Need Help With Stagi Hayden Repair

[squeezegirl]

My Stagi Hayden's low C (pull) on the right hand - !1st button on the 1st row) seems to have gotten blocked with a piece of debris and wheezes when I play the note.

 

I've been told to hold back the valve, depress the tongue of the reed with a small implement - and blow - and thereby strive to clear the obstruction.

 

Problem is, when I take the end off, I see 3 banks of reeds. One is on a raised platform and have 5 notes on one side and 3 on the other. Then there is a middle row and then a 3rd bank.

 

I cannot discover where/which reed is the one I'm looking for!

 

I teried to figure out that the low C would be the longest reed BUT there are many reeds that are long and actually the same length!

 

Does anyone know where the low C reed (draw) is located?

 

Thanks!

 

Maria

[m3838]

If you depress the offending button while the ends are open, note which valve is opening.

Put the banks back on their places and note which reed is against the hole, which opens with the bad button. That's the reedplate. It probably has two reeds on it. If a note sounds bad on the push - it's the inside reed. If on the pull - it's the outside reed.

Hmm, so Stagi Hayden has reedbanks, huh?

To what lower depth of degradation the humanity will go with this?

Don't tell me the reeds are held on the banks with the 'w' word.

[m3838]

If you depress the offending button while the ends are open, note which valve is opening.

Put the banks back on their places and note which reed is against the hole, which opens with the bad button. That's the reedplate. It probably has two reeds on it. If a note sounds bad on the push - it's the inside reed. If on the pull - it's the outside reed.

Hmm, so Stagi Hayden has reedbanks, huh?

To what lower depth of degradation the humanity will go with this?

Don't tell me the reeds are held on the banks with the 'w' word.

[Richard Morse]

Don't tell me the reeds are held on the banks with the 'w' word.

And the banks are glued to the baseplate which means that you can't see what pad (from the action) is opening. You CAN remove the baseplate/bank combo from the ends (it's screwed on) but then all the buttons become goosey and it's incredibly difficult for it to be put back together.

 

If you have another instrument (piano, accordion, whistle, whatever) and play the same note, you can twang the push reeds until you find the same pitched one. Then the offending one is the inside mate of the pair which can difficult hard to clear of fluff without dismounting the reedplate.

[m3838]

Wow!

What a beautiful sound design! Nice!

Kill me, I will not agree that it's done to lower cost and streamline the producion.

It's done because some designer, who was fired from everywhere, decided to show them all...

On the other hand, if one is to play it alot, can this one take the reeds out, saw the tops of the reed banks, put it back on some hinges or screws (sealed) and if any such problem accurs (and it will), just open the tops, see which button it is, and proceed with the repairs?

Or are there any better solutions?

Edited April 25, 2006 by m3838

[peverett]

I took the left end off my Stagi, masking-taped the "C" button, turned the whole thing around against the bellows frame, gripped, prayed and pumped. To my delight, I got to watch/hear a reed/valve set work. Cool!

 

My box is an early version, and may not match yours. That said, here's what I saw --

 

There are four banks of reeds, one planar to the frame and three "on edge". The smallest "edge" bank is labelled "4" on my instrument. When bank "4" is face-up, the "C" note is on the left end (where the "C" button is, come to think of it). The reed that you can see would be the "push" in normal operation, so the valve that you can see covers the "pull" note.

 

As I recall, David Barnert did just about exactly the operation you're about to attempt when my box was new. Fearlessly. I watched, fearfully. I think he used a toothpick.

 

With enough time (and tape), it would probably make sense to map and mark the reeds for just this sort of problem.

 

Hope this helps (and encourages -- you could use an encouraging word with the kind of support you've been getting here).

 

Squeeze on, Paul E

[peverett]

Whoops - I just reread your problem statement; I was looking for "low C" at the wrong end of the instrument. (...just not a detail person...)

 

Did you succeed in correcting the problem? Would you like me to do the same for the right hand assembly?

 

Paul E

[squeezegirl]

Whoops - I just reread your problem statement; I was looking for "low C" at the wrong end of the instrument. (...just not a detail person...)

 

Did you succeed in correcting the problem? Would you like me to do the same for the right hand assembly?

 

Paul E

 

Yo! Thanks to you Paul and everybody who sent good information. I did not succeed in solving the problem and I've sent the box back to Button Box.

 

As soon as I hear what the problem was, etc., I'll post again with the neccessary comments.

 

Thanks to all

 

MC

[squeezegirl]

I just got some news on my Stagi repair. I had also asked that the low C D E on the left hand also be checked as it was taking a lot of pressure before these notes would speak. This is what Magnificent has advised:

 

"The box is all fixed and ready to go out tomorrow morning.

 

"The RH C pull note problem turned out to be a shard of wood (!!!) that

got stuck in between the reed and frame. As they don't unwax the reeds to

make sure that the chambers are clean there's no way this could have been foreseen.

 

"They DID unwax and voice the lowest 3 notes on the Bass side as best as

we could. One was significantly out-of-voice and the others only very

marginally. That one will be faster acting but the other two will be

barely noticeably better. The problem is that Stagi uses short reeds

with huge weights on them to get them this low. Makes for an easy fit

but the downside is that they are slow to respond - a design choice on

their end favoring cost over response."

 

I do appreciate all the 'repair' suggestions you people sent, it may come in handy in the future!

 

Squeeze on!

[ragtimer]

Geez -- I drop of C.Net for one week (uncle's funeral, concert performances) and the Hayden world falls apart! :-)

Don't tell me the reeds are held on the banks with the 'w' word.

And the banks are glued to the baseplate which means that you can't see what pad (from the action) is opening. You CAN remove the baseplate/bank combo from the ends (it's screwed on) but then all the buttons become goosey and it's incredibly difficult for it to be put back together.

Yes, the reed plates are indeed held in by an alien (non-human) technology originally developed to store honey :-)

Seriously, getting the buttons back thru the end plate isn't as hard as it looks (and it does look scary!).

You start by holding the end plate in one hand, and the action/reed unit upside down inthe other, and gently lower it into place. A surprisingly large number of the buttons will find their holes. Now, carefully holding the whole thing with each hand, carefully rotate the less-than-perfectly mated units so the reed block end is supported in your lap. The end plate will rest lightly on any reluctant buttons.

 

Use a sharp-pointed small screwdriver or hairpin to nudge any troublesome buttons into their holes. It's amazingly easy. As each button is cleared, the end plate will snuggle down a little more, and reveal which button is now holding it up. Finally the end will drop right down into place. Just don't drop the whole thing.

 

Backing up a bit -- make sure you unscrew the right pair of tiny brass screws to take the action/reed unit out of the end. Also, while you have an end apart, run thru the buttons, watch the pads, and pencil the note name of each reed on its cell, so you don't have to take it apart the next time.

 

FWIW, I had a left-hand draw reed get "strangled" on my Stagi Hayden, and the Button Box tech had to replace the valve on the push reed to fix it.

 

It may be worthwhile idea to shellac or varnish all the rought wood surfaces inside the Stagi (stay away from the pad areas), to prevent little wood shards from straying into the reeds.

If you have another instrument (piano, accordion, whistle, whatever) and play the same note, you can twang the push reeds until you find the same pitched one. Then the offending one is the inside mate of the pair which can difficult hard to clear of fluff without dismounting the reedplate.

Yes, I've used the twang method to make sure I had the right reed.

--Mike K.