I may have found the one.

[Mr Mark]

Wow thanks for the info, lots there! I did order a dedicated volume control that is meant for the element so that should be good. Going to have to digest some of this info as I am not electronic savvy. If I've learned anything about the tone control and my application it'll be all about turning down the lows, they are always overpowering my other single mic setups. Thanks!

 

[Mr Mark]

i have taken an innertube and cut pieces out to hold a GreenBullet element
so it is somewhat protected from vibration
(making an envelope for it with a big hole slightly smaller than the mic)

there are newer soft rubbery materials with less weight and density now

a 2.0 microfarad tantalum capacitor in the circuit from the positive leg
is a good protective coupler, but electrolytics are fine too

if you mount a dedicated volume control for the mic, 10,000 Ohms is enough,
i prefer click types as they hold their setting firmly (but are getting hard to find)
22,000 Ohms is fine too (audio taper of course) stay away from high resistance
potentiometers, as the more resistance in a passive audio circuit, often = the more noise

adding a tone control is easy if you want one... just drain a .0047 or so Microfarad Capacitor
through any old leftover potentiometer you have laying around to ground...
that trims off just the highest frequencies

if mounting without screws, the mounting tapes for Automotive Trim are much more
reliable and firm than normal white foam doublesided, and 3m actually has a
permanent type available to the market now (positioning is ok, but once
you pressure it into place, it never moves again)

currently, parts express has some surplus bulkhead phono plug passthroughs that
seem airtight (couple of dollars each)

AND you are making me ashamed of my laziness !

ciao

Ventura

The mic element arrived today - happy easter to me, I've got my work cut out!

If I was smart I would have gotten the rubber insulator included and made a simple bracket from tin to hold it all and been stellar, but I'm sure some ol rubber tube will work, or a reasonable facsimile thereof.

I think I'll settle for the volume control only, using a mixer eq for tone will give me more control. Did a lot of reading on that bit and one thing that did come up on guitar forums was the fact the .0047 sometimes added a touch of chorus...not sure if that is accurate or not but I wouldn't want that. I also found this, I assume it's you? https://groups.google.com/g/rec.music.makers.squeezebox/c/S530OzCZf5g . Wow, lots of info there, that's great!

I didn't realize these are actually originally designed for a 1/4" plug, I thought it would be XLR. No matter, the 1/4" is a lot smaller hole and wireless systems a lot cheaper and more available than xlr.

I hate to add holes to this box, but, need the mic so here goes.


Finally, I wish I was a better tuner. It's not so much tuning as it is setting the voicing that is hard. A couple of notes are a real struggle and I'm afraid I'm just going to have to live with it. Sometimes I pick up my Roland and wish it was that easy to sound that perfect. But it isn't!

 

[Pipemajor]

The mic element arrived today - happy easter to me, I've got my work cut out!

If I was smart I would have gotten the rubber insulator included and made a simple bracket from tin to hold it all and been stellar, but I'm sure some ol rubber tube will work, or a reasonable facsimile thereof.

I think I'll settle for the volume control only, using a mixer eq for tone will give me more control. Did a lot of reading on that bit and one thing that did come up on guitar forums was the fact the .0047 sometimes added a touch of chorus...not sure if that is accurate or not but I wouldn't want that. I also found this, I assume it's you? https://groups.google.com/g/rec.music.makers.squeezebox/c/S530OzCZf5g . Wow, lots of info there, that's great!

I didn't realize these are actually originally designed for a 1/4" plug, I thought it would be XLR. No matter, the 1/4" is a lot smaller hole and wireless systems a lot cheaper and more available than xlr.

I hate to add holes to this box, but, need the mic so here goes.


Finally, I wish I was a better tuner. It's not so much tuning as it is setting the voicing that is hard. A couple of notes are a real struggle and I'm afraid I'm just going to have to live with it. Sometimes I pick up my Roland and wish it was that easy to sound that perfect. But it isn't!

I too find voicing the most difficult. There seems to be no Rhyme or Reason to it. I've found 2 adjacent notes, given the same gap will sound totally different in terms of starting etc. and it seems to be a matter of trial and error to get it right.

 

[Ventura]

yes, the rec.music.makers.squeezebox (and many other old UseNet chatgroups) are
still maintained by Google, some only as a public service but some still active
to a degree

it is very kind of them to keep this resource available on their servers... by comparison,
Yahoo Groups is no longer really supported as a platform, and all the archival
knowledge has been deleted from their servers

 

[oldbayan]

Great find. Best of luck with it.
However, In about 50 years of playing the accordion I have learned that there is no such thing as "the one" in terms of accordion. Every accordion has its strengths and weaknesses, and no accordion has everything you want. (In case anyone doubts this, an accordion that has all the features you want will not have the size and weight you want, and vice versa.)

I will even add: every accordion has tunes in it, and we need to find them!

 

[debra]

I too find voicing the most difficult. There seems to be no Rhyme or Reason to it. I've found 2 adjacent notes, given the same gap will sound totally different in terms of starting etc. and it seems to be a matter of trial and error to get it right.

If tuning and voicing were easy accordion repairers would have much less work and be poor. With high notes voicing is a bit of trial and error because everything is too small to actually see the differences in the gap between reed and reed plate. With somewhat larger reeds you can judge the voicing visually. It isn't just a matter of how far the reed tip sits above the reed plate, but also of how well centered it is (same gap left and right). And it's also not just about how well the reed starts (without choking) but also about the volume it produces. When adjacent notes have very different sound volume (at the same pressure) then they are not voiced the same. The higher the reed sits above the reed plate the louder the reed plays.

 

[Pipemajor]

If tuning and voicing were easy accordion repairers would have much less work and be poor. With high notes voicing is a bit of trial and error because everything is too small to actually see the differences in the gap between reed and reed plate. With somewhat larger reeds you can judge the voicing visually. It isn't just a matter of how far the reed tip sits above the reed plate, but also of how well centered it is (same gap left and right). And it's also not just about how well the reed starts (without choking) but also about the volume it produces. When adjacent notes have very different sound volume (at the same pressure) then they are not voiced the same. The higher the reed sits above the reed plate the louder the reed plays.

Thanks Paul. I have a few notes which seem quieter than their neighbours.
I'll try opening the gaps. ?

 

[debra]

Thanks Paul. I have a few notes which seem quieter than their neighbours.
I'll try opening the gaps. ?

"Seem" is not good enough. When you record the sound (without AGC or automatic gain control) and then look at the waveforms you know for sure whether one note is objectively louder or softer than a neighboring one.

 

[JerryPH]

Haven't dealt with them yet, but https://wilsonmusic.ca in Ontario has some parts for Hohner accordions on their website. I'd ask them for leathers.

Hohner directed me to two Canadian distributors: Wilson in Ontario, and Coast Music https://coastmusiconline.com in Montreal.

(I'll be emailing both about getting one of the new Hohner XS's (extra small?) since they just released a CBA version.)

Huh! I live in the Montreal area and *never* heard of Coast Music! I visited their website and there is no address... are they a brick and mortar store?

 

[Ventura]

they are what we call a "jobber"

a wholesaler, supplying smaller quantities of Music Instruments and accessories
to Music Stores that are not big enough to have direct dealings with Manufacturers

for example, the minimum buy with SHURE for SM58's is normally more than a
small music store can sell in a decade

but Coast can buy in sufficient quantity (with discount) to offer a single unit price
that is only 5 or 10 dollars more than (minimum quantity) wholesale direct from Shure

 

[JerryPH]

I've sent them an email.

 

[Mr Mark]

So. Lots has happened since my last iteration of things. I made a few fundamental mistakes on this project overall and in the process of consulting as to how to fix them I have chanced upon an encounter with Obi-won of the accordion around these parts. His recommendation was to do it ALL again, and, so I have. This time with some fantastic guidance, better tools, materials and patience. In fact, I have made it into the realm of apprenticing accordion repair, so in fact it would seem I am well on the road in my NEW occupation! Stoked beyond measure!!! More on that later however, its all been very very busy!!

After many days of tuning, tuning again, more tuning, fine tuning, then final tuning (I'm sure there have been a few others in there as well) I finally got to blazing this with my band rehearsal tonight, soooo gooood!!!

Unfortunately, one of the things that happened is the selector switch cover popped off with the extra ooomph of air pressure being delivered via bellows during a fairly loud raucous finale. And wouldn't you know that is a giant air release hole. Thankfully it was the end of practice so no biggy. But, we have a gig Saturday and I road trip to get there tomorrow...so, how can fix this quick and keep it from happening again. I would ask my Master but he is likely snuggled in bed...

Crazy glue?

Gorilla glue?

I assume both surfaces are celluloid. I also know there is a ton of air pressure on this so the repair needs to be solid.

Any thoughts are highly appreciated!

 

[jozz]

hard to tell what's the deal by that small photo

my temp solution would be: remove the indicator and glue a wood patch over hole from the inside

 

[Glug]

There's a better photo (but before the fail) at the top of the thread.

 

[debra]

So. Lots has happened since my last iteration of things. I made a few fundamental mistakes on this project overall and in the process of consulting as to how to fix them I have chanced upon an encounter with Obi-won of the accordion around these parts. His recommendation was to do it ALL again, and, so I have. This time with some fantastic guidance, better tools, materials and patience. In fact, I have made it into the realm of apprenticing accordion repair, so in fact it would seem I am well on the road in my NEW occupation! Stoked beyond measure!!! More on that later however, its all been very very busy!!

After many days of tuning, tuning again, more tuning, fine tuning, then final tuning (I'm sure there have been a few others in there as well) I finally got to blazing this with my band rehearsal tonight, soooo gooood!!!

Unfortunately, one of the things that happened is the selector switch cover popped off with the extra ooomph of air pressure being delivered via bellows during a fairly loud raucous finale. And wouldn't you know that is a giant air release hole. Thankfully it was the end of practice so no biggy. But, we have a gig Saturday and I road trip to get there tomorrow...so, how can fix this quick and keep it from happening again. I would ask my Master but he is likely snuggled in bed...

Crazy glue?

Gorilla glue?

I assume both surfaces are celluloid. I also know there is a ton of air pressure on this so the repair needs to be solid.

Any thoughts are highly appreciated!

The best glue for celluloid is "celluloid glue" which is a mix of celluloid and acetone. But... it requires a bit of celluloid of the same color as the pieces to be glued. Since you probably do not have that, any acetone-based superglue can be used instead, but you have to use it sparingly and very carefully to not spill any of it on any surface that remains visible afterwards, because the acetone in the superglue will cause the celluloid to melt (dissolve).

 

[Tom]

Congratulations Mr. Mark, the world definitely needs more competent and kind accordion repairpersons.