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Author Topic: Converting a GCF to a GC/acc?  (Read 1641 times)

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Grape Ape

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Converting a GCF to a GC/acc?
« on: May 05, 2017, 04:02:46 AM »

Well, as the title suggests, can it be done, and what would it entail?
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Theo

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Re: Converting a GCF to a GC/acc?
« Reply #1 on: May 05, 2017, 07:11:03 AM »

In theory it can be done.  Best to fit a new set of reeds to replace those in the F row. Ideally they should be the same make and grade as the originals. The difficulty is obtaining the reeds.
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Malcolm Clapp

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Re: Converting a GCF to a GC/acc?
« Reply #2 on: May 05, 2017, 07:15:21 AM »

You will just need to replace the reeds on the F block(s) with the accidentals/reversals of your choice. Some of the F row reeds can be re-used with a bit of tuning; others? well, you might have to find a few from elsewhere.

If the instrument currently also has accidentals at the end of the G and C rows, perhaps an opportunity to use these as part of the accidental row of reeds and replace them with low notes instead.

HOWEVER....

It may not be quite that simple because the reed chambers on the F row might be a bit too small to accommodate the length of the reedplates for the accidentals you choose, so a bit of creative carpentry might be needed to extend the height of the chambers (or a new block made to size).

Modifying the bass might be fun too, but not impossible with a bit of shuffling and tuning.

And you can easily add a gleischon (sp) to the C row if you want "real" club fingering.

Been there; done that! Fiddly, but feasible. Result: a decent Hohner Corona G/C club, currently somewhere in country Victoria with a happy new owner who wanted more accidentals than his Hohner Galaad could provide (and buttons that didn't keep falling off...)

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Malcolm Clapp

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Re: Converting a GCF to a GC/acc?
« Reply #3 on: May 05, 2017, 07:30:41 AM »

The difficulty is obtaining the reeds.

Unfortunately, many melodeons that would have been purchased cheaply for scrap and used as spare parts a few years ago are now being rebuilt by clever people from this site and elsewhere. Consequently, the days of the "10 pound scrapper" are no more. This applies to concertinas too; I remember a well known repairer once describing a (then unpopular/unfashionable) Jeffries duet as "nothing more than a reed mine".

Apologies, as always, for thread drift!
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Rog

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Re: Converting a GCF to a GC/acc?
« Reply #4 on: May 05, 2017, 09:47:26 AM »

Or...convert a BCC# to GCC#.... you'd need to source a set of G reeds.

Malcolm Clapp

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Re: Converting a GCF to a GC/acc?
« Reply #5 on: May 05, 2017, 12:01:13 PM »

Or...convert a BCC# to GCC#.... you'd need to source a set of G reeds.

While a straight C# row would cover the accidentals, it would be a different fingering to the Club style, which may or may not worry the OP.
It would no doubt be easier to fit a set of G reeds into a B block with less modification required. And probably easier to source a set of low G reeds than the required accidentals.... So probably a better idea, Roger, though there are some who may consider sacrificing a BCC# to be somewhat sacrilegious, as they seem to be somewhat scarcer   :o
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Steve C.

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Re: Converting a GCF to a GC/acc?
« Reply #6 on: May 05, 2017, 01:43:15 PM »

Grape, don't forget you will want to make changes to your bass side.... ($$$)
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Rog

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Re: Converting a GCF to a GC/acc?
« Reply #7 on: May 05, 2017, 01:48:13 PM »

I suppose the B block could be kept so that the bcc# could be reverted.
Agree on the fingering. Though the semitone box layout is standard on any tuning, so you only need to learn the fingering once....( well that's what I am discovering). But as you say it depends on the OP's preference.

Grape Ape

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Re: Converting a GCF to a GC/acc?
« Reply #8 on: May 05, 2017, 02:18:32 PM »

Actually, I don't really mind the GCF layout on the right hand, allows for some nice chromatic runs, and the box already has accidentals on the chin end, what I guess I really would want to do is to rearrange the bass end to be more like a GC....
« Last Edit: May 06, 2017, 12:42:29 AM by Grape Ape »
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Malcolm Clapp

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Re: Converting a GCF to a GC/acc?
« Reply #9 on: May 05, 2017, 03:23:09 PM »

Actually, I don't teally mind the GCF layout on the right hand, allows for some nice chromatic runs, and the box already has accidentals on the chin end, what I guess I really would want to do is to rearrange the bass end to be more like a GC....

Pretty straightforward; assuming it is a Hohner Corona II (no shared reeds or anything clever like that), it would only be the middle inside pair that has to be changed. You would lose the A/Dm and replace it with F/F. The bass and baritone reeds would have to be obtained from somewhere, but the chord reeds just need a bit of tuning: E/F sharpened to F/F by filing, and C#/D flattened to C/C, either by filing or a dab of solder. (A/A is common to both chords).  That would give you a standard GC bass plus a three chord trick for playing in F major. All things being equal (though they rarely are) probably about an hours work for a fettler if you're not into DIY.
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