Henri VIII Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 Greetings, Is there any evidence that a Duet Concertinas had intentionally been voiced by the maker differently in the left and right hands? For instance, does anyone know of any example where the left hand reeds are voiced relatively more "mellow" and the right hand reeds "brighter"? Henri in Central Florida Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ocd Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 Robert Gaskins wrote an article on fitting baffles on Maccann concertinas that might be relevant to your question: http://www.concertina.com/gaskins/baffles/index.htm ocd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimLucas Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 Is there any evidence that a Duet Concertinas had intentionally been voiced by the maker differently in the left and right hands? For instance, does anyone know of any example where the left hand reeds are voiced relatively more "mellow" and the right hand reeds "brighter"? There are some relevant comments in old threads. No time to hunt them down at the moment. And I recall that in the Wheatstone ledgers there are at least a couple of entries where duets had one metal end and one wooden one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henri VIII Posted January 4, 2008 Author Share Posted January 4, 2008 Dear OCD, Thanks -- Robert Gaskins certainly has something to say on the subject of baffles. I had baffles fitted on my Crane to reduce the volume ... on both sides equally. I'm pleased with my current sound but it's interesting to know how the balance had been modified "back in the day". Henri in Central Florida Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Morse Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 I've heard that some duets had more closed fretwork on the bass side which should cut down on the volume some. Steve Dickinson (of Wheatstone) told me that he often makes the lowest reeds of duets slightly undersized which results in not as much volume. My SD Hayden has the lowest 4 notes slightly undersized. There doesn't seem to be any "break" in sound quality or response and the volume is well balanced. -- Rich -- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirge Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 The bigger wheatstones have a plain crescent area over the bass notes; my 61 key raised metal end did, my wood 56 doesn't, my 71 metal aeola does, suggesting that it's the notes right at the bottom of the stave that need throttling back. How can you undersize a reed, Richard? Doesn't that raise the pitch? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimLucas Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 I've heard that some duets had more closed fretwork on the bass side which should cut down on the volume some. The bigger wheatstones have a plain crescent area over the bass notes; ... suggesting that it's the notes right at the bottom of the stave that need throttling back. It's both. After all, lower is lower, no matter where it's located. My 80-button Æola Maccann has less fretwork at the lower end in both hands, and substantially less fretwork overall on the left end than on the right. Your fret-free "crescent" in the lower left hand is a combination of the two: the fretwork holes in that region have gotten so small that they've disappeared. How can you undersize a reed, Richard? Doesn't that raise the pitch? I'm sure Rich knows more about this than I do, but here's what I understand: A reed which is narrower, but otherwise the same (same length, thickness profile, etc.) will produce the same pitch but move less air, and will thus be quieter. I'm not sure how the width affects response and tone quality, if at all. Two reeds of the same metal and same width but different length can be given the same pitch. To do this, the shorter one will need to have proportionately more mass (thickness) at the free end and/or less at the fixed end. More mass at the free end slows the vibration by making it "heavier". Less at the fixed end slows it by weakening the "spring". I don't know to what extent these factors vary the response and tone quality. I expect that they do, but that the difference can be minimized by adjustments in the thickness profile along the entire length of the reed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Morse Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 How can you undersize a reed, Richard? Doesn't that raise the pitch?Not necessarily. Beyond what Jim wrote you can make the frame and corresponding pan area less deep which will limit the swing. Less swing = less loud. You can also make the pad hole smaller or the pad lift less. Any of these (when done well) will affect volume and dynamic response without affecting the pitch. Even though I consider the frame part of the reed assembly, the other things aren't a part of undersizing the reed though I offer them here for further volume-reducing consideration. -- Rich -- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirge Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 thank you folks. I'm illuminated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimLucas Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 thank you folks. I'm illuminated Brilliant! Sorry (almost). I couldn't resist the pun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirge Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 If you had resisted it, others wouldn't have... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Barnert Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 thank you folks. I'm illuminated Brilliant! Sorry (almost). I couldn't resist the pun. If there were no resistance involved in illumination, it wouldn't be so brilliant (just a roundabout way of saying V=IR). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hooves Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 thank you folks. I'm illuminated Brilliant! Sorry (almost). I couldn't resist the pun. If there were no resistance involved in illumination, it wouldn't be so brilliant (just a roundabout way of saying V=IR). Oh there you go dragging poor Dr. Ohm into it... at least I think he was a doctor, a quack in the very least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirge Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 If I said this was impeding concertina discussions that would fit too, wouldn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimLucas Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 thank you folks. I'm illuminated Brilliant! Sorry (almost). I couldn't resist the pun. If there were no resistance involved in illumination, it wouldn't be so brilliant (just a roundabout way of saying V=IR). Oh there you go dragging poor Dr. Ohm into it... at least I think he was a doctor, a quack in the very least. Not a quack, but definitely a rare bird. And he, too, was brilliant... incandescently so! Rather than overprescribing "miracle" drugs, he used them only as a last resort, preferring the benefits of stress reduction and in particular meditation. OOOHHMM! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimLucas Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 If I said this was impeding concertina discussions that would fit too, wouldn't it? Forget the discussion. Get out your concertinas. We're going to play for the impede dance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimLucas Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 If there were no resistance involved in illumination, it wouldn't be so brilliant (just a roundabout way of saying V=IR). Won't that soon be V=IRtual reality in the US? I hear they're going to ban incandescent -- i.e., resistance-based, -- light bulbs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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