Hohner Arietta IV M

[Stephen Hawkins]

I am currently involved in making arrangements to see and test a Hohner Arietta IV M. It is a 120/41 three voice instrument, and it looks as though it is in good condition. (from photographs)

It belonged to the deceased Father of a lady I know, and has not been played since he died 29 years ago. She is keen to get rid of it, and I am equally keen to own it.

I still maintain that my 72 Bass Chanson is enough for my use, but it will do no harm to practice on a bigger box. Perhaps it will help me to further develop my skills ....... who knows?

Thoughts, comments and advice will be gratefully received.

Stephen.

 

[debra]

Any instrument that has not been played for 29 years will look just the same as 29 years ago on the outside. But you don't know what happened on the inside. It will likely need some work. If you are lucky that "work" is just playing it for some time (making sure you play all the notes, so good opportunity to practice chromatic scales). If you are unlucky reeds may have rusted, if there are leather valves they may have stiffened, etc.

 

[Stephen Hawkins]

Thank you, Paul. I guess I will just have to wait until I can test it out.

Stephen.

 

[george garside]

aand if any individual note sounds a bit 'iffy' try holding the key down and pressing and pulling the bellows very hard. Doing this can sometimes clear the bit of dust that may be jamming one of the reeds. There may be other causes of the 'iffyness' but that's always my first port of call.

george

 

[Glenn]

Do keep us informed Stephen. Hope it has survived its hibernation.


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[Stephen Hawkins]

Hello George,

Well, for better or for worse, I now own a Hohner IV M 120/41.

The Bass side of the instrument is perfectly fine, but there are issues with the Treble side. Most of the keys were sticking, but they have eased off during the day.

Some of the keys still make an odd sound when pulling the bellows, but sound okay when the bellows are being closed. I will certainly take your advice re- pressing and pulling the bellows hard whilst holding down the suspect key, and let you know how I go on with it in a day or two.

The key-changers seem to be totally seized up, and I expect that this is due to rust. An old friend of mine is pretty good with these things, so I will consult with him before I reach for the WD40.

Thank you for your advice, and give my love to Cemaes Bay.

Kind Regards,

Stephen.

 

[Stephen Hawkins]

Hello Glenn,

As you will see in my reply to George, the Arietta has not escaped the ravages of time and poor storage. At this early stage, I would say that it will need a fair amount of TLC in order to make it fully useable again.

I have played a few tunes in the lower range, as it seems the higher notes have been the worst affected. The Bass side appears largely unaffected, and an hour or so of playing all the keys on the Treble side seems to have freed off most of them.

Remarkable though it may seem, the bellows have no leaks or damage of any kind. I'm not sure which part of the instrument it is coming from, but there is a "musty" smell permeating from it somewhere.

The keys which are working properly produce a rich Musette sound, which my Wife finds very pleasing.

I will post more details on my progress in the days and weeks ahead.

Kind Regards,

Stephen.

 

[Stephen Hawkins]

UPDATE:

George's advice regarding pumping the bellows hard whilst holding down an iffy key has worked very well. It hasn't cured every problem, but it has sorted out a few sticky keys.

A big "Thank You" to George for his sage advice.

Stephen.