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Author Topic: Hohner Pirol  (Read 2594 times)

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fiddleboxdavey

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Hohner Pirol
« on: November 30, 2015, 04:10:41 PM »

This (smaller than anticipated!) Hohner Pirol arrived from Germany this morning.

I have no idea how it is tuned- it took me several minutes to work out a scale, never mind a tune! I had rather optimistically thought it might have been chromatic. Silly me- the treble side notes are the same on the push and pull per note. The bass side is bass note, major and minor chords. It's in very nice condition for its age though- 1920's or 1930's? The treble side plays remarkably well and sounds great although a few notes are a bit grumbly. The leathers will need replaced all-round. Bellows are good and airtight.

I had thought on converting it to C/C#/D so I could midi the basses and use the box in my ceilidh band but it may be a very silly project to start....

I am most impressed with the size of the box but the tuning is a mystery to me.

Any hints on what I have just acquired would be most welcome!
« Last Edit: November 30, 2015, 04:41:40 PM by fiddleboxdavey »
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Lester

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Re: Hohner Pirol
« Reply #1 on: November 30, 2015, 04:20:07 PM »

It is almost certainly a 3 row continental chromatic, bottom three rows of this

triskel

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Re: Hohner Pirol
« Reply #2 on: November 30, 2015, 05:14:15 PM »

It looks a lot like a 1930's Lucia, but a bit smaller with only 34 treble buttons (instead of 37) and 24 basses (instead of 48), and B-system rather than C-system...

squeezy

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Re: Hohner Pirol
« Reply #3 on: November 30, 2015, 09:18:26 PM »

Agreed it's a B system and all but one of the Lucia, Cornelia and Pirol boxes I've seen have also been B system.

The Pirol is a 2 voice box with 24 bass Stradella system in 3 diagonal rows of bass-major chord-minor chord - it's not fully chromatic on the left hand as the basses only go from Eb to E (Eb, Bb, F, C, G, D, A, E).

It's been possible to convert to a push-pull system for me on both the Lucia and the Cornelia and I would imagine the Pirol would be a similar operation.  However it is not a completely simple task as the reed blocks need extending in order to accommodate the reeds.  A C/C#/D version would be a lovely conversion keeping the stradella basses and it would be a unique compact instrument!
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Squeezy

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Sebastian

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Re: Hohner Pirol
« Reply #4 on: November 30, 2015, 10:17:13 PM »

I had thought on converting it to C/C#/D so I could midi the basses and use the box in my ceilidh band
Ah -- -- before doing so, would you eventually consider to sell it to someone who might play it in its original configuration? :|bl
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Sandy Flett

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Re: Hohner Pirol
« Reply #5 on: November 30, 2015, 10:58:54 PM »

I had thought on converting it to C/C#/D so I could midi the basses and use the box in my ceilidh band but it may be a very silly project to start....

The innards are packed so tight in these models that I would be surprised if there would be enough space to fit the midi components - but its a nice idea.
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Theo

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Re: Hohner Pirol
« Reply #6 on: November 30, 2015, 11:39:51 PM »

It's been possible to convert to a push-pull system for me on both the Lucia and the Cornelia and I would imagine the Pirol would be a similar operation.  However it is not a completely simple task as the reed blocks need extending in order to accommodate the reeds. 

And I think you would need the narrow reed plates of the type used in other miniature Hohners like Lilliput, Preciosa and Imperial.
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triskel

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Re: Hohner Pirol
« Reply #7 on: November 30, 2015, 11:55:33 PM »

Agreed it's a B system and all but one of the Lucia, Cornelia and Pirol boxes I've seen have also been B system.

The catalogue illustrations that I have of both the Lucia and Cornelia are of B-system (and I was meaning that this box wouldn't finger the same as the C-system layout in Lester's keyboard diagram), but I've never (yet) seen a Pirol in a catalogue.

Quote
A C/C#/D version would be a lovely conversion keeping the stradella basses and it would be a unique compact instrument!

Personally, I'd go C#/D/D# if I was going to convert it - then you'd have a 12-button D row, with flats and sharps either side, plus the option to play it as an Eb (D/D#) box on the inside two rows...

fiddleboxdavey

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Hohner Pirol
« Reply #8 on: December 01, 2015, 03:26:15 PM »

A C#/D/D# conversion sounds a very good idea. More practical than C/C#/D too.
As I mentioned in my original post, I was expecting a bigger box, possibly similar in size to a Hohner Trichord. The reeds I have here are too big for starters and it would definitely be on the tight side to fit a midi set up on the bass.

The Pirol box is so compact that I think I may have bitten off more than I can chew. Its such a lovely little box and it might be a shame to start a conversion that won't work. I've never seen such a small 3 row.

On the plus side though, I dug out an old wooden cabinet 3 row, 48 bass box I'd forgotten about at the back of my store today. Unbelievably, it is already tuned to C/C#/D!! I bought it a good while ago assuming it would be tuned to B/C/C# (I'm up in B/C/C# country in East Scotland) I'd never got around to checking the tuning and thought on giving B/C/C# tuning a go. It's very heavy to play but I think that may be the price to pay if I want enough basses to merit a midi system.

Maybe I should stick to my normal sized melodeons and just embrace their bass limitations.....

Maybe I should be a bit more concerned with the leak in the workshop roof at the moment....!

MAD.......





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Grape Ape

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Re: Hohner Pirol
« Reply #9 on: December 01, 2015, 11:41:48 PM »

Fiddleboxdavey, that there is one pretty box! (The one from the back of your store)
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