malcolmbebb Posted October 4, 2010 Share Posted October 4, 2010 Hi, The air valve on my Rochelle sounds like it's suffering from terminal asthma. It is quite hard to pull, not so hard to push, and makes a very audible whistle on pull. I've had a look and all looks to be in order. The pad lifts a fair way, the hole seems a good size and there are no obstructions. The hole is drilled pretty square, with quite sharp edges, and I'm wondering if the air rushing over the edges is causing the whistle. I'm wondering whether to round the edges of the hole slightly - does this seem a good idea? TIA Malcolm of course, plucking up the courage to dismantle it further is another story... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malcolmbebb Posted October 19, 2010 Author Share Posted October 19, 2010 Replying to my own post - how sad... The air valve hole is the same size as all the others. Just seen inside a Marcus unit, the air valve hole is about twice the diameter - four times the area. Could have a bearing on things. Malcolm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry J Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 I had a Rochelle and the air was quite noisy compared to more expensive boxes. It didn't whistle, just wheezed. I don't know if its a standard thing with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglo-Irishman Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 Hi, The air valve on my Rochelle sounds like it's suffering from terminal asthma. It is quite hard to pull, not so hard to push, and makes a very audible whistle on pull. I tried a Rochelle once, and the air valve was the same. Not exactly a whistle, but a very loud wheeze. And a lot of resistance on the pull, which slows down your playing and saps your energy. It's not just your individual instrument - the problem seems to be designed into the Rochelle. Why they make the air hole so small is a mystery to me. Surely the effort of drilling one larger hole and fitting one larger pad would improve the performance of the Rochelle out of all proportion to the increase in price! Cheers, John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomB-R Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 Should be a fairly easy modification to enlarge the hole and fit a larger pad. In looking for a photo of the action I came across this thread which seems worth a cross-reference. http://www.concertina.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=5937 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sailor Posted October 23, 2010 Share Posted October 23, 2010 Even when listening to anglo players with good concertinas I heard the air velve "breathe". This leads me to several questions: Is that due to construction method unavoidable? Also I try to avoid the use of the air velve - with some tunes (eg tunes with predominantly F-chords) I can't compensate the pull by pushing parts. I then try to use the air button while playing a push chord and not in a quiet part. This requires a sensitive use in order to keep pressure and tone fairly constant. How do you handle it? Do all concertinas make a noice when using the air button? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malcolmbebb Posted October 29, 2010 Author Share Posted October 29, 2010 (edited) Even when listening to anglo players with good concertinas I heard the air velve "breathe". This leads me to several questions: Is that due to construction method unavoidable? Also I try to avoid the use of the air velve - with some tunes (eg tunes with predominantly F-chords) I can't compensate the pull by pushing parts. I then try to use the air button while playing a push chord and not in a quiet part. This requires a sensitive use in order to keep pressure and tone fairly constant. How do you handle it? Do all concertinas make a noice when using the air button? Interesting replies - I find that I play across the rows more to even up the air flow, and find the accidental G on the left to be very handy indeed. I have a Marcus G/D and the air valve, although audible, isn't so noisy - the Rochelle got a smile out of JK at Witney - and it's much easier to get a quick gulp at the end of a phrase. But I saw one open at their workshop, and the air valve pad is about twice the diameter. At present I haven't a clue where to get a pad from, or how to fix it. Malcolm Edited October 29, 2010 by malcolmbee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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