No button in the usual place under the strap, and no mechanism on the inside. Is this normal and does anyone know why or alternate ways to close the bellows when after playing without just going ham with bass buttons?
I don't have an air button?
- Thread starter Potato
- Start date
Is it a Russian diatonic hromka by any chance? Very common for them not to have air release.
Not a very big job to add one.
You can just press as many bass buttons and lower end of treble buttons to open & close the bellows, but yeah, it makes a horrible noise and it's not great.
Not a very big job to add one.
You can just press as many bass buttons and lower end of treble buttons to open & close the bellows, but yeah, it makes a horrible noise and it's not great.
Or just close it forcefully when registered reasonably fully (not just single reed left and right). That will press open pallets against their springs (which aren't stronger than needed for normal play in order not to make playing harder than necessary), and at that kind of pressure on both sides (the pallet is further outside than the reed, so the reed chamber will have almost the same pressure as the inside of the bellows), most reeds will not even start.
Note that this tactic only works in one direction; it cannot replace the air button for pre-filling the bellows when a piece's phrasing makes it advisable for bellows management.
Ventura
Been here for ages!
on some accordions one of the highest bass notes
near the strap adjustor is actually an air button
near the strap adjustor is actually an air button
Dingo40
Been here for ages!
Some of my 41/120 PAs repurpose the topmost rearward bass button (A# dim7) as the air button.
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Thomas N
Well-known member
When I had John Castiglione order my custom 960 from Excelsior back in 2002 one of the first questions he asked was "Do you want an air release button?" and I remember thinking, wait, they don't ALL just have that?!!!!!!
Alan Sharkis
Prolific poster
Many Titano accordions have their air buttons on that A#dim. What gets me wondering are some of the accordions that don’t come with bellows straps, like the Roland FR-8x and the Korg Fisa Suprema.
Thomas N
Well-known member
I've never once wished my FR-8X had bellow straps. It simply doesn't move like an acoustic accordion. At least to me, and I've owned it and played it nearly daily for 10 years.
I have a hard time considering bellows straps a non-mechanical item. The last generation of Morino-designed Morinos came with bellows-internal locks (you probably mean something like that?). As those were attached to the bass reed blocks, there was a certain probability of significant damage happening when someone not understanding their operation tried to force open the bellows. The impulse to apply brute force to something one does not understand does not stop with incompetent players: a Hohner technician not understanding per-set register levers severely bent my register internals with hard yanks before I could intervene, ending the "appraisal" right there because I was not interested in a certificate from a moron. It took some metalworking to undo the damage (after consulting with someone with actual mechanical skills, I chased rather than bent the affected part back into shape to retain most of its strength).
In the interest of being more fool-proof, internal locks would need to attach to just the frame.
Squeezebox Of Delights
Active member
Seeing as the topic has shifted from absent air buttons to internal bellows locks, it might be a fun time to mention that one of my one row melodeons has a mechanism where the air button also operates the internal bellows lock! When you push it in, it lifts up a big nasty barbed steel rod inside the bass end, and if you hold in in, close the bellows in a certain way, and let go, it grabs a wire loop that's screwed to a treble reedblock. Pretty weird, but not as inconvenient as you might think. Unless you close the bellows at the wrong angle in the middle of a tune and end up activating the lock unexpectedly...!
Dingo40
Been here for ages!
When mechanical bellows locks get out of kilter, they tend to chew up the adjacent inside parts of the bellows!
It's bad enough on the outside with the press stud caps from players with poor hand eye coordination!
It's bad enough on the outside with the press stud caps from players with poor hand eye coordination!
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Alan Sharkis
Prolific poster
Actually, I was referring to accordions that have nothing, internal or external to the bellows to keep them closed, but I’ve been assured by some, including Thomas N., that the bellows on an FR-8x simply don’t move when the accordion isn’t being played. Curiously, there are 8x owners who did install bellows straps on their accordions. If I owned one, I’d think twice about putting them into a plastic case because of the perils of screws tearing out (I own a Roland FR-4x, and these have factory-installed bellows straps.)
I’m aware of some French accordions that have an internal bellows-locking mechanism, but I’ve never handled one.
I’m aware of some French accordions that have an internal bellows-locking mechanism, but I’ve never handled one.
Dingo40
Been here for ages!
Also, some vintage Scandalli (Brevetto/Polifonico) and Settimio Sopranii models.
My FR8 bellows certainly moved when not playing!!.
I always store my accordions in the playing position and, when I picked up the FR8 to play it there was always a couple of inches of movement, resulting in a nasty noise as the bottom of the bass side hit the bellows frame.
I tried all the resets but nothing worked, so I fitted bellows straps.
My 8X bellows move a a small amount when stored in the upright position (not a problem if stored in the horizontal position). I usually press the "air button" to close the bellows before I pick up the 8X. My bellows are very tight. When I pick it up to play, I can't move the bellows if I pull very hard on the bass strap. Of course, if the "hard pull" is sustained for a long period of time, they will start to open. The bellows will open, a slight amount, if stored in the upright position -- the 8X will assume it's "shape" when standing since the 8X "Hit Points" on the bottom are uneven. Maybe this is a DIY project for someone to identify the "Hit Points" at the bottom of the 8X. The design would be to identify those "Hit Points" and make a platform so that when you place the 8X on the platform, in the upright position, it will sit exactly level (like in the horizontal position). If this is done, the bellows will remain completely closed for when you pick up the 8X.
P.S. I don't use bellows straps.
