertina. It has turned out quite well. I have never built a concertina without tweaking one or two variables. I increased the venting height on this concertina and I am well pleased with the sound. I found a very nice piece of Irish linen that I installed behind the Jeffries fretwork. I will try to get a picture up before I send it off.

Friday, time to go home

Rosewood Concertina:

Bellows completed and lacquered; buttons, springs and action built and installed; bushings installed in ends; handrests built and installed; handstraps cut; reeds installed and rough tuned

Tomorrow, reeds will be fine tuned and set, instrument waxed and buffed and hopefully all done.

Tour Concertina:

Enjoying Ashland Oregon.

Progress on rosewood concertina.

Since last post, eight coats of sanding sealer applied to the rosewood concertina headed for New South Wales. Those eight coats have been taken down to 320 grit and one coat of satin lacquer has been nicely applied with no runs, sags or drips.

Bellows are well underway and will probably be completed this week. Still lots of work ahead....buttons have to be turned on the lathe (yes, I still turn every button on the lathe) levers riveted, springs turned, leather cut pared and skived then glued to the bellows "endoskeleton" Reeds will have to be installed, set and tuned. Handrests to be built, hand straps cut and the little brass adjustment screws need to be silver brazed polished and installed.

Tour concertina is still on its way to Ashland, no overnight deliveries on the 2007 Concertina Tour.

Next stop: Ashland Oregon

Just a little detour on the way to Portland. I don't see Ashland on my giant map, but it must be on the way to Portland as there is very little Oregon left northwest of the city.

I hope we get some pictures from Colorado.

Regarding progress on the rosewood anglo for New South Wales. Fretwork is completed; casework is roughed out and glued up; threaded brass inserts are installed; chevrons installed in the bellows frame; reedpan is roughed out and glued up.

Not too bad, I think for a day......don't expect this much progress everyday, I promise it will get slower.

Halloween 2006

Hmm.

What to post while we are waiting for the first report from Colorado?

I started an instrument last night bound for New South Wales, eventually. Day one:

Selected and ripped a nice piece of rosewood for the tops and sides. Ran the pieces for the top through the joiner and used a shooting board to dress the edges. Had the glue pot warming up while this is going on. Checked the thickness of the hide glue and satisfied with that, glued up and clamped both top blanks. Set them aside for the night.

This morning arrived at the shop, sharpened my cabinet scraper and scraped the tops down to about 3/16" and prepared them for cutting the fretwork. Rosewood sides and bellows framed stock is laid up and ready for measuring and glueing.

I will try to keep you posted on this instrument as it progressess over the next couple weeks. I don't work on just one thing at a time so don't get too impatient.

I may build an instrument for the East Coast Tour so that the wait will be a bit less. I have an instrument almost completed. but the bellows are not quite as nice looking as I had hoped.....a few little spots on the gussets and valleys. I don't think I want to sell it like that so it may be a potential tour concertina.

Or maybe I will build a new set of bellows for it (hmm, not too happy about that)

Notes on Friday afternoon

The tour concertina is winging its way west. I am looking forward to putting up some pictures of the concertina and the tourists.

Newsy bits until there is something to report from the Concertina Tour:

Of course the table saw is back in action, I picked up a belt at the local autoparts shop.

I mailed a long overdue miniature concertina off to its new home in Illinois The action is fitted into an instrument that is going to Hog Eye Music in Chicago. I hope to get that off by Wednesday. I have the woodwork finished on two 30 button Anglos and they are sitting on the shelf waiting for bellows and actions.

I have two older instrument to tune this coming week, I have a Hayden to reed and valve and send off to Japan.

best laid plans of mice and men

I got to the shop early today, ready to rip into a couple more concertina frames. But instead I snapped the v-belt on the table saw. Darn near ruined a concertina body as well, before the belt died it sure did shake up the table saw.

If you work with power tools.........please be very frightened of what they can do to you in a very short amount of time.

None of this has anything to do with the Concertina Tour though.

TOUR UPDATE

Next destination is Portland Oregon!

Off to Colorado

Concertina is off to Colorado 10/23


First stop is Colorado Springs. I will post the city/area here as the concertina moves about the country.

Should you see your hometown listed and would like to visit with the concertina as it passes by, you can email me and I will forward your note to the current tourist.

I am still accepting applications.

Concertina is done and ready for the road

Long day of reedwork, gold finishing etc. Happy news from New Jersey, my daughter placed first of 35 dancers in the preliminary championship Irish dance compeition.

very close to a big finish, and a big start

I believe the tour concertina will be completed today, depending on the traffic in the shop. I am tossing down my last cup of coffee at the house and will head to the shop in a short while.

The action is installed now and all that remains to complete are the reed installation and final tuning. There are a couple small details to attend to today, the bushings have to be installed; handrests installed; strap adjusters made; gold tooling to complete. Hmm, that sounds like a lot. Perhaps just one more cup of coffee will help. The girls are in New Jersey at a feis, that will help as well........nothing to do but work!

There are about 40 persons signed up for the tour so far.

Todays progress will have to do for tomorrow as well

I have the last coats of lacquer on the casework now. I think you all will be pleased, it is a very subtle sunburst now known throughout the shop as the "Bobburst". I am building the clone to this concertina at the same time, it is a little bit behind in construction.

I hear, late this afternoon, from my wife and daughter that I am to drive to Atlanta for a private Irish dance lesson for aforementioned daughter. This will take all day so I am here at the shop late tonite. We'll not make much progress tomorrow.

Jobs ahead on the tour concertina include building the action components; turning the buttons on the lathe; installing and balancing the action; installing the reeds; tuning and setting the reeds.

Wife and daughter will be out of town at a Feis (Irish dance competition) so I will be able to burn the midnite oil over the weekend.

Perhaps we can ship out to the first tourist early next week!

Bob

something to look at while you wait

A summary of the 2005 Concertina Tour is here:

http://hmi.homewood.net/2005tour/

Summary of the 2003 tour is here (really old news now)

http://hmi.homewood.net/tour/


A few articles about the shop; a great audio file from Swedish public radio; etc etc

http://hmil.homewood.net/media


Five Questions with Bob Tedrow

http://ptollemy.tripod.com/profiles/bobtedrow.html

Just a check to see if I can add a new post easily

Blog Test for Tedrow Concertina Tour 2007

OK,

Who says I am not in step with the times? Even though I spend the majority of my time with hammer and tongs, I did take (and pass) a course in FORTRAN in the 70's.

The Tedrow Concetina Tour 2007 is soon up and running. I am building the tour concertina right now. Bellows are completed and look very nice. The fretwork is complete and has a couple coats of sanding sealer applied. Truly, I had already built the tour concertina and it was ready to go........but a very nice lady from Tennessee dropped by the shop and bought it.

This, of course is why I am always behind.

This will be the third Tedrow Concertina Tour. The first was in 2003, then another in 2005. I am looking forward to the tour this year and do hope that it can be completed in a year. Just try to keep it rolling everyone.

I supose that you tourists will be able to add your comments to the blog and I hope that you do so. Please be aware that I skipped English Composition class to attend the Fortran class.

All the best,

Bob Tedrow
http://hmi.homewood.net