Chemnitzer Concertina - Innovations

Innovations

The most notable innovations to the internal construction of the Chemnitzer concertina were made by German-American instrument builders in Chicago: Ernest Glass patented an aluminum action in 1912 (U.S. Patent 1,024,771), which was quicker and quieter than earlier wooden actions; his son Otto further improved this action in 1928 (U.S. Patent 1,737,839). Otto Schlicht patented an action in 1932 (U.S. Patent 1,890,830) which improved the pivot method of the action levers and allowed action levers to be manufactured by bending metal stock rather than by die stamping. In 1910, prior to these improvements, Robert Leppert was issued a patent (U.S. Patent 978,460), the specification of which describes in detail an action containing jointed levers between keys and pallets, however the claims of the patent only relate to a means of expression control also described; it is not clear whether Leppert actually invented the action arrangement.

Many American and Italian builders of the 20th century began using reed and reedblock types similar to those used in accordions as a cost-saving measure and to facilitate repair, however many players consider these instruments to be inferior, as they often lack the traditional sound.