bass note won't stop, help!!

[Frank Fusari]

Hey everyone, I just picked up my accordion today and there is a Ab note (several reeds) droning in the bass. The bass button seems fine and working fine.

I have done a search here but am a bit overwhelmed, can someone point me to a thread on this. My accordion is a Bellini and I had it totally refurbished about 2 years ago. I'm really hoping I don't have to send it back to them...

any help at all?

Frank Fusari

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I have taken it apart at the middle, and taken the bass panel off (under the strap), I can't see anything wrong....I can see the Ab pad way in there and it is moving up and down....

 

[Frank Fusari]

more info:

I took the bass panel off. The button is going up and down fine, the pad seems to be going up and down fine as well.

If I press up very lightly and the any one of the little bars that corresponds with that note, the droning stops completely

Also, (I unravelled a paperclip), and if I press even just slightly on the pad itself the droning stops. I am tempted to just bend something to get it to stay, but I don’t know what to bend.

 

[debra]

more info:

I took the bass panel off. The button is going up and down fine, the pad seems to be going up and down fine as well.

If I press up very lightly and the any one of the little bars that corresponds with that note, the droning stops completely

Also, (I unravelled a paperclip), and if I press even just  slightly on the pad itself the droning stops. I am tempted to just bend something to get it to stay, but I don’t know what to bend.

When you don't know what you are doing you can very easily bend the wrong thing. I strongly advise against it.
Take the accordion to a repair person. With any luck it can be fixed quickly (meaning, while you wait), but with a bass mechanism you never know.

 

[Frank Fusari]

Thanks Paul De Bra, I am tempted but I won't. It's just a bummer that I might have to ship it thousands of miles for what might be a simple repair. I've emailed Accordions Canada (who refurbished it 2 years ago), just waiting to see what they have to say...

 

[debra]

Thanks Paul De Bra, I am tempted but I won't. It's just a bummer that I might have to ship it thousands of miles for what might be a simple repair. I've emailed Accordions Canada (who refurbished it 2 years ago), just waiting to see what they have to say...

Where are you located? I cannot imagine there is no repairer closer than "thousands of miles" away. Edwin Ericsson is the only one I know but he should know several other repairers in Canada.

 

[Frank Fusari]

I'm in St. John's Newfoundland Canada.

 

[debra]

I'm in St. John's Newfoundland Canada.

That's pretty far from Edwin (In Alberta if I'm not mistaken) but he may know someone who is closer.

 

[Dingo40]

Frank,
Is this any good? :huh:

https://www.google.com.au/search?cl...EFMi04LjKYAQCgAQE&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-serp

 

[oldbayan]

Sometimes the slightest leak on a pallet can cause that. Although the pad seems to sit properly, there might be a very slight angle, or a little piece of dust or debris that prevents the pad from sealing the vent. I had the same problem on an old box recently, and the pallet was at a very slight angle and did not rest flat on the panel. I had to very slightly twist the lever to restore the proper contact.

 

[Frank Fusari]

thanks, Oldbayan, yes Im sure that is the problem. The pad way back there behind the all the rods, so I cant really get at it, or even get a good look at it. When you take the reed blocks out, and look at all those little square valves (sorry for my ignorance) you can see a tiny gap there while all the others are flush. There is a guy who does some work on accordions here, so he is going to look at an assess the situation. Hopefully he will be able to help but if not, back to to Toronto it will go!

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http://accordionrevival.com/Home.php

just an aside for all, Ive found this really great resource, and have been reading it like a madman for the past 2 days. So much to learn!

 

[debra]

thanks, Oldbayan, yes Im sure that is the problem.  The pad way back there behind the all the rods, so I cant really get at it, or even get a good look at it.  When you take the reed blocks out, and look at all those little square valves (sorry for my ignorance) you can see a tiny gap there while all the others are flush.  There is a guy who does some work on accordions here, so he is going to look at an assess the situation. Hopefully he will be able to help but if not, back to to Toronto it will go!

---

http://accordionrevival.com/Home.php

just an aside for all, Ive found this really great resource, and have been reading it like a madman for the past 2 days. So much to learn!

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Its a great resource indeed. But if the problem ends up with a pallet it remains a formidable task to disassemble and reassemble the bass mechanism. Chances are thats not the problem and its something simple, but establishing the correct diagnosis is very hard for a beginner, even with this resource at hand.

 

[Frank Fusari]

Yes Paul, this is my good accordion and not a beater, so that is why I only looked at things and did not muck around with it at all. They guy I gave it to is smart enough to know his limitations too. It will end up in the right hands. I appreciate your wisdom! Thank you!

 

[boxplayer4000]

Sticking basses, I find, are seldom a major problem, though very frustrating.
In your opening page you say that several reeds are droning. 'Several reeds' is significant. 
Is the problem with a sticking bass button or chord button?

 

[Glug]

I had a similar issue with a 1950s Orfeo LMM.

One of the bass pallets wasn't staying closed: all the buttons seemed fine but with the blocks removed I could push one pallet open and there was no spring action pushing it closed again.  Resulting in a chord drone.

So I decided it was probably a broken spring and I needed to remove the bass machine and fix it.
Just as I started to remove the 4th layer of rods I checked to see which rods were activating that pallet and noticed it had fixed itself
It did give me a chance to straighten some buttons though and clean the dust out.

So the actual issue was something sticking in the chord rods, probably due to shipping.
But this is a 'beater' I'm using to learn how to do these things, if I break it it's not a catastrophe.

Bass machines are complicated and there's lots of places for gremlins to hide.
And if you're not certain you can put the bass machine back together don't take it apart.

 

[Frank Fusari]

Boxplayer: by several reeds, I really meant 2 reeds. Ab notes, one octave apart. The notes don't drone 'wide open', but just leak the sound a little when pressing the bellows. It is def one palette that covers 2 holes that is not sitting quite right.
It could very well be similar to Glug's problem because when you play some other bass buttons, namely C or G diminished, the leak almost completely stops. Then when you press any button that contains an Ab it starts up again.

Someone is looking at it now..

 

[boxplayer4000]

Frank,
It would be interesting to know the cause of the fault in due course.
The reason I asked if it was a bass button or a chord button that was sticking was because a bass button
normally only operates on one palette while a chord button activates three palettes.  The physics are different.
Another possible cause of a palette not closing completely (not mentioned on this thread so far as far as I know) is
the possibility of a bass reed inner valve becoming detached and becoming trapped under a palette.