Using wool felt for baffles?

[4to5to6]

1 hour ago, Paul_Hardy said:

Someone previously suggested using a pair of thick trousers - put your arms up the leg holes and the concertina in the groin area, and cinch the belt tight!

That’s awesome!!!  Thanks Paul, I will give it a try.  Sounds like an interesting new concertina accessory… 😊 

 

How about a sand blast enclosure?!?!  This would keep the volume down

 

 

Or a film changing dark room bag:

 

 

I personally like the blaster cabinet better especially with the LED light although the bag is very portable.  Then again, trousers are everywhere aren’t they?  How about just getting a MIDI concertina?

.

Edited August 12, 2023 by 4to5to6

[Clive Thorne]

13 hours ago, 4to5to6 said:

That’s awesome!!!  Thanks Paul, I will give it a try.  Sounds like an interesting new concertina accessory… 😊 

 

How about a sand blast enclosure?!?!  This would keep the volume down

 

 

Or a film changing dark room bag:

 

 

I personally like the blaster cabinet better especially with the LED light although the bag is very portable.  Then again, trousers are everywhere aren’t they?  How about just getting a MIDI concertina?

.

You might get arrested if you use your trousers. Depends on what you were wearing underneath I guess.

[John Wild]

I believe the story about the trousers originated with Bob Copper.

[malcolm clapp]

Yes, John, that's where I first heard of it too, though I think it was just a trouser leg rather than the entire garment.

I have suggested it to several players, at least one of whom took up the idea, but abandoned it when her hearing began to deteriorate in later years.

 

 

[March Hare]

May I say 4to5to6 that you have made a great job of fitting your felt - tidier that I can manage - but a pity that it didn't solve your problem.  And it looks like a wonderful instrument.  I enjoyed your other suggestions for absorbing the sound, particularly the rugged industrial ones.  

 

Some of my songs work best with a Bb treble EC - and I have a nice metal-ended 1960s Crabb rebuild using a great set of 1920s Wheatstone reeds.  However the sound is a bit too robust for my voice.  I tried playing it inside a pair of thick corduroy trousers and it worked very well.  Ideal, except that I wasn't brave enough to go the club to sing like that.   It really does look a bit bizarre, as you will know if you have tried it.  And when you stand up the slightly worn and shiny seat of the pants catches the light, which is unbecoming and a bit distracting for listeners.

So I made a pair of external baffles from two layers of felt and thin leather edging.  When I sang out recently I was very pleased with the effect on the sound, and no-one made any remarks about the concertina in its garb.  I am getting quite used to the look.  The baffles just slide off so very quick to remove - but I keep them on anyway as I like the mellower sound.

 

Whether or not this would placate family and neighbours when practising late at night I couldn't say.   But I can revert to the trousers in the privacy of my own home.

 

 

 

[4to5to6]

Thanks March.  
 

Danny Chapman’s baffles:

 

http://www.rowlhouse.co.uk/concertina/pictures/index.html

 

On 7/13/2010 at 1:56 AM, RatFace said:

What Boney says "You can try starting a note or chord at normal volume, then almost immediately taking practically all pressure off the bellows". That's a really good technique anyway - shaping each note.

 

Also, when accompanying avoiding playing the note that you're singing will help, and generally one/two notes rather than thick chords (this is probably rather obvious!).

 

As for the "baffles" - photo here and videos, e.g.

.

 

I made them out of MDF, sculpted slightly on the inside so that the fit more snuggly over the raised concertina ends, and attached with sticky-backed velcro (which, after using it for many years, I find leaves no permanent mark on the concertina ends). It's been pointed out that MDF is particularly noxious to work with, so if you use that make sure you cut it somewhere with lots of ventilation, or use something else.

 

Edited August 13, 2023 by 4to5to6

[March Hare]

Thank you - that's brilliant.  And very sweet playing too.

[Łukasz Martynowicz]

It is possible to lower the volume of a concertina with baffles. My Elise has been toned down from peak 105dB to peak 90dB, and my current box is set at comfortable peak 80dB. But not with felt. With EVA foam or solid baffles.

 

In order to lower the volume the open area of the fretwork must be reduced, and it has to be reduced substantially. Original Elise „fretwork” had to be closed almost entirely - the area left open, so that the reeds could speak freely, was measured in square milimeters. My current concertina has two layers of fretwork. Outer, aesthetic wood one is very open and as a result piercingly bright and loud. The final tone is shaped by a second layer of 3D printed hard baffle, which both mellows the tone and decreases volume.

 

The overal volume can also be lowered significantly by decreasing chamber holes aperture, and is typically used to balance relative reeds volumes.  This can be done in a reversible way by ring inserts and can lower the volume by 10-20dB, but has a serious impact on response and pitch stability of lower notes.

 

Other than that, I can indeed confirm, that a closet with a lot of clothes on hangers is a great practice and recording space. I have one just like that and it can dampen clarinet, concertina, loud city noises and mobile air conditioning unit. Mine has about 10sq meters aperture of open hangers and shelves, which easily translates to dozens if not low hundreds sq meters of total sound dampening surface area. 
 

Combined, my reduced volume boxes played in said closet are silent enough to not dominate over typical household sounds, normal music/movie/gaming volume etc. 

[Paul_Hardy]

47 minutes ago, Łukasz Martynowicz said:

Other than that, I can indeed confirm, that a closet with a lot of clothes on hangers is a great practice and recording space.

 

As a contrast, I like playing in the bathroom, which has excellent acoustic reverberation characteristics!

 

For quiet play, I either use a brass-reeded double-resonant George Case - https://pghardy.net/concertina/case_2760/case_2760.html, or even better, my MIDI Lachenal https://pghardy.net/concertina/lachenal_30566_midi/lachenal_30566_midi.html where I can wear headphones so nobody hears me.

[Lofty]

If your concern is disturbing your family or neighbours, the answer is simple.

 

Borrow some bagpipes. After a very short time, they will be begging you to go back to the concertina.