72 versus 120 bass. Question????

[Tom]

Ok, so I finally bought that new 72 bass accordion.

I notice that it takes more pressure (pushing) to get a sound out of the bass notes and chords than my 120 bass.  In other words, if I'm holding a bass button and chord button down, I can close and open the bellows and get no sound a lot easier than on the 120 bass.  Is this normal, or did I end up with less responsive reeds?

Thanks!

 

[Eddy Yates]

What are the accordions?

 

[Tom]

They are both Piatanesi:

34/72 3/4 and 41/120 4/5.

 

[JIM D.]

With a 4 reed bass with a master shift selected you get 4 reeds sounding.
With a 5 reed bass with a master shift selected you get 5 reeds sounding hence more volume.

 

[donn]

There is dimensional issue here. The volume of air that comes out of the bellows is H x W x T, where H & W are height and depth of the end boxes, and T is how much closer they get. So the proportional difference is T1 / T2. Supposing that the 72 bass is 17 inches high and the 120 is 19 inches high (just making that up), you're getting 90% air. Not a huge difference, wouldn't think it would have the effect you describe.

 

[debra]

The responsiveness of reeds is mostly a matter of voicing (adjusting the gap between the reed tip and the reed plate). There is also some influence of how tight the reed fits in the hole in the reed plate (a mano reeds have a tighter fit than machine reeds). Air is wasted through the very narrow gap between the sides of the reed and the reed plate, but with proper voicing all reeds can be made to respond quickly. But voicing is a compromise. An accordion that responds immediately even at pianissimo will have reeds that choke when giving accents at forte. If the 41/120 accordion responds very quickly it may choke at fortissimo.

 

[Tom]

Thanks everyone! I'm still not sure what's going on. Could be a combination of amount of air mass moving and air escaping around the reeds. I haven't noticed any "choking" on the larger one at forte. Someday I hope to go to an accordion store where I can try various configurations.