setting the reeds for nice attack?

[Wolf Molkentin]

Excerpt from another thread - think I might make another try under a specific headline:

 

With my new Aeola TT I get the impression that the reeds are in a way set to maximum volume and "cut" (apparently rather high) which causes them to speak rather quiet under low pressure with a "leap" to a much higher volume with the bellows pressed or pulled more boldly. May this be a desired feature as it leads to a very distinct attack with I came to like very much?

 

I just played the instrument again against the „screaming“ model 24, which is indeed much louder but raises its voice continuously from the moderate to the extreme, which is of course nice as well but a different thing (both are ME Wheatstone instruments).

 

Any thoughts?

 

Thanks in advance for the attention!

Best wishes - ?

[Chris Ghent]

5 hours ago, Wolf Molkentin said:

Excerpt from another thread - think I might make another try under a specific headline:

 

With my new Aeola TT I get the impression that the reeds are in a way set to maximum volume and "cut" (apparently rather high) which causes them to speak rather quiet under low pressure with a "leap" to a much higher volume with the bellows pressed or pulled more boldly. May this be a desired feature as it leads to a very distinct attack with I came to like very much?

 

I just played the instrument again against the „screaming“ model 24, which is indeed much louder but raises its voice continuously from the moderate to the extreme, which is of course nice as well but a different thing (both are ME Wheatstone instruments).

 

Any thoughts?

 

Thanks in advance for the attention!

Best wishes - ?

Wolf, I noticed your statement in the other thread and it does not tally with my experience. When the reed set is very high you will get a bit more cut but the effect on the output at low pressure is not quiet playing, it is no noise at all, just a sound of air passing the reed until sufficient pressure is attained so as to start the reed. This sometimes feels like a delay in starting at low pressure. If your reeds will play quietly and you have a bit of cut at volume then it sounds to me as if they are adjusted very well.

 

The equation goes something like this; when the reed set is low the reed starts easily and has a slightly more mellow sound. It is however prone to stalling or choking if the initial bellows pressure is sudden and high. When the reed set is high there will be a little more cut in the tone but the reed will not start well without a lot of pressure and it is difficult to play quietly and have control over note starts. Somewhere in between these two stations lies a way which will suit our individual needs, for example, an Irish dance player might want a little higher set than a person who wanted only to play airs.

[alex_holden]

My (limited) experience concurs with Chris regarding the effect of different set heights. It can be difficult to know where to set the reeds on a particular instrument if you don't know how hard it is going to be played. If you set it high so you can't make it choke when played very hard, it won't perform as well when played very softly.

 

Speculating a bit - I wonder if the difference between Wolf's two instruments could be to do with the shape of the reed vents?

[Wolf Molkentin]

Thanks a lot, Chris and Alex,

 

first I have to say that albeit mostly playing with lots of bounce (as anyone who has listened to my playing will be able to confirm) I never experienced a "choking" reed (or anything even near to that), not even with the Excelsior which appears to be a parlour instrument per excellence. The same is true for both instruments I'm playing these days.

 

Reversely, with the TT Aeola I'm for the first time experiencing a certain unevenness of multiple reeds beginning to speak at low pressure, or - as Chris has put it - a lack of control over note starts. Also a slight delay as mentioned is felt, even with moderate pressure, and the quiet sounding at low pressure is a bit breathy, so maybe the phenomena are closer to what Chris has outlined than my inaccurate description suggested.

 

OTOH the extra "cut" is a certain if not stunning "clearness" of the tone, combined with some kind of staccato or rather portato when playing scales rapidly. This is what I really like, an added distinctiveness to my playing resp. sounds - which is so very different from the (very fat and "present", with the risk of involuntarily "slurring" consecutive notes) sound of the model 24 that Alex' suggestion might be on the right track.

 

Amazing...-  no real issue at all, all that just puzzles me...

 

Best wishes - ?