REED VOICES

[Chickers]

I am currently playing a vintage PA Excelsiola Model 612-M which has 3-treble reeds designated as LMM, dry-tuned
I see many accordions having reed voices as LMH.
I was wondering how much of a difference in the perceived sound the "H" reeds would make as compared to my LMM.
Any comments would be appreciated.
Thank you,
CHICKERS
Seven Hills, Ohio USA

 

[Dingo40]

I have both: LMH and LMM.
The difference is noticeable!?
If you have a four voiced instrument, you should have couplers exhibiting these combinations ?

 

[Glug]

If it were me I would tune one of the Ms to around 12-16 cents tremolo.

But checking online the 612-M has LMH register switches:

Excelsiola By Excelsior Model 612-M Black Accordion Made In Italy | Reverb

In good working condition, bellows are tight and loud sounding, keys play smoothly, all the switches are working. No musty odor or smell. Has some wear but nothing too bad. Overall, still in good shape.7 treble switches including bassoon, melodeon, organ, master, clarinet, oboe and piccolo3 bass ...

reverb.com

Or was there an LMM version ?

 

[dan]

I use the L + H and M + H registers now that I have a Roland. I have no use for LMH master—muddy.

but if I had to choose between high reed and musette I much prefer LMM configuration. If I had to choose between an extra reed set and lighter weight I’d go with light weight. Enjoy what you have. It is the best possible accordion configuration. ?

 

[dan]

Liberty Bellows makes video demos of their accordions. They usually start by playing a few arpeggios on each register. Good way to hear difference between different models and reed configurations.

 

[losthobos]

Swapping an M for an H gives more of a churchy organ sound.... Or so my girl says when i used to hit that switch.... ?

 

[Chickers]

Thank you for all your comments.
Sorry, but I had the info reversed.
My Excelsiola is a LMH, dry tuned, and I am "considering" a change to LMM with a M a bit wet. I think I said it
correctly this time.
I prefer to stay with a 3/4 reed PA as the size and weight seems to be ideal---for me.
For what it's worth, my Excelsiola is my favorite--go-to---accordion for practice / playing. It fits, and is fun, I just enjoy it.
It's the sound (to me) that I'm interested in changing. The wet sound which I do not have, is appealing. I believe
the wet sound that I refer to is what can be called "tremelo" . Am I correct in my description ?
Like Ventura has said, if the accordion sounds good to you, and it fits, ENJOY it !
Thanks for reading my ramble.
I look forward to your comments.
CHICKERS

 

[craigd]

MM adds a lot. sort of a "surround sound", really the classic accordion sound.

 

[Glug]

Phew, that makes a lot more sense

See here for how much wet you want:

Demonstration of 10 musette tunings by Liberty Bellows

The wet sound is something I could not live without.

The register switches you have are
Bassoon = L
Molod (eon) = LM (?) = called Bandoneon these days
Organ = LH
Master = LMH
Clarinet = M
Oboe = MH
Piccolo = H

If you switch the H for M+ you get
Bassoon = L
Bandoneon = LM
Sax = LM+
Master = LMM+ <-- wet
Clarinet = M
Violin = MM+ <-- wet
Flute = M+

Which works rather well, if you can remember which switch is which (or relabel them).

 

[Ventura]

those small Excelsiors were so well built, well voiced,
great value for the money from the day they were built
and many still going strong

when you use a solo L or solo M reed of course,
both models will sound the same and you can play
La Paloma sweetly and make old women cry !

but a Tarantella will sound better on LMM
while ROck and Roll will still sound better on LMH (Crazy on You)

all those sweet gentle songs from Europe will feel so
much nicer when you play them on an LMM box
and the MM switch, if you play Calabrisella Mia,
you will of course make old Women cry !

if you look around 100-150 mile radius on Craigslist for
a month or (this is on the left side settings to search
other CLists within an area) and set accordi* from the
music instrument header/search page to even catch the misspellings

bet you will find one over the Summer you can drive to and check out

ciao

Ventura

 

[Chickers]

Interesting.
Thanks for sharing the comments. I think I'm "beginning" to understand voicing / tuning a bit more.
My ear lets me know what I enjoy, but it has been difficult for me to express that sound in words.
A very complex system with emotion thrown in as well.
I believe I mentioned before; I'm basically a beginner, and a friend of mine warned me when I started to get
interested in playing the accordion----the more I learn; the more I will know what I don't know.
Have a great weekend, all
CHICKERS

 

[Glug]

It's all a learning process.
I've only been learning for a couple of years so I'm also a beginner.
Unfortunately I understand more than I can actually play.