Cc Elise As A Gateway Drug To Another Duet System

[Łukasz Martynowicz]

 

This is just my speculation as I have never seen the inside of a Peacock, but if Wim decided not to use accordion style reed banks and laid his accordion reeds out flat on a reed pan like concertina reeds then he would run into geometry problems pretty quickly, especially trying to find a layout for the larger low reeds on the left hand side. It is my understanding (?) that a more concertina-like sound can be achieved from accordion reeds if they are laid out flat on the reed pan rather than in reed banks.

 

So maybe Wim opted for a better sound rather than more buttons.

 

 

I've asked a Beaumont owner in another thread - David Barnert to be exact - if there was any difference in sound "color" between notes on the Beaumont - he answered that he heard none, in fact he wasn't even aware of different reed orientations. In examples available on ButtonBox site, I don't hear any distinctive change in sound, when the music goes towards upper octave. So I guess whoever designed Beaumont have voiced and ballanced reeds enough to counter this "reed chamber orientation" problem.

 

And I'm well aware of size problems with flat laid accordion reeds, I had them myself when working on my instrument and ended up with a very large box...

[Ken_Coles]

 

So I guess whoever designed Beaumont have voiced and ballanced reeds enough to counter this "reed chamber orientation" problem.

 

Exactly. The late Rich Morse was very conscious of reed-position/sound objection and went through a number of designs and tests. Some of his thoughts can probably be found in his thousand-odd posts here on the forum. If he had a part in the final design (my impression is that he did) this issue was certainly considered. Of course it may or may not suit individual players. As noted, trying both models side-by-side is the only way to decide what you prefer. Nice to have choices, a big improvement over a few years ago (mirroring the situation for AC ten years earlier).

 

Ken (who hasn't gone beyond an Elise on duet system)

[wayman]

 

 

So I guess whoever designed Beaumont have voiced and ballanced reeds enough to counter this "reed chamber orientation" problem.

 

Exactly. The late Rich Morse was very conscious of reed-position/sound objection and went through a number of designs and tests. Some of his thoughts can probably be found in his thousand-odd posts here on the forum. If he had a part in the final design (my impression is that he did) this issue was certainly considered.

 

Rich did extensive design work for a concertina-reeded Hayden, and producing that instrument had been his dream since sometime before 2000 (when I first met him at Pinewoods and he almost immediately showed me his Hayden drawings). I don't think the specific challenge of how to fit 52 accordion reedplates into a Hayden concertina was something Rich spent much time thinking about, since he held true to his concertina-reeded Hayden dream to the end. The design process for the accordion-reeded Beaumont kicked into gear after Rich's death.

 

Rich's Hayden designs inspired us, his extensive writings were responsible for many elements of our design, and of course his high standards guided us throughout the process; and I'm sure Rich was aware of the acoustic challenges presented by having both flat and enbanked reeds on the same instrument. But he didn't directly contribute to that aspect of the Beaumont's design. Credit for designing the accordion-reeded reedpan and reed blocks, and for achieving the Beaumont's balanced sound for the flat and enbanked reeds, should go to our current R.Morse & Co. workshop team, and particularly to Judy Hawkins.

Edited August 10, 2014 by wayman

[ceemonster]

[[[it is my understanding (?) that a more concertina-like sound can be achieved from accordion reeds if they are laid out flat on the reed pan rather than in reed banks.]] i personally would prefer an incredible-sounding, very powerful single-reed accordion sound in an accordion-reeded concertina. like that dipper "franglo" one that tonya has.....it doesn't sound like it's trying to be "concertina-ish," just a marvelous, big, fat, round single-reed accordion, in a concertina chassis. love it.