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Accordion cut in half
- Thread starter jozz
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This photo shows why because of the tone chanber reed orientation, in this position an accordion with tone chamber should not be stored in
this matter -- it should be stored in a playing position.
this matter -- it should be stored in a playing position.
It's a special demo object. The "cut" ends of the reed blocks are clearly "finished" so they were made this way and not cut.
Still, it is a very nice illustration of what is inside an accordion, and as Jim said, also illustrates why a cassotto (or Winkelbaß) accordion should always be stored in the playing position.
The other thing this photo illustrates is that the reed blocks are not deep enough inside the cassotto for the first row of reeds to fully benefit from the sound going into the cassotto. These are mostly the M reeds of the black keys, and this design issue explains why on most (but not all) cassotto accordions players prefer to use the L reeds (played one octave higher) over the M reeds (unless black keys are not used).
But isn’t this one of the advantages of plastic reed valves?—isn’t it true that they are much less likely to sag than leather reed valves and therefore less sensitive to storage position?
JeffJetton
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Looks like it would be great for playing half-notes.
Zevy
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Jim D made special "legs" for my accordion case just for this reason. Thanks!
The problem is mostly with lower notes. Even in accordions with plastic valves the low notes (in L and M register which are in cassotto) the valves are leather, so the problem is still the same.
The most obvious way to do this would be to store the accordion in its case at all times (positioned in the playing position).
But this means that for daily playing/practice, one must repeatedly cycle the accordion into (and out of) its case—which I think is less-than-ideal. is there any suggested way for storing one’s accordion in the correct position outside of the case?
But this means that for daily playing/practice, one must repeatedly cycle the accordion into (and out of) its case—which I think is less-than-ideal. is there any suggested way for storing one’s accordion in the correct position outside of the case?
how about this one..?
see through!
see through!
Vladimir M.
Active member
Hi jozz!
Wow, this is just the second transparent "educational" accordion I've ever seen. The first instrument is owned by the Czech Delicia and has been used for many decades:
It is a Lignatone Aida III, produced in the 50's and 60's. ("Lignatone" is an older trademark used before the "Delicia"):
Best regards,
Vladimir
Wow, this is just the second transparent "educational" accordion I've ever seen. The first instrument is owned by the Czech Delicia and has been used for many decades:
It is a Lignatone Aida III, produced in the 50's and 60's. ("Lignatone" is an older trademark used before the "Delicia"):
Best regards,
Vladimir
Except when you take your accordion on the space station.
Dingo40
Been here for ages!
Guys,
The question of storage orientation for accordions is a hardy perennial that comes up here repeatedly.
At the risk of sounding like a heretic, having (apparently) stored my several accordions most improperly for up to five decades each and owning another which must have been stored improperly for probably up to eight decades, I have to ask how long before the ill effects of improper storage make themselves felt as, so far, I have to say I haven't, as yet, actually noticed any??
Perhaps I've been incredibly lucky or simply insensitive.
It's not an issue that's troubled either my very experienced music teacher or her very experienced accordion technician/performer husband.
The question of storage orientation for accordions is a hardy perennial that comes up here repeatedly.
At the risk of sounding like a heretic, having (apparently) stored my several accordions most improperly for up to five decades each and owning another which must have been stored improperly for probably up to eight decades, I have to ask how long before the ill effects of improper storage make themselves felt as, so far, I have to say I haven't, as yet, actually noticed any??
Perhaps I've been incredibly lucky or simply insensitive.
It's not an issue that's troubled either my very experienced music teacher or her very experienced accordion technician/performer husband.
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How long it takes for the effects of improper storage to start appearing depends mostly on the type of valves that is used.
In older Hohner accordions you often see plastic valves, with just some notes in the lowest octave of L and M having leather valves, but even then mostly a very thin leather with at least two strips of plastic as booster. These can last a long time.
But many accordions have (real or faux) leather valves of "better quality", and then the lower notes all have boosters, mostly metal. (Russians use plastic boosters, probably made of mylar or celluloid.) The worst valves are the ones shown in the picture below, apparently called "Grimm" valves. They are (faux?) leather with plastic boosters, and they will be clearly affected after "just" 10 to 15 years. The effect is worst on the M register in cassotto in the lowest octave because there it's the inside valves that sag and cause notes to start slowly (because these valves need to be sucked closed before the reed next to them will start playing. The effect is also in the L reeds, but on the outside and that's an easier fix.
I should add that when I got this accordion in for tuning the owner did not know he had this issue. He never noticed that the lowest notes on the M (and L) register were starting slower than normal, but I noticed it right away. That's a common problem with issues that get slowly worse: the change in behavior comes so gradually over the course of several years that when you play the accordion regularly you don't notice it is getting worse. (The same holds for slowly developing issues in almost everything, from your health to cars...)
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Mr Mark
Squeezebaggeroni...
Just to derail this thing even further - somebody better get on a solution to long term space accordion travel as the vacuum will most certainly suck the life out of all those interstellar space jamsExcept when you take your accordion on the space station.
??
On the space station there is air so the accordion should work normally if it survives all the vibrations and G-forces of the travel up there. In the vacuum of space itself the accordion will play much more easily (no air resistance) but will produce no sound. But when played by an astronaut that's for the better because considering the bulk of the space suit (including gloves) hitting the right notes would be very hard.Just to derail this thing even further - somebody better get on a solution to long term space accordion travel as the vacuum will most certainly suck the life out of all those interstellar space jams
A V-accordion should play (unless the bellows pressure sensor gets in the way of detecting that there is bellow movement), and can be hooked up with a wireless transmitter from the jack into the station so the other astronauts, still in the space station can laugh at the player's inability to hit the right notes.
Nice stuff!
It appears the Delicia is not actually playable? The bellows are a fixed piece I think, or so it seems....
The Scandalli above is listed as mid 50's and should be playable (more or less).
Vladimir M.
Active member
Yes, the instrument is not functional. It has been manufactured for passive presentation purposes only....
With respect to storing a cassotto accordion in the proper orientation:
Is there any less cumbersome way to do this other than to keep it in its case at all times?—To encourage my daily practice I would rather not have to cycle my accordion into and out of its case so frequently if possible.
Is there any less cumbersome way to do this other than to keep it in its case at all times?—To encourage my daily practice I would rather not have to cycle my accordion into and out of its case so frequently if possible.
It really depends on how stable the accordion can be put down in the playing orientation. My bayan is completely flat and thus sits very stable (in the playing position) but even my other accordions (that have bellow straps) are pretty stable. Piano accordions on the other hand are typically very unstable because of the length of the keyboard versus the length of the accordion body. You can of course build a "holder" in which you can position the accordion so it is stable (meaning the "holder" needs to have a cut-out where the keyboard goes).
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