Tune down or up a half step; which is the better option?

[Mr Mark]

Hello everyone,

I have recently acquired a C/G melodeon that needs rewaxing, valves, tuning etc. It also needs a new reed! An E5/F5 is missing entirely and finding a replacement isn't easy around these parts. Sooo...

I have an F5 and an E5 from a PA I have laying around for parts...is it better to try and tune the E up or the F down (one side only).

I realize I am asking a lot, and if it was a much lower note probably wouldn't entertain this at all. But I am VERY handy with file or scratcher having brought up some piccolos more than a few half steps in the past (not the best solution but have done so in a pinch) with reasonable success...

Not really a high end melodeon (older DDR Weltmeister) and just for plinking around on myself...

 

[debra]

I'd rate tuning up and down (using a file, not a scratcher) as probably about equally bad for the reed. I would probably try the tuning up option first, but you have to be careful to take enough material off from more than just the extreme tip of the reed: you want to "weaken" the top half of the reed to make it lighter, and not just the very end of the tip.

 

[Big Squeezy Accordions]

Add a tiny amount of solder the the tip of one of the F reeds. This will lower it more than a semitone, and you can then file off solder until you reach E without weakening the reed.

 

[boxplayer4000]

Mr. Mark: I've supplied ordinary accordion reeds to melodeon repairers who were going to do what you want to do ie raise or lower one reed a semitone. Big Squeezy Accordions idea of using solder on the tip to lower the pitch seems a good one to me; not least because it's a situation that can be reversed if it does not work.
Alternatively ask Charlie at CGM Music. He's got lots of reeds and will send items most places as far as I know.

 

[Mr Mark]

Cool, thanks for the replies all. I think I will try the solder method and see, I haven't tried that before and this is as good as any time to experiment!

 

[debra]

Add a tiny amount of solder the the tip of one of the F reeds. This will lower it more than a semitone, and you can then file off solder until you reach E without weakening the reed.

That's a great idea. Use an old dull file to remove excess solder, not one you use for tuning, because the soft solder will clog up the grooves in the file. (For the same reason you should never file aluminium with the same file you use to file steel. When I was young I was friends with the son of a hardware store owner, and he always reprimanded us when we filed aluminium with a "good" file.)

 

[Ventura]

how much heat is needed to get a reed tip to "wet" with solder ?

will it affect the temper of the steel ?

will it affect the shape of the steel ?

will a 15 watt iron work or is this strictly needing a micro torch ?

should we cobble a heat sink halfway down the reed to protect the flex point ?

do you need to use "old" lead formula solder or are the new Tin formulas ok?
(they need higher heat usually) or is Silver Solder the ticket for this ?

i would also think excess flux must be fully rinsed off to eliminate
future corrosion (whether brushed on or in the solder itself)

 

[Big Squeezy Accordions]

how much heat is needed to get a reed tip to "wet" with solder ?

will it affect the temper of the steel ?

will it affect the shape of the steel ?

will a 15 watt iron work or is this strictly needing a micro torch ?

should we cobble a heat sink halfway down the reed to protect the flex point ?

do you need to use "old" lead formula solder or are the new Tin formulas ok?
(they need higher heat usually) or is Silver Solder the ticket for this ?

i would also think excess flux must be fully rinsed off to eliminate
future corrosion (whether brushed on or in the solder itself)

I have done this with larger amounts of solder to make low bass reeds, which I have then used for years without any problem, so I don't think the tiny amount necessary to lower the note by a semitone would cause any damage to the reed. I use a soldering iron and non-lead solder.

 

[boxplayer4000]

I have done this with larger amounts of solder to make low bass reeds, which I have then used for years without any problem, so I don't think the tiny amount necessary to lower the note by a semitone would cause any damage to the reed. I use a soldering iron and non-lead solder.

Likewise BigSqueezy: I had no problem with larger reeds. Ordinary solder melts at a fairly low temperature and, I suspect, at temperatures below that which would have any effect on the metal reed regarding softening or tempering. However a comment from a knowledgeable metallurgist might help.

 

[Ventura]

sounds like you two have the hands on to to give me a better feeling
about this.. my soldering experience is mostly in unrelated areas
but enough similarities to make me cautious and wonder
about the possible side issues

the long term corrosivity from the flux residue is based
on automated circuit board mnf. issues that came later
from residue re-invigorated by humidity that could cause
a trace to fault.. so the thought to be thorough with final cleaning
came to mind

 

[boxplayer4000]

Ventura: You've obviously got your own soldering knowledge from circuit boards etc. I haven't heard of the corrosivity you mention; dry joints I have come across. Accordion reed corrosion is well known and while I've seen quite a lot of that I've never seen rust which appeared to be associated with the reeds which had soldered tips.

 

[jollyrogeraccordions]

Tuning up or down…it depends on how much 'meat' there is on the reed. In the case of E5/F5 I’d probably tune down. A semitone isn't that much. Using solder is standard practice in the world of diatonic accordion mods, but not for a semitone, which is generally accepted as easily achieved with a file. In fact modders will often shift a reed by a whole tone, but you have to see if the reed becomes unstable. Of course there is concern about what it does to the reed, and you wouldn't do this to a high quality instrument etc etc…but in reality most people just play the thing either to themselves or in folk clubs etc and risking a reed is neither here nor there and nobody is going to notice (esp if the reed is donated from another instrumen). So I don’t get hung up about it. If it’s a performing artist or an expensive instrument or Tipo a Mano reeds then it’s a different matter, and at the least can be discussed. At the end of the day, the reed can be replaced if it doesn’t work out. And…when filing reeds, use a bright light so you can see the shadow of the file strokes.