Thank you Dingo40, that is a great resource
Help! Tone on piano side of piano accordion much weaker than button side
- Thread starter AccordionCol
- Start date
A slightly different effort to use felt on a single block of bass side reeds to reduce volume very slightly but brightness a bit more with a felt strip placed under the block actually worked quite well.
The highest set of reeds on a "Super Salas" one of the many models produced by FIAS ( probably in the forties-fifties- this one being double tone chamber 4/5 model) had no provision in the two LH switches to silence it (no slider in the foundation plate for this block). It was quite strident and I found it unpleasant.
When I first acquired the instrument, some prior owner had actually placed a strip of tape over the holes in the bass of the block- thus silencing it. It presumably had annoyed them as well.
I removed the tape but, as above- it irritated me on much music.
I tried a thin strip under the block with 8mm holes in it to reduce air flow- one under each opening- but it had surprisingly little effect on the relative perceived volume (I suppose the restriction of the reed itself was actually close to than the flow restriction of the hole in the chamber). And at other than moderate to loud volumes its restricting action on the airflow made the reeds run flat at the lower volume levels- only a slight mussette effect but again sort of irritating.
I tried another path and placed an uncut strip (uncut as in properly sized to lie neatly under the block on the foundation plate but with no openings) of moderately firm felt under the block so that the air could pass through it (the felt being quite open to the passage of air through the weave), but the reverberations of the reeds in that block would be dampened by the felt at the bottom of the chambers.
Surprisingly enough, this worked quite well. The volume itself for the high set of reeds is not much affected but it really is less bright the overall balance of the bass is substantially better. Not dark and shaded, but no longer in your face. The flat at low volumes problem also is not present.
Putting the felt in required cutting away a strip of the sueded leather from the foundation plate and shaving a bit from the end of the block so that it fit snugly, but not tightly, under the hold downs for the block. I tacked the felt down with some adhesive to keep it in place, as the sueded leather I removed had been. Had I left the sueded leather in addition to the felt the block would have required a lot of shaving to fit under the hold downs. Lateral air leakage through the felt has not been an issue. It would only occur when a note was being played and the resistance to leakage though the compressed felt under the block about the open hole is so much greater than the open path rhrough the reed plate/toungue that it's just not an issue at all.
A specific instance on a specific problem on a specific instrument. I'm not sure that applying it willy nilly would be a good idea unless you've a real similar issue and more than a little patience. Reversing it is straightforward, but would be a bit of a pain.
Apologies for typos/howlers. Henry
* I assume you <DeBra> were speaking of external case holes in the bass die of the accordion vice the holes covered by pallets on the bass side.
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Yes, I was talking of the holes in the case of the bass compartment, holes found either in the plate (under the bass belt) or on the side where the bass buttons are. The influence on airflow is negligible when you put felt on/under these holes (making sure with holes under the plate that the felt does not interfere with the operation of the mechanism). Putting felt directly under a reed block does restrict the airflow and may then have a significant effect on the tuning of that row of reeds, an effect like tone bending in fact. So in general, not such a great idea.
I think what is a bit underrepresented in the replies here is that the bass overpowering the treble on a small accordion is perfectly normal and intentional since small instruments are intended for traditional accordion play, and traditional accordion play employs the treble side in a legato to leggiero style while the bass is used percussively. Think of double bass for the bass notes (either plucked or staccato except for melodic smatterings) and a hi-hat for the chords.
If you want to get out of that stylistic corner, you need a larger instrument with better registration possibilities for controlling the balance and/or with a bass so low that it does not compete similarly with the treble soundscape.
My main instrument is a "mechanical marvel" on the bass side with 2–10 reeds sounding for bass notes and 3–22 reeds sounding for chords with a host of choices for the pitches, and the thing a professional player found most remarkable about the instrument was not all those mechanics but that the sound could be balanced out even with considerable registration differences between left and right hand.
And indeed it's one thing that strikes me occasionally when test-playing partly excellent other instruments with some of my repertoire: I have trouble finding registrations (particularly with single-reed registrations in the right) where I can keep with a similar character and playing style as I use on my own instrument.
But generally speaking: the smaller an instrument is, the more you tend to be locked into employing fuller registrations in the right hand and percussive/staccato articulation in the left hand if you want to achieve a transparent sound quality. The left hand buttons are not intended to be held during normal play: the bass buttons are used briefly (with a soft release) and the chord buttons briskly. Greater stylistic flexibility just comes with larger instruments and with better reeds that have more of a dynamic range and with well-designed instruments that actually are composed in a manner where the available dynamic ranges of the reeds combine in a musically useful manner.
If you want to get out of that stylistic corner, you need a larger instrument with better registration possibilities for controlling the balance and/or with a bass so low that it does not compete similarly with the treble soundscape.
My main instrument is a "mechanical marvel" on the bass side with 2–10 reeds sounding for bass notes and 3–22 reeds sounding for chords with a host of choices for the pitches, and the thing a professional player found most remarkable about the instrument was not all those mechanics but that the sound could be balanced out even with considerable registration differences between left and right hand.
And indeed it's one thing that strikes me occasionally when test-playing partly excellent other instruments with some of my repertoire: I have trouble finding registrations (particularly with single-reed registrations in the right) where I can keep with a similar character and playing style as I use on my own instrument.
But generally speaking: the smaller an instrument is, the more you tend to be locked into employing fuller registrations in the right hand and percussive/staccato articulation in the left hand if you want to achieve a transparent sound quality. The left hand buttons are not intended to be held during normal play: the bass buttons are used briefly (with a soft release) and the chord buttons briskly. Greater stylistic flexibility just comes with larger instruments and with better reeds that have more of a dynamic range and with well-designed instruments that actually are composed in a manner where the available dynamic ranges of the reeds combine in a musically useful manner.
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Absolutely agree in general- closer to terrible than "Not such a great idea."
In this specific instance with reeds of this size , the high bank, in this specific instrument with relatively large foundation plate openings (and the pallets are pivoted such that the largest opening is under the high reeds) the felt was transparent enough to the passage of air that the dlatting of th pitch effect was simply not perceptible. There was no "musette effect" relative to the other chord reeds, unlike with the holes in a strip approach. Restricting airflow as a way to adjust balbnce really does reisk throwing the tuning off. A restriction which has no effect at low flow levels might really cause havoc whdn you play forte. I tried several different grades of felt sheeting (using the "tuing bellows" to select the one I finally went with- a loose felt normally associated with elemntary cshool art projects. The thicker felt useable for padding or clothing had obnoxious side effects.
I believe that the absorbtive effect of the felt on the sound from the reed is what has an effect on the timbre.
I am not recommending it as a widespread practice. The proper refitting of the reed block post felt is something to consider.
I believe you (Mr DeBras) once posted about taping off a high LH block that irritated you? This was an attempt to still get the benefits of losing the irritating squeakiness but still getting the benefit of the full five reed bass.
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Thi instrument in question for the mod is a steamer trunk LMMH 41/120 double tone chamber. The small accordion comments seem right on.
