Experience with new Weltmeister Juwel (Good but also Issues)

[RHOU]

Hi all!

After asking some questions here (https://www.accordionists.info/thre...as-hohner-concerto-vs-weltmeister-juwel.9169/) and here (https://www.accordionists.info/threads/experience-buying-from-thomann-warranty-import-to-usa.9414/) I am finally the owner of a brand new Weltmeister Juwel.

Here my experience and some things that would have been good to know:

17.5mm Keyboard
- I was initially worried before receiving the accordion that it would be a problem. Plus people kept warning me about it and asking if I was sure.
- After 1 week: I never ever want a full size keyboard again. It took literally no time to adjust to it.
- The smaller keys allow me to make bigger jumps more smoothly.
- Playing octaves is easily possible without spreading my fingers uncomfortably
- I have shorter, thicker fingers and no issues with it at all.
- Long story short: this went from a feature I was worried about, to the thing I absolutely love about this accordion

Treble Sound
- the MM is lovely and what I use almost exclusively. Only the two highest notes (b and c) don't blend in as nicely but still overall really nice.
- the L appears a bit loud and when I play LM or LMM, the L for my taste is a bit overpowering the MM. Not sure if this is normal? I never owned an accordion with an L register before

Bass Sound
- the bass chord sounds were very different from what I expected
- they sounded more mellow / darker / lower than my old accordion
- I think I figured out the reason for the different sound
1) the bass has 3 reed banks and the highest note is a d#', compared to other accordions that add a reed octave above it (d#'')
2) on a C chord, the highest note I heard on my old accordion was an e. But since the Weltmeister stops at d', the highest note I hear is a C which makes the cord sound different. It makes for a very compact low sounding C cord.

Interesting about the sound:
At first it was really strange and I thought about returning the accordion because of this. But after 2 weeks of playing, it sounds "just the way it should". I doubt the accordion has changed much within those two weeks, so I guess my ears just needed to adjust to the new sound.

Build Quality
- in general it feels and looks really good
- the included straps appears to be for children. I couldn't even get them around my shoulders on the largest setting.
- the bellows are very tight and I can play so much longer before running out of air

Issues ... yes unfortunately it is not all great
1) A few of the black keys sometimes make a little clicking noise. Currently it is on Bb and F#. These are the black keys I use the most, so I wonder if the Weltmeister keyboards have issues on the black keys with the action? Is this easy to fix? I can feel and hear the difference to the other black keys.

2) It appears when on LM setting, a few notes sound strange when I play quietly, slightly out of tune in one bellow direction, almost like the air is not flowing correctly. Any idea what causes this?

Sorry for the extremely long thread. I had been researching and overthinking this purchase so much, that I wanted to provide as much detail to others.

 

[Tom]

Congratulations on your new accordion Rhou!

I am glad to hear it is working out for you and bringing you joy.

I don't know about that key sound specific to Weltmeisters. Unfortunately Bb and F# are pretty popular. Perhaps a palette rod adjustment or felt problem. Key hitting guide blocks. Could be anything.

You may not be able to address the disparity in sound between the L and M reeds. Playing it for a while, and trying different combinations may bring you relief.

Unfortunately, it is the case that even new accordions can be delivered with out of tune reeds. I would recommend testing the "strange sounding notes" individually to see if they are literally out of tune. If they are, you can decide to 1. Retune them yourself. 2. Take them to someone you trust for retuning. 3. Decide it's a feature, not a bug if it's not too much to hear.

If all reeds are in tune then it's another issue which probably can't be diagnosed over the internet (voicing, dirty reed, malfunctioning leather, etc.)

Good luck!

 

[jozz]

Issues ... yes unfortunately it is not all great
1) A few of the black keys sometimes make a little clicking noise. Currently it is on Bb and F#. These are the black keys I use the most, so I wonder if the Weltmeister keyboards have issues on the black keys with the action? Is this easy to fix? I can feel and hear the difference to the other black keys.

2) It appears when on LM setting, a few notes sound strange when I play quietly, slightly out of tune in one bellow direction, almost like the air is not flowing correctly. Any idea what causes this?

Sorry for the extremely long thread. I had been researching and overthinking this purchase so much, that I wanted to provide as much detail to others.

thanks for sharing great info

as for the issues, I'm no expert:
I guess no.1 could point to those keys/rods having a suspension problem? Look under the grille if you can spot any stuff misaligned or padding that is misplaced. I had this issue on my Parrot, incidentally also on the F#.

Issue No.2 could mean various causes, but most likely having to do with the leathers

 

[RHOU]

Thanks all for the tips. I submitted a warranty request to Thoman and sent them a video of the clicking keys, so I'll see how that goes.

Regarding the noise of the L register, I discovered that I can half-press the register so that the LM and the M are both about half pressed which makes the upper notes much stronger and I like the balance. I do the same with the LMM register and adding the MM register half way, that also appears to balance the sound more to my liking (making the L less strong)

 

[96Bass]

Let us know if Thoman takes care of the repair or if they ask you to send it directly to Weltmeister. Pressing the registers half way may be a work around but the reeds should be balanced when the registers are fully engaged. Are you going to have whoever does the repair address this issue as well?
Hopefully Thoman will pay the shipping back to Germany since the accordion arrived with mechanical issues.

 

[RHOU]

Let us know if Thoman takes care of the repair or if they ask you to send it directly to Weltmeister. Pressing the registers half way may be a work around but the reeds should be balanced when the registers are fully engaged. Are you going to have whoever does the repair address this issue as well?
Hopefully Thoman will pay the shipping back to Germany since the accordion arrived with mechanical issues.

I listened to a lot of videos of various accordions and I think the LM sound is actually pretty typical, not a defect. I personally just like hearing the upper notes a bit more when I play music in 6th, because otherwise the lower note takes over too much.

I will keep updating about the thomann process.

 

[Tor]

Sounds like you need to have other issues dealt with, or I'd say to not worry so much about slightly off notes immediately. It's my understanding that newer accordions have a tendency to drift in tuning more during the first year than afterwards, so it's preferable to tune any new accordion after the first year.

Glad you've been enjoying your new acquisition.

 

[hais1273]

You might think about checking the clearance between the black keys and the cover, if you have a couple of keys that aren't completely aligned or there is a slight distortion in the cover the keys may clack against the bottom edge.
Weltmeister make generally good instruments, I was impressed by one at the Halsway Manor school in the summer.

 

[debra]

You might think about checking the clearance between the black keys and the cover, if you have a couple of keys that aren't completely aligned or there is a slight distortion in the cover the keys may clack against the bottom edge.
Weltmeister make generally good instruments, I was impressed by one at the Halsway Manor school in the summer.

Black keys also have short levers, with the pallets "under" the register mechanism. So instead of hitting the grille (which can sometimes happens with white keys when the grille has been dented) it is more likely that the end of the levers touches some part of the register mechanism. That should be easy to discover after removing the grille.