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Volume Improvement.


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My Lachenal, courtesy of Mr. Chambers, is as loud as I would expect a Lachenal to be.

Swapped it for a while, with a young pupils Lachenal, also courtesy of Mr. Chambers.

She likes my Concertina, much more better than her own. 

Miss A's Lachenal is different to mine, in two ways. 

Her's has faster action/response, or whatever you call it.

But the volume is lower than mine, not a whole lot,  but it is quieter.

 

It's been sitting in a closet, likely, for umpteen years, until some months ago,

when Stephen brought it to life, and brought it to this young lady.

I've been tipping away at it, for the weekend, and I'm wondering, 

Is it my imagination, or has the volume increased, with playing ?

Not that she would not play up, she'll be good yet, but I would push and draw with a little more force, than this young person.

So, do these do that, like, Old Lachenals, wake up, and sing with more  gusto, after a jump start  ?

 

Thank you, and now we'll have a tune, from....

 

 

 

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It's not just old Lachenals, or even old concertinas that need playing-in Jim, but all musical instruments including brand new ones, and it's very normal. They get better the more they are played.

 

Mind you, as I told you, that particular one was experiencing some shrinkage of the reed-pans in your pupil's hands, so there was an internal loss of compression, but that would fix itself and they'd be tight again after a couple of days in our house - and I did shim the gasket to compensate for that.

 

Edited by Stephen Chambers
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Ah, now that you're talking about volume (I don't recall that being mentioned before) Jim, I think I understand.

 

The real "problem" is that it's an early instrument (from 1878), with solid rosewood (instead of laminated) ends and (much more-significantly) large chambering on the reed-pan - this gives it a warmer tone than later models with smaller chambering, which have a sharper, more-focused, sound with more "cut" to it (neither Cathy nor myself found it "quiet" as such).

 

I'd usually respect the original intention, and design, of the maker - but they themselves changed it in later years, and I could modify this one for you (to be like the later ones) if you like.

 

 

Edited by Stephen Chambers
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I always believe that all instruments need to be used, at least a few times every so often, even, to maintain their playability; whatever make of instrument you may own.  To get the air through the reeds, and bellows, and keep the leather supple [ a bit like people really!]😊 

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On 5/8/2023 at 3:48 PM, SIMON GABRIELOW said:

I always believe that all instruments need to be used, at least a few times every so often, even, to maintain their playability

... and then you added, "a bit like people really!"

 

I think this is an important point. Music is not made by instruments alone, nor by people alone. It takes two to do an instrumental: the player and the instrument. And in my opinion, what improves with practice is the rapport between player and instrument. Even a good player will not achieve optimal performance on an unfamiliar instrument - specificically on the concertina, the stiffness or suppleness of the bellows, the pressure of the springs, even the shape of the button-tops on an unfamiliar instrument can be irritating at first.  

In short, players have to be exercised "at least a few times every so often to maintain their playing capability (a bit like instruments, really!)

😉

Cheers,

John

 

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43 minutes ago, Anglo-Irishman said:

Music is not made by instruments alone, nor by people alone. It takes two to do an instrumental: the player and the instrument. And in my opinion, what improves with practice is the rapport between player and instrument. Even a good player will not achieve optimal performance on an unfamiliar instrument - specificically on the concertina, the stiffness or suppleness of the bellows, the pressure of the springs, even the shape of the button-tops on an unfamiliar instrument can be irritating at first.

I find that the trickiest bit about really learning to play an instrument is this sort of rapport between a specific instrument and the musician. It's hard to talk about in a lesson, it's even hard to mentally articulate, and it only comes with time spent playing the instrument. Each instrument has its idiosyncrasies that must be subconsciously learned. The degree of bellows pressure needed to make a particular reed speak properly, neither squawking nor whimpering, the intuition of how far apart you can safely open the bellows or how many notes you can play before running out of air, the amount of extra pressure you need to supply when playing a chord versus playing a single note, etc.

 

When you first start playing a new instrument, everything can sound amateurish, even if you nominally know how to play "the instrument", because all of these subtleties are unique to each instrument. And that can be frustrating, especially if you feel you ought to be capable of playing better than you are. Time spent practicing pays off with learning these nuances, perhaps even more than it does in just learning how to play "the tune".

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Stephen mentioned the possibility of adjusting something in the chambers, to increase the volume, or tone.

Is that beyond the usual, pad/spring replacement ability ?

Asking, as it may be of interest to others, tinkering with the stuff under the hood.

 

Also please, I'm getting a sound from the A/G left hand outside row, when I play the index finger C sharp.

It's like a sympathetic resonance, I'm wondering, is the pad on the A/G lifting, ill fitting, dodgy spring or what ?

I ask, before I go in and replace the pad or spring, in case it's something else entirely, and ye might have seen this.

Thank You

Jimmy.

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On 5/16/2023 at 3:05 PM, jim troy said:

Stephen mentioned the possibility of adjusting something in the chambers, to increase the volume, or tone.

Is that beyond the usual, pad/spring replacement ability ?

Asking, as it may be of interest to others, tinkering with the stuff under the hood.

 

I was referring to how older concertinas usually have longer reed chambers than later ones, so that the chambers/compartments extend all the way to the doughnut in the middle of the reed-pan, instead of being blocked-off part-way. You should be able to clearly see the difference if you compare the left-hand reed-pans of your, and your pupil's, Lachenals. 

 

The easiest (and most commonly done) fix would be to cut pieces of cork about 1/8" thick and the full height of the chamber (including gasket), then trim them to the required width to fit snugly between the chamber walls at the desired point (compared with your pupil's one).

 

Quote

Also please, I'm getting a sound from the A/G left hand outside row, when I play the index finger C sharp.

It's like a sympathetic resonance, I'm wondering, is the pad on the A/G lifting, ill fitting, dodgy spring or what ?

I ask, before I go in and replace the pad or spring, in case it's something else entirely, and ye might have seen this.

 

If it only happens when you play the index finger C sharp, I can only think of two possibilities - either the pads are rubbing against each-other (but (looking at Cathy's one, made 3 years later, that seems unlikely), or the problem lies with the reed-pan - so is the chamois leather gasket between the two chambers compromised in some way, or is the nearby corner block detached/not holding the reed-pan up adequately there?

 

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