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Wakker Phoenix
Anglo concertina
the Phoenix Anglo, made by W. Wakker.
Traditional made concertina with vintage concertina reeds.
The Phoenix project is an idea of Chris Algar of Barleycorn
Concertinas. As a dealer Chris
frequently comes across concertinas that are
beyond repair. The reeds of these instruments
(english, anglo and duet) are
salvaged and used in new, traditionally made anglo concertinas.
The Wakker
Phoenix anglo is made exclusively for Barleycorn Concertinas.
Construction
The Wakker Phoenix concertinas are
based on the 30 key Wheatstone anglo. Many parts,
such as the reedpan,
action board, face plates, end bolts, etc. are identical.
All Wakker Phoenix anglos are french polished. The basic
models are black (ebonized)
with 6 fold bellows.
The instruments with top quality reeds can have exclusive veneers, such as
amboyna, or
metal ends.
Reeds
The Wakker Phoenix anglos have vintage reeds mounted in a traditional
radial reed
pan (Wheatstone type).
The reeds used can be from a Lachenal, Wheatstone or any other 'old' concertina.
The
label always shows the origin of the reeds.
Reedpan
After selection, the reeds are digitally measured to assure a perfect fit
in the reed pan.
Because we use reeds from different makers and periods, every reed frame is a
different
size.
The reed pan is made on a CNC machine, with a tolerance of less than 0.02 mm
(0.003 inch).
Bellows
Our Anglos have standard leather black 6 folds bellows.
The folds are thicker than English/duet bellows. They allow less side movement.
The most
important asset of anlgo bellows is stability. When playing on
an anglo the bellows
movement is very short and irregular. Because of the rapid
changes it is important that the
folds themselves do not move. The folds should
not 'bounce' when you change bellows
direction.
This does not mean that they should be stiff. We use a special acid free type
of card for our
anglo bellows, with a higher weight. All movement in the panel
construction is eliminated.
The heavier bellows feel more stable and give the player maximum control over
movement
and still feel very supple. We use the finest quality goat skin, tested
for impurities and air
tightness.
Action
The action of the Wakker Phoenix concertina is identical to the one we
use in our other
instruments. It is a heavier version of the riveted action
found in Wheatstone concertinas.
The design of the brass post, through which the
lever moves, eliminates all side movement
of the button, which makes the action
very quiet, smooth and fast. Our action allows for
'fine tuning' the key travel
to ca.60 grams of pressure.
We use 'Wheatstone type' keys on the Wakker Phoenix: delrin core with a metal
sleeve.
The top of the keys are domed.
Because of the delrin core, our keys weigh only a fraction of the solid type
keys which are
used by most makers nowadays. Lighter keys result in a faster
and quieter action.
Brass fittings
The end bolds, inserts in the bellows frames, and the hand strap screws
and inserts, are
all handmade out of brass.
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