Bass reduction

[RodionGork]

Hi Friends!

Question in short - what is the best way to semi-permanently disable reed-ranks in the left side? And what should be a good choice of reeds to leave? :lol:

In details:

Few days ago I at last brought the right side of my instrument to good tuning. Though only one set of the reeds - the other being disabled by sticky tape covering holes at the bottom of resonators (and the oboe set is disabled by broken register switch shaft - so I prefer to left it closed and use as a donor for reeds and valves).

The next step is to improve the sound of the left side. Ive found it to have 5 sets of reeds. Couple of them in detachable bass resonator. Another couple in detachable chords resonator. And the last, the thinnest and without valves - embedded in the wooden plank attached to the wall.

Thats how it looked like:

https://s24.postimg.org/8dy5vzzhh/bass_reeds.png>

I started by temporarily disabling the bass resonator with a piece of paper and the piccolo reeds with a piece of wood and felt. Then putting pieces of paper under reeds on the sides of remaining chord resonator, I succeeded in tuning them one by one. Of course fixing the valves first as hinted by debra. And replacing one of the planks (took it from disabled oboe resonator from right) for I could not find out the problem with the reed dull sound.

Now Im thinking of how should I continue. The piccolo reeds are much more covered with rust. So Im thinking of disabling them permanently. Probably, removing the reed planks and covering the holes somehow.

And with a bass reeds. Im also thinking of disabling the lowest set of them. Anyway it would be hard for me to tune them - and they are excellent in wasting the air when playing.

So this way I should end up with the tenor-like setting. Is it correct? (though Im also thinking about soft-tenor setting - i.e. with only single set of reeds in the chord resonator).

And what is the best way to perform such reduction? Removing planks and putting something like thick cartoon instead - should this idea work?

My goal is to make instrument just more suitable for exercises.

 

[losthobos]

Simple way to disable reed block (taught me by repairer Alan Young)
Cut a strip of paper about one cm or inch wide and thread between the reeds you don' wish to hear....ie under reed, over adjacent valve, under adjacent reed, over adjacent valve etc....take you five mins and should you want them back in the mix just remove strip...no damage done
Worked for me...I don't like them high pitch chord reeds

 

[debra]

Simple way to disable reed block (taught me by repairer Alan Young)
Cut a strip of paper about one cm or inch wide and thread between the reeds you don wish to hear....ie under reed, over adjacent valve, under adjacent reed, over adjacent valve etc....take you five mins and should you want them back in the mix just remove strip...no damage done
Worked for me...I dont like them high pitch chord reeds

Good idea in general but does this also disable the reeds on the inside completely? I have an old (essentially rubbish) 80 bass box that is 5 reeds with no register to disable the highest reeds. So I taped the whole reed set shut more or less permanently. I never want to hear these high reeds on the bass side anyway. On other accordions I at least had bass registers to use everything but the highest reeds, but my old Bianco Freres box did not offer that option.

 

[RodionGork]

Dear Gurus, thanks for your answers!

but does this also disable the reeds on the inside completely?

yeah, Ive tried this as a first attempt, when tuning, but found that inner reeds still may give sound. The air pushes both valve and paper strip...

However your both answers reassured me that my intention to remove the high-pitched planks is not some kind of insanity. So perhaps Ill go and detach them!

Furthermore, while trying to tune the smaller of two bass reed sets yesterday, I surprisingly found that some of them gets stuck in the holes, or at least make dull sound due to touching the sides of the hole. This is quite suspicious since these reeds are mainly in good condition. How could the instrument be manufactured with such defect - or how they can degrade in this way?.. I start thinking that someone, probably, replaced them decades ago but without caring much to do it well. So it may take more time to tune them. Or perhaps Ill try to replace them also... Nevertheless Im happy enough practicing with the whole bass resonator disabled right now, while I was so lucky in tuning chords reeds that even my wife come and said That sounds far cleaner!

P.S. by the way, is there any standard about register sets on accordions having 3 switches on left side?

 

[debra]

Dear Gurus, thanks for your answers!
...
Furthermore, while trying to tune the smaller of two bass reed sets yesterday, I surprisingly found that some of them gets stuck in the holes, or at least make dull sound due to touching the sides of the hole. This is quite suspicious since these reeds are mainly in good condition. How could the instrument be manufactured with such defect - or how they can degrade in this way?.. I start thinking that someone, probably, replaced them decades ago but without caring much to do it well. So it may take more time to tune them. Or perhaps Ill try to replace them also... Nevertheless Im happy enough practicing with the whole bass resonator disabled right now, while I was so lucky in tuning chords reeds that even my wife come and said That sounds far cleaner!

P.S. by the way, is there any standard about register sets on accordions having 3 switches on left side?

The smaller reeds are set using one nail and the largest reeds typically using two nails. The one nail means that over time the reed can shift a bit and that may cause it to touch on one side and get stuck. you can gently push it back so its center. You check whether it is center by having light shine through the openings.
The chords use a lower and higher octave. Standard the bottom register will use only the lower octave, the top register only the higher octave and the center register will use both. (And as you have the piccolo reeds as well and no register switch to turn them off they are always on, which is a good reason to permanently disable them.)

 

[RodionGork]

Paul, thanks a lot for advice!

Really I succeeded in fixing some reeds by shifting them aside a bit with the help of razor. For others some filing was necessary still, but after your directions I have found enough courage to do this, and also to detach reed planks to fix the clapping valves on the inside... Now it sounds surprisingly well. Hope Ill be able soon to play some simple song well enough to demonstrate the results of this vivisection :lol:

I removed the piccolo reeds - and after some thought, the lowest octave too. Removed the reed planks at all, and used thin cartoon an glue to cover the holes...

Thanks a lot for explaining about standard bass register switches. So as I understand, they do not affect chords, only shut one or other of two bass sets... I should be having one of this settings, as I understand, what you describe as top register!

Here is the photo of how it looks like now. Not all valves still cling to the planks, but they do work instantly now, so it is anyway much better!

https://s24.postimg.org/szu5ufej9/basses_improved.jpg>