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Poor Sound On A Few Notes


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I'm slowly learning to play my Rochelle anglo, and having a blast, but as I've expanded the set of notes I'm using, I'm noticing a few that don't play cleanly. I've heard mention of buzzing reeds, and I'm not sure if this is that, but in addition to the note, I get secondary sound that's sort of...I guess I'd describe it as kind of an air-y sound, but with a bit of texture to it, like sucking through a straw in a just-about-empty glass. It only seems to happen in one direction - that is, on the draw for the F, but not the push for the G, and likewise the push for the E, but not the draw for the D. It also seems to be more noticeable if I have the relevant end of the instrument at a tilt, as opposed to perpendicular to the ground.

Any ideas? And if so, is it something that I could even remotely conceive of looking at myself (I wouldn't consider myself particularly handy with tools), or should I just live with it (it's not too bad, and doesn't stop me enjoying playing) until I upgrade to a better instrument? There is also the shop where I got it from, but it's a non-trivial drive, and has inconvenient hours for me.

 

Thanks

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Concertina Connection boxes like the Rochelle, Elise, etc... sometimes resonate at the lever point of the action. This what Wim Wakker (the maker) told me when I asked him about it:

 

"The problem with an unbushed action is that the vibration of the reeds cause the button to vibrate on the lever. The clearance between them is about 0.1mm.

Usually there is only one or 2 buttons that vibrate.

 

If you shim the levers make sure the material is thin and allows the button to move back and forth. If the joint is too tight, the button will prevent the pad to close all the way.

 

There are 3 ways you can dampen vibration in a metal action (all used for decades in the accordion industry)

1 shim with paper/plastic

2 apply some grease

3 glue foam type material on the buttom, making sure it also touches the lever."

I found that simply disassembling, poking at the offending lever a bit and then reassembling would stop the resonance. Occasionally another button would start resonating instead, but I repeated the procedure until it was cured. I tried to slip paper into the gap but there was not enough room. I was unwilling to start greasing the internals of my Elise and never got around to glueing some foam in place.

Edited by Don Taylor
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