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Ca canny
Garth
Ca canny
Garth
Genuine Hand Made Reeds - A to Z
- Thread starter artelagro
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I saw that video before. Pretty amazing. In some parts of the world it can be very difficult to obtain replacement reeds. In the video the guy is making a pretty ordinary accordion reed, but I am already dreading the moment one of the reeds breaks on my AKKO bayan. If I can actually go to the hardware store, buy a spatula and turn it into a replacement reed in say a day of hard work, that sure beats sending the entire reed plate to Voronez, Russia, to get it repaired in maybe two months or so. I truly love my bayan, but I do keep a backup accordion just in case disaster strikes.
Thomas N
Well-known member
Paul -
Forgive my ignorance, but do reeds break? I did not know that! I have some pretty old accordions but I have always kept very good care of them. I would assume your accordion is unbelievably well cared for.
How do reeds break? Is this common?
Forgive my ignorance, but do reeds break? I did not know that! I have some pretty old accordions but I have always kept very good care of them. I would assume your accordion is unbelievably well cared for.
How do reeds break? Is this common?
Replacing individual reeds seems to be relatively commonplace in the harmonica world, and presumably so for bayans and bandoneons. People like the Dippers routinely hand make all the reeds for new concertinas, (OK consistent cross section clamped concertina reeds.) Just a matter of getting the starting materials...... maybe... 
I wonder about harmonikas.cz.
I wonder about harmonikas.cz.
D
Deleted member 48
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Thank you for the video link of this DIY reed maker.
Informative video.
One could also think about less time consuming ways, by ordering mass produced single accordion reeds not being riveted on the plate.
The industry is producing these reeds by the thousands or millions... Very cheap also.
The same for harmonica reeds, accordina reeds, bayan reeds, bandoneon reeds, etc.
So you don't have to order the set of reeds already on the slot or plate.
Just order the parts you need.
Informative video.
One could also think about less time consuming ways, by ordering mass produced single accordion reeds not being riveted on the plate.
The industry is producing these reeds by the thousands or millions... Very cheap also.
The same for harmonica reeds, accordina reeds, bayan reeds, bandoneon reeds, etc.
So you don't have to order the set of reeds already on the slot or plate.
Just order the parts you need.
Alas, reeds do break. The steel bends back and forth as it vibrates. The more sound volume you produce the more you are stressing the steel. It seems that the steel used in Italian reeds is tougher than that in Russian bayan reeds. So bayan reeds may be somewhat more likely to break than Italian accordion reeds. Harmonica and accordina reeds must be stainless and are therefore also weaker. The amount of abuse reeds get from playing violently also contributes to reeds breaking, for instance with bandonions.
I am taking good care of my bayan but I do enjoy the sound volume it gives so sooner or later some reed will break. It's a fact of life...
I am taking good care of my bayan but I do enjoy the sound volume it gives so sooner or later some reed will break. It's a fact of life...
Thomas-= yes reeds do break. Ask me how I know? I was playing a dallape supermaestro and heard a weird noise a little while back on the bass side. Opened it up and I flicked each reed and then one just fractured right off. I posted here when it happened. I was in shock I ended up replacing it with another from a different accordion that was handmade also and similar in shape and same key, and since on the bass side seemed to not matter. I had to adjust the tuning. I still play it and it sounds fine. I think if it was on the right hand side it would be a different story. Metal can fatigue and when you think how much vibrating these strips of metal do it makes sense.
The design and craftsmanship going into the manufacture of best quality hand made reeds is awesome.
This video shows that a reed can be made by hand in about 30 minutes, whether it was a good fit or not is difficult to know.
However, for the best results, the plate, the reed, the rivet, the glue the valve the reed block, the case all need to be harmonised.
Amateurs have no chance of success.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
This video shows that a reed can be made by hand in about 30 minutes, whether it was a good fit or not is difficult to know.
However, for the best results, the plate, the reed, the rivet, the glue the valve the reed block, the case all need to be harmonised.
Amateurs have no chance of success.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
boxplayer4000
Prolific poster
Reeds certainly do break. I have a bag of them which have been kept after repairs were made and keep in the hope that some day I may learn how to repair them.
I have a more pressing problem with a damaged concertina brass reed which is one of many on a reed 'comb'. I would prefer to use purpose made rivets for all of these but have not located a source yet. Any experiences with brass reeds, as well as steel ones, and their repair would be welcome.
I have a more pressing problem with a damaged concertina brass reed which is one of many on a reed 'comb'. I would prefer to use purpose made rivets for all of these but have not located a source yet. Any experiences with brass reeds, as well as steel ones, and their repair would be welcome.
I keep wondering where this man would be if he had my workshop and toolkit.
Makes you think.
Garth
Makes you think.
Garth
kimric
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I have a lot of tex-Mex players where I am and I get at least 2-3 broken reeds a week, more if the weather is good or there is a holiday.
It is a bit of a problem to stock all the diatonic combinations that are possible and I often have to make pairs out of regular accordion reeds.
Example, I had a guy who came in today with one that had HM reeds in a pitch I did not have (g/a) I had no HM reeds even near that setting so I used a nice 1950's HF in g# and hand lap ground it up to G on one side and down to C on the other while maintaining the surface curve on the reed.
This took about 15 min total.
The profile grind on the old reed (out of a recent Hohner ) was pretty un impressive and nowhere near as nice as the one I used before I started.
I told the customer that I did not have the HM reed and if he ordered one I would swap it out when he got it for free. He is a really good player but neither of us could tell the difference between it and the next reed. the HM reed was slightly longer so it would possibly have a faster response that the one used but I could not tell in this case.
I have hand made and riveted in reeds on bandoneons on occasion.this takes about an hr to do one reed. There are tons of reed shapes and profiles and lengths so stocking individual reeds would be pretty much impossible.
A additional problem is the rivet hole which is not any sort of standard diameter.
I think with the heavy vibrato of Tex-Mex boxes the tonal advantages of hand made reeds are kinda buried.
I can't say that the HM reeds are much more break resistant than others , but in theory they should be a little better as the grain of the steel makes a difference on the reed valves in some pulse jets I have worked on, but the reason those break is more about the violent valve closing action.
It is a bit of a problem to stock all the diatonic combinations that are possible and I often have to make pairs out of regular accordion reeds.
Example, I had a guy who came in today with one that had HM reeds in a pitch I did not have (g/a) I had no HM reeds even near that setting so I used a nice 1950's HF in g# and hand lap ground it up to G on one side and down to C on the other while maintaining the surface curve on the reed.
This took about 15 min total.
The profile grind on the old reed (out of a recent Hohner ) was pretty un impressive and nowhere near as nice as the one I used before I started.
I told the customer that I did not have the HM reed and if he ordered one I would swap it out when he got it for free. He is a really good player but neither of us could tell the difference between it and the next reed. the HM reed was slightly longer so it would possibly have a faster response that the one used but I could not tell in this case.
I have hand made and riveted in reeds on bandoneons on occasion.this takes about an hr to do one reed. There are tons of reed shapes and profiles and lengths so stocking individual reeds would be pretty much impossible.
A additional problem is the rivet hole which is not any sort of standard diameter.
I think with the heavy vibrato of Tex-Mex boxes the tonal advantages of hand made reeds are kinda buried.
I can't say that the HM reeds are much more break resistant than others , but in theory they should be a little better as the grain of the steel makes a difference on the reed valves in some pulse jets I have worked on, but the reason those break is more about the violent valve closing action.
xocd
Active member
(Apologies for being late to the party.) Not Italian, Spanish.artelagro said:
Hi xocd. I thought this film was so informative that it deserved attention.
This was my light hearted introduction.
Did you enjoy it? The film I mean.
Garth
This was my light hearted introduction.
Did you enjoy it? The film I mean.
Garth
xocd
Active member
artelagro said:
Yes, I found it very interesting. It was almost like watching MacGyver repairing a reed. I do speak Spanish, its my first language; thats why I commented about not being Italian. Its hard for me to imagine how the video would be experienced without following the spoken commentary.
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