fred v

I like your playing style. I work the bellows just like that to accent the phrasing of the tune. I have a 5 fold bellows and I think it may be better for that style playing. When speeding up my playing the bellows hardly open up. I am very interested in seeing the tech stuff. Is the button layout different from std. EC?

The pulling reeds are on the out facing side of the reed pan. So your offending reed will be on the inside facing side of the reed pan. Pull the end off the instrument and look at the inside face of it while pushing the offending button. It will be obvious which pad is open. Mark its position with a piece of tape so you don't loose it's position. Now hold the end plate back onto the bellows put a piece of tape on the bellows edge matching the tape on the end plate. Tins should show you exactly which reed is the problem one. Also the reeds should have the note name stamped in tiny letters on the top face of the reed frame out at the end of the frame. I had a similar problem with my low "A" note not sounding and it was not fouled in any way. i just needed to have the reed slightly bent so that the tip end is just above the reed frame. This can be tricky to do so be careful.

It certainly takes getting used to when first playing with plates. My feeling is that once you so it for some time you won't want to play without them. I have another Tina without them so I can attest to that. The greatest advantage to thick plates is the ability to slide my fingers sideways to play a natural note to an accidental sharp or flat as in "The White Petticoat" B part. Also sliding up to play a fifth note.

The EC is much more flexible for various music styles and able to play in any key or mode. I play the EC with 5 fold bellows but I really work the bellows for accent playing ITM. The bellows were never meant to be extended out like in clown cartoons. Work them like a fiddle bow.

I have a friend that bought the McNeala version of the Tina Swift and could not play it because the bellows were so stiff. I suggested exercising the bellows to see if they would loosen up. For that quality of instrument you might try a used Honer to see if you like the Anglo.

You can loosen the bellows by opening it half way and flex the ends by rotating your wrists to open the folds on one side and closing them on the other. Do this for awhile every day and they will loosen up.

Digver, in the above case it makes no difference what so ever since there is no open grill work under the button plate. Wunks, I removed the felt washers on the bottom ends of the buttons. These are there so as to adjust the stroke of the buttons and make them all depress the same amount. With the plates you want your finger to slightly touch the plate. This tells your brain to stop pressing. Muscle memory kicks in then.

With the large holes do you feel them? Mine are a very close fit but I still feel the hole. I chamfered them all a tiny bit which helped. It looks like your outer row is a bit too far out. By fine tuning the position you might be able to make the holes smaller. Good job. Will you make your print file available for others to use?

Looks great Wunks. I'm happy to see other players going with this design idea. You have to play for awhile to get used to the new feel. I now would never remove them. I like the idea that the instrument is capable of being played better than I am able to play. I know that as I improve the instrument will not encumber that process.

They used to stick up 3mm. I'm liking the 2mm height so far. It is really great to be able to slide across the buttons. My buttons are round top which helps with that too. I agree that wood ends would probably not be good without a wear plate.

Today I made some shim plates to go under the other plates making the plates .212" or 5.4mm thick. This made the button stick up about .070". I'll have to play it for awhile to get used to the short button travel but so far the short stroke is appealing in that I can slide my finger up a fifth with no problem.

I am thinking about the wrist straps. I have always played with straps but changing to the Muller style seems awkward to me. I like the position reference I have with the thumb and pinkie rests. I kind of like the original button positions. They allow my fingers to touch each other for reference when crossing button rows such as playing one note then the one a fifth above. I do that a lot. Let us know how you progress.

I'm just pointing that out. They are not the top model and so won't play as fast or as bright. Use it, learn it, enjoy it. I'm 80 and still playing at sessions so have fun.

By the look of the buttons this is a student model instrument. good luck.

Yesterday I found a button that seemed slow. When playing a fast passage with the g5 and e5 buttons they seemed to clash. Upon inspection I found the g5 was slow in releasing and would still make sound while the e5 was pressed. The problem was the plate I had added had the g5 hole in it not quite aligned with the hole in the end plate so it was dragging on the button. A quick file job opened the hole a bit and all is well with the world.