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Sticking Valve?


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The high E on the G-Row of my Marcus G/D stopped functioning yesterday in the middle

of a session (R4^ in my terms). I was able to partially get round this by using the E on the

D-row (dR2^), but my question is - is this a 'sticking valve'?

 

- I have shaken the instrument (gently and carefully!) and there is nothing rattling around

inside.

- I can hear air passing through the valve when I (gently and slowly!) draw the bellows out

with R4 depressed - there is simply no sound. I do seem to need more pressure to do this

pull on R4, than I do doing the same on dR2, so summat's wrong...

 

I am prepared to have the end off and have a look, but I'm still a nervous beginner as far

as maintenance like this is concerned, so I'd like to canvass opinion here.

 

What's my best approach to this? Any advice welcome.

 

Fortunately, I have a second G/D, so I'm not about to be silenced by this slight mishap (my

fellow musicians might not regard this as fortunate... :) ) .

 

Thank you.

 

Roger

Edited by lachenal74693
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I think it's likely there's a bit of fluff or something stuck in the reed itself, preventing the tongue vibrating properly. Locate the offending reed, use something like a wooden toothpick to lift the tongue up slightly, then blow on it to clear the dirt away. Failing that, try sliding a piece of paper under the tongue, then lightly push down on it and draw the paper back out.

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It has been suggested that a silent high E on the G row may be treated as a feature rather than a problem, rumoured to be especially built into some concertinas, designed to trigger when the instrument senses that crossing onto the D row for higher notes in the G scale is a technique not being sufficiently utilized. :o

 

It is sometimes known as the "light-bulb note" to those players to whom crossing the rows is a mystery yet to be mastered, especially those lacking dexterity in their R/H little finger.

 

Food for thought, perhaps, though just a tad tongue in cheek.... ;)

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...Food for thought, perhaps, though just a tad tongue in cheek.... ;)

 

'tongue in cheek'? Never!

 

You are quite correct, of course.

 

Now, where's that bloody screwdriver - I haven't had a chance to open the thing up yet. Thanks to AH for the

suggestion about fluff...

[off-topic on]

I'm never going to be a wizard player, but I do try to extend my abilities by playing cross-row whenever it seems

appropriate. I'm still a beginner, so I do lots of 'experimenting' (saner folks call it 'messing about'). I don't really

see how it's possible not to play across the rows when there are oodles of quite simple tunes which to sound

'right', really do need an excursion, however brief, to the accidentals row of a 26/30-button Anglo...

 

FWIW, my empirical 'rule' is; If the tune goes no higher than the E, I'll stay on the G-row - this exercises the right

pinkie a little. If the tune goes above the E, I'll try crossing from the G-row to to the D-row for those notes (E and

above - sometimes I'll even play any adjacent/nearby Ds on the G-row as well). This is all pretty basic stuff - yes?

 

Works the other way of course - sometimes I'll play parts of a tune in D with the right hand on the G-row, rather

than with the left hand on the D-row.

 

All modified as and when necessary to get the bellows direction and 'flow' of the notes sounding 'right', and also

to work that little finger and (what passes for) my brain...

[off-topic off]

 

 

R

Edited by lachenal74693
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I think it's likely there's a bit of fluff or something stuck in the reed itself, preventing the tongue vibrating properly. Locate the offending reed, use something like a wooden toothpick to lift the tongue up slightly, then blow on it to clear the dirt away. Failing that, try sliding a piece of paper under the tongue, then lightly push down on it and draw the paper back out.

 

Sorted!

 

I think it's likely that you are 100% correct!

 

'Twas a very tiny piece of wood - debris from construction possibly? So small I didn't spot it

until I got a magnifying glass on it - used a very small sewing needle to dislodge and then

blew it out.

 

Thank you very much for your advice!

 

Roger.

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