alex_holden Posted October 19, 2023 Share Posted October 19, 2023 There is some useful information about reed making in this thread: 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mChavez Posted October 19, 2023 Share Posted October 19, 2023 The microscope is the most important tool. You don't want any of them covid-19 bugs crawling into your workshop. 21 minutes ago, Fraxinus said: which I am reluctant to take apart Can't relate to this, as I don't think I ever said these words about anything😆 You don't need ultra precision. The reed size range per note is huge. Just grab some callipers, open up your box and take a few measurements*. Shouldn't take more than a couple hours. *I accept no liability for whatever happens to your box and cannot guarantee that you will be able top put it back together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Barnert Posted October 19, 2023 Share Posted October 19, 2023 33 minutes ago, mChavez said: The microscope is the most important tool. You don't want any of them covid-19 bugs crawling into your workshop. That would be an electron microscope. Viruses are too small to see with a light microscope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fraxinus Posted October 19, 2023 Author Share Posted October 19, 2023 Hmm. Just got an email back from HARMONIKAS regarding a full set of concertina reeds for a 30button c/d anglo. They're quoting 199.20E (+shipping I am assuming). That rounds out to about 211.09 in US dollars, which doesn't sound too bad when compared to the somewhat daunting idea of making them myself. Unless ordering reed shoes in bulk from a custom cutter is significantly cheaper, that might be the way to go. I am going to have to do some more research on Dix, but that sounds pretty good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mChavez Posted October 19, 2023 Share Posted October 19, 2023 Hmm.. What email did you use to contact them? harmonikas@harmonikas.cz? Sounds like a good price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fraxinus Posted October 19, 2023 Author Share Posted October 19, 2023 Yep! I emailed them this morning and got... well. A blank email with a price list attached, lol. Model Concertina-30 button.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fraxinus Posted October 19, 2023 Author Share Posted October 19, 2023 There seems to be some mixed dix reed reviews. They have the concertina reeds, which are brass and look like they are riveted rather than screwed-- those are the ones listed for 199E. Then there are the traditional ones with the tongue held in with what looks like a double-screwed clamp. There's about a 50E price difference between the two. Are the traditional ones nicer/better/sound-more-like-a-concertina? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Ghent Posted October 20, 2023 Share Posted October 20, 2023 The “brass framed with clamp” reeds look like a concertina reed but the ones I have seen have the vent geometry of an accordion reed. Instruments using them could be called semi-hybrid! Some makers using them alter the vent to be like a concertina. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fraxinus Posted October 20, 2023 Author Share Posted October 20, 2023 If I wanted a more traditional, true concertina sound, would dix not be a good option, then? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mChavez Posted October 21, 2023 Share Posted October 21, 2023 And what is "vent geometry"? Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex_holden Posted October 21, 2023 Share Posted October 21, 2023 25 minutes ago, mChavez said: And what is "vent geometry"? Basically on a traditional concertina reed assembly the bottom of the frame's vent slot is significantly wider than the top. As far as I know, the Harmonikas reed assemblies that look similar to concertina reed assemblies don't have that feature: the sides of the vent are vertical. I've heard that some makers who use them (I couldn't tell you which) buy the ones with screwed clamps so that they can remove the reed tongue and manually file the relief, something that you couldn't easily do to one with a riveted tongue. I was also told by one maker that the frames don't have a bevel on the outer edges so they don't fit securely in a traditional dovetail routed reed pan slot. I believe he got around the problem by screwing them to the reed pan like accordion reed plates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mChavez Posted October 21, 2023 Share Posted October 21, 2023 Thank you. Ah, "relief" - that's how it's called (and that's what I was referring to in one of the earlier posts here). I have been told that the main reason for the relief was to stop the tongue from clipping the slot sides - did not realise that it has an effect on the timbre. However, accordion/bando relief seems to be only about 0.1-0.2mm, which probably translates into a couple degrees. Strange that Dix make straight-walled reeds - I thought straight walls were common on machine-riveted reeds with larger fitting gaps only. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex_holden Posted October 21, 2023 Share Posted October 21, 2023 36 minutes ago, mChavez said: Strange that Dix make straight-walled reeds - I thought straight walls were common on machine-riveted reeds with larger fitting gaps only. I think they make them by stacking several brass plates together and cutting them as a batch on a CNC wire EDM machine. If you do that the wire has to be perfectly perpendicular to the plate otherwise the frames from different levels in the stack would come out different sizes. There are ways they could subsequently cut the vent relief and bevel the outside but that would increase the cost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Schulteis Posted October 21, 2023 Share Posted October 21, 2023 5 hours ago, alex_holden said: I was also told by one maker that the frames don't have a bevel on the outer edges so they don't fit securely in a traditional dovetail routed reed pan slot. I believe he got around the problem by screwing them to the reed pan like accordion reed plates. The outside is beveled on the reeds I received, so that's not an issue. It's true that the slot has no relief, though. I think the intention is that the reed tongue and slot geometry are consistent across DIX reeds regardless of the mounting style. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mChavez Posted October 22, 2023 Share Posted October 22, 2023 On 10/19/2023 at 6:59 PM, Fraxinus said: A blank email with a price list attached, lol. Still heard nothing from Dix and I don't think I'll bother at this rate, but it's still better than my experience of an Italian reed manufacturer that shall not be named. I've contacted them about a set of accordion reeds a while ago, and they responded right away with a 3-page quote form to fill out. Once I've spent the time filling their form, they waited for 2 weeks and then replied that they don't deal with retail customers and I should try placing an order with their distributor in my country 🙄 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mChavez Posted October 25, 2023 Share Posted October 25, 2023 fwiw, my 10x stereo microscope has just arrived and it's definitely an asset! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Barnert Posted October 25, 2023 Share Posted October 25, 2023 On 10/19/2023 at 12:17 PM, mChavez said: The microscope is the most important tool. You don't want any of them covid-19 bugs crawling into your workshop. On 10/19/2023 at 12:51 PM, David Barnert said: That would be an electron microscope. Viruses are too small to see with a light microscope. 3 hours ago, mChavez said: fwiw, my 10x stereo microscope has just arrived and it's definitely an asset! And have you seen any viruses with it yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mChavez Posted October 25, 2023 Share Posted October 25, 2023 No, but I've got my covid jab, so they know not to come knocking on my door Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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