pastlifeasakite Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 Would it be possible to construct a 20 key anglo with brass reeds on the left side and steel on the right so you could sustain full chords without drowning out single line melodys on the right side? would this even be the case? i can see how tunes that go from one side to the other would come out sounding a bit odd, but i think playing simple chord/melody style with both kinds of reeds would sound real nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Jowaisas Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 It is an interesting idea. One problem might be crafting the brass reeds with close enough tolerances so that they respond like steel reeds. Wheatstone was certainly able to accomplish this. I have worked on a number of brass reed Wheatstones (mostly in the 1880-1900 era with rivet reeds) that except for overall volume would give up little in comparison to steel reeds. I wonder if it might not be simpler though to work on a suitable left side baffle that might give you the desired effect? http://search.freefind.com/find.html?id=41...amp;search.y=12 Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pastlifeasakite Posted February 21, 2009 Author Share Posted February 21, 2009 It is an interesting idea. One problem might be crafting the brass reeds with close enough tolerances so that they respond like steel reeds. Wheatstone was certainly able to accomplish this. I have worked on a number of brass reed Wheatstones (mostly in the 1880-1900 era with rivet reeds) that except for overall volume would give up little in comparison to steel reeds. I wonder if it might not be simpler though to work on a suitable left side baffle that might give you the desired effect? http://search.freefind.com/find.html?id=41...amp;search.y=12 Greg thanks for the link greg. I think you're right in that it would be an easier way to acomplish the more balanced chrod to melody thing i was talking about. Still curius about the way brass and steel would sound together, but i didn't even think about that different amount of time they'ld take to respond etc. just something neat to think about i guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Marino Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 Depending on a number of different factors Brass can respond faster than steel and the inverse can also be true. When you are talking about the different sound you are dealing with alot of different points in not only what the reed is made of but the entire instrument. Modern brass alloy used in harmonicas is many times superior to the brass that was used in early concertinas and they in some cases have lasted well over 150 years of play and use. The difference in sound is there but alot of that has to with many complex interaction as well as what the reed is made from. I have harmonicas that have stainless steel reeds and it is very hard to tell them from a tuned brass reeded harmonica. Your idea bears merit and would be interesting hear though volume response might be as different as you are hoping for. Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hooves Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 Would it be possible to construct a 20 key anglo with brass reeds on the left side and steel on the right so you could sustain full chords without drowning out single line melodys on the right side? would this even be the case? i can see how tunes that go from one side to the other would come out sounding a bit odd, but i think playing simple chord/melody style with both kinds of reeds would sound real nice. I think you should find both a brass and steel reeded anglo of the same size, and simply swap an end. I did this with my crummy chinese english and anglo boxes (the screw holes matched up perfectly). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pastlifeasakite Posted March 31, 2009 Author Share Posted March 31, 2009 Would it be possible to construct a 20 key anglo with brass reeds on the left side and steel on the right so you could sustain full chords without drowning out single line melodys on the right side? would this even be the case? i can see how tunes that go from one side to the other would come out sounding a bit odd, but i think playing simple chord/melody style with both kinds of reeds would sound real nice. I think you should find both a brass and steel reeded anglo of the same size, and simply swap an end. I did this with my crummy chinese english and anglo boxes (the screw holes matched up perfectly). wait, so the end product of that switch was two half anglo half english concertinas?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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