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Showing results for tags 'baffles'.
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Hi All I've got a customer who purchased a 30 key Lachenal Anglo concertina but it came without its baffles. I know a lot of people (myself included) play without baffles or remove the baffles, but this gentleman would like the concertina 100% original (or as close as can be if you see what i mean) Bearing in mind the original baffles have probably long disappeared, where can i get, and what is the correct material to make a realistic/authentic set of baffles from, or does any of the kind members out there have a set of baffles they would sell to me to help out? Any thoughts or help with this greatly appreciated and if it helps, apparently the baffles that were in this concertina were white. Thanks in advance for any help you can provide
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In another thread: Boyd Wheatstone Concertinas BW77 mentions some experiments with muting the volume of selected reeds: I have tried a leather baffle on the LHS of my Peacock and while it reduced the volume it also changed the tone. Most of the time I don't use the baffle. Another problem is that it reduces the volume of all of the reeds on that side, whereas I only want to lower the volume of the lowest reeds. I tried 'feathering' the bass buttons with my fingers to see if I could get a decent volume reduction with a very slight button press, but there seems to be quite a cliff edge between sound and no sound so I am not sure if this technique will work for me. I might try some additional washers to see what happens - it is a simple, non-destructive experiment. Then BW77 mentions taping over the pad holes with 'quite interesting' results. Please elucidate. Is that interesting in a good way or a bad way?
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I found that the LHS of my recently acquired Peacock is too loud, so loud that if I hold a drone note then it alone masks the melody notes on the LHS. Never mind playing a chord on the LHS. I know of at least one other Peacock that has the same problem so I suspect that all Peacocks sound this way. Maybe all of Concertina Connection mid-level concertinas (Clovers and Roses) as I believe that they are all made in a similar fashion. Anyway, I made a (removable) baffle and it seems to have helped a lot so I thought I would document it here. First, I made a paper template from 3"x5" cards glues together. I marked the locations of the button holes with the template in place and used some punches to punch 1/4" holes in the template: I have some scrap leather offcuts that I bought years ago from a junk shop, I have no idea what their original purpose was but the leather is quite stiff even though it is only a little over 1mm thick. I had to join two leather scraps together to make a piece big enough and I used some 'basting' tape from my wife's sewing supplies to stick the two pieces together. Basting tape is very thin double-sided tape. I thought that I would have to sew the pieces of leather together, but the heavy duty basting tape (from Sailrite.com) did the job on its own. I cut the leather so that it fitted snugly inside the end of the concertina - I tried not to leave any gaps at the edges. Using the template, I punched 1/4" holes in the leather for the buttons. I used thin strips (~1/4") of sticky backed Velcro tape to attach the baffle to the inside of the concertina end. All the way round both the baffle and inside edge of the end with no gaps. I also used a strip of the Velcro backing material to make a pull tag on one side so that I can pull the baffle off and out of the end. Once the baffle is in place with Velcro all the way around then it is quite difficult to get it out again without a pull tag. When I put it altogether some of the buttons no longer snapped back up when released. The holes in the leather were too small/inaccurately placed and they fouled some of the buttons. Enlarging the holes to 5/16" solved that problem. Results: A definite reduction in volume on the LHS, I can now hear a melody when playing a drone or even a full chord. There is also a change in the tone of the LHS reeds, I am guessing that some of the higher harmonics are being filtered out. It is not a huge difference, but it is noticeable if you alternate between middle Cs on the LHS and RHS. I can live with it for the benefit I get from quieting down the LHS. I might try a wooden baffle to see if that affects the tone/volume as much. I cannot detect any difference in bellows pressure required as a result of blocking most of the airways on the LHS. Looks OK too: (Ignore the piece of black Velcro showing - I will trim that off the next time I open it up). Don.
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I recently bought a rather nice old George Case treble English from the Boosey & Ching period (around 1859). See my web page with pictures and description. I was surprised to find hexagonal wooden baffles fitted to the inside of the reedpan, facing into the bellows. Having read around I find that George Case and some other early manufacturers did this. However it was soon stopped, presumably because they were found unnecessary. So what is the modern feeling - are they useful? They do add to the weight of the instrument, and as they can be easily detached (three screws each), I am wondering about removing them for now (but keeping them safe to replace). Comments on the pros and cons of such baffles, and on the general history and construction of this instrument.are welcomed. Regards, Paul.
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Hi All, As an artist, painter's tape often comes in handy for my various projects. It occurred to me that I might be able to reduce the sound of my 18 button Englishconcertina by using a strip of painter's tape on the two "lower" baffles which are normally obscured by my hands. I simply cut two strips to fit the area into more or less band-aid shapes and gently adhered them to cover the two "lower" baffles which are normally obscured by my hands. Valentina's sound was beautifully reduced by half without warping the sound or by sounding muffled. It seems to work perfectly WITHOUT marring the finish (which is ostensibly what painter's tape is designed to avoid). When I remove the tape, I will adhere it to a piece of wax paper, fold the paper over the top of the strips, and put it into my kit bag for use at a later time. Hope this Blue Tape Trick is useful for others as it has so marvelously worked for me. I got a dog and his name is Blue. (Photo below Valentina).