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Author Topic: Low bass reed interference  (Read 834 times)

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Rog

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Low bass reed interference
« on: August 18, 2017, 07:41:11 AM »

So I recently looked at a Salterelle 2.5 row 2 voice. The owner complained that esp when playing the B and E bass, there is a sort of growling interference with the B note (and some others) on the RH. It sorts of chugs a bit. I hadn't really noticed it because I am used to it. I have a Nuage with switch on LH for taking out low reed, and low and behold with this reed engaged I have the same effect, though perhaps not as pronounced. My box is slightly drier tuned. I checked the pitch of all the reeds involved and they are all ok, plus it doesn't sound off. The Salterelle has three (?) fundamental reeds and the low B is a B1, which is not as low as you can get (:) but pretty low (sorry..had to put that in). I didn't really want to experiment with this chap's box by altering the tremolo on the RH to see what effect this has, so to improve his everyday playing experience I taped off the lowest set of bass reeds, which immediately solved the problem.  Now his Salterelle plays like the Nuage in its default low bass reed missing state. I was also recently asked to do exactly the same thing (tape of lowest bass Reed set) on a v nice Salterelle CBA (my response...'you really want me to do that?' 'Yes'). 
So, can someone explain technically what is happening with this low bass reed to cause this growl, a growl I quite like but which evidently isn't to everyone's taste. Is there a chance the giant reed is knocking against the valve, for instance?
« Last Edit: August 18, 2017, 07:43:03 AM by RogerT »
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Theo

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Re: Low bass reed interference
« Reply #1 on: August 18, 2017, 07:49:32 AM »

Just one other question Roger.  Did you check the pitch of the reeds inside the box or on a tuning bench? Saltarelle bass and chord reeds are particularly bad for changing in pitch between inside and outside the box.  I've observed that the pulsing sound when reeds are separated by some distance and by more than one octave, and I suspect that some mis-tuning is involved but I don't really understand what is happening.
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Theo Gibb - Gateshead UK

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Rog

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Re: Low bass reed interference
« Reply #2 on: August 18, 2017, 08:03:21 AM »

I checked it all in the box. I've just run another test on my Nuage. With low bass and single M reed on right. You get a bit of a growl but not as much as you do with MM. It may just be a characteristic of the box. On the 2.5 row it was more pronounced...but that box is wetter tuned than mine. Just wondering if the low frequency is interfering with the higher.
...mod..
What I might do is play around with the tuning on mine to see if/how it can be reduced. I also suspect it is a quirk of tuning
« Last Edit: August 18, 2017, 08:05:03 AM by RogerT »
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Theo

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Re: Low bass reed interference
« Reply #3 on: August 18, 2017, 08:11:26 AM »

One other thought - it might be related to changes in pitch with playing pressure - I expect that B1 reed will vary widely with pressure.
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Theo Gibb - Gateshead UK

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