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Author Topic: Sideproject: my first 1-row Hohner  (Read 5858 times)

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Fred

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Re: Sideproject: my first 1-row Hohner
« Reply #40 on: November 15, 2018, 05:31:24 PM »





This way, if you mount it the other way the longer swing of the big reeds could foul the bellows

Oh that makes a lot of sense. Thank you for the quick response. I'm regularly baffled by your activity on this forum. (:)
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Fred

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Re: Sideproject: my first 1-row Hohner
« Reply #41 on: November 16, 2018, 01:33:12 AM »

The chords have been waxed in. (:)


Is it normal for beginners to have these thick lines of wax? I feel if I'd use less, it could happen that it's not airtight and therefore I use a little more instead.
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Theo

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Re: Sideproject: my first 1-row Hohner
« Reply #42 on: November 16, 2018, 07:50:32 AM »

My personal view is that it is food to have a substantial fillet of wax round all edges of each plate. Hohner tend to use less, but Italian boxes usually use more. So be fairly generous with the wax, it is all that hold the reeds in place. It should also be neat and tidy and there should not be any dribbles of wax elsewhere on the block. 
« Last Edit: November 16, 2018, 07:52:23 AM by Theo »
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Theo Gibb - Gateshead UK

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Fred

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Re: Sideproject: my first 1-row Hohner
« Reply #43 on: November 17, 2018, 01:40:25 PM »

Oh I got many new things to share with you. (:)

First things first, I've removed and cleaned all the treble reeds.


Then I've revalved them.


And in the end I've waxed them back into place. Very happy with how the waxing went this time, I think I'm starting to get the hang of it.

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Fred

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Re: Sideproject: my first 1-row Hohner
« Reply #44 on: November 17, 2018, 01:47:09 PM »

Now to the more interesting finds after all this work:
- The treble and the bass side are in two different keys.  ;D
- Bass side is in Eb, treble side is in Bb.
- This does not go well together. :D

Could this really be? Are bass and treble side just fundamentally different?
After carefully looking at the different sides of the box, my suspicions seem to have been verified:
This box is the result of slaughtering two other boxes. :-O


However I've made some little recordings nonetheless.
The first track in the playlist is me just playing a simple melody with the right hand to see how the box sounds. Mind you, I've not attempted any tuning until now. I'm pleasantly surprised by how well it sounds after all these years.
The second track is just playing through the buttons on both sides. Always alternating between push first and pull second.
https://soundcloud.com/laubblaeser/sets/hohner-1-row-tests/s-L3tud


What do you think: What should I do now? How can I salvage this mess and how should  I retune the box so that it may sound proper again? Very much looking forward to read your input on this.  :||:


IT LIVES!!! AND I SHALL CALL IT FRANKENBOX!!!
« Last Edit: November 17, 2018, 01:53:27 PM by Fred »
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John MacKenzie (Cugiok)

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Re: Sideproject: my first 1-row Hohner
« Reply #45 on: November 17, 2018, 03:14:58 PM »

Sounds like you have 1 reed reversed. Check if the letters are all showing, I assume it will be a T in this case. The other type is an H. Either, case, the letter shout be showing not hidden. Even the 2 small treble reeds mounted "upside down", will have the letters showing, just at the other end to the rest.


Sir John
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There is no beginning to my talent :)



: Hohner Club Modell 1. Bb/Eb, de-clubbed : Early Hohner Pressed Wood A/D : 1930's Varnished wood G/C:  Hohner Erika C/F: Bandoneon tuned D/G Pressed wood: Koch F/Bb; G/C Pre Corso

Fred

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Re: Sideproject: my first 1-row Hohner
« Reply #46 on: November 18, 2018, 03:09:12 PM »

Sounds like you have 1 reed reversed. Check if the letters are all showing, I assume it will be a T in this case. The other type is an H. Either, case, the letter shout be showing not hidden.

All of the H letters are showing, as you can see in this pic.



However, I still have the problem that I have two different keys on the bass (Eb) and treble (Bb) side.
Can anyone of the more theoretically versed people give me an idea how this could be fixed by retuning? Thanks!
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Theo

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Re: Sideproject: my first 1-row Hohner
« Reply #47 on: November 18, 2018, 04:30:04 PM »

Do you know what you should have on the bass side? 
The standard basses  Bflat/F and Eb/Eb
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Theo Gibb - Gateshead UK

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tirpous

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Re: Sideproject: my first 1-row Hohner
« Reply #48 on: November 18, 2018, 04:42:06 PM »

You could turn around the reed plates for Eb/Bb to get Bb/Eb, and then file the (newly) inside reeds to get the desired Bb/F.

For the Ab/Ab bass pair, the reed tips could be loaded with solder to bring the pitch down to Eb.  For the chords, the Ab and C reeds could be changed to G and Bb by the same process, so that you end up with the notes of an Eb chord (Eb, G, Bb).   
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Fred

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Re: Sideproject: my first 1-row Hohner
« Reply #49 on: November 18, 2018, 04:49:01 PM »

Do you know what you should have on the bass side? 
The standard basses  Bflat/F and Eb/Eb

No, I did not know that because there's no 1-row keyboard layout for Bb. Thank you for telling me.

Currently the basses seem to be Eb/Bb and Ab/Ab. I have no experience with tuning melodeons.

You could turn around the reed plates for Eb/Bb to get Bb/Eb, and then file the (newly) inside reeds to get the desired Bb/F.

For the Ab/Ab bass pair, the reed tips could be loaded with solder to bring the pitch down to Eb.  For the chords, the Ab and C reeds could be changed to G and Bb by the same process, so that you end up with the notes of an Eb chord (Eb, G, Bb).   

Turning around the Eb/Bb and tuning up the Eb to F seems straightforward. That sounds like a simple enough thing to do, thanks for the idea. (:)
The Ab plate however makes my head spin. Can I really just add some solder and retune them to a lower note?  :o
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tirpous

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Re: Sideproject: my first 1-row Hohner
« Reply #50 on: November 18, 2018, 05:40:13 PM »

Yes, tuning down with solder works, and it's reversible too.  The idea is to add solder to the tip so that the reed is (a bit) too low, and file the solder to come back up to the desired pitch.
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Theo

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Re: Sideproject: my first 1-row Hohner
« Reply #51 on: November 18, 2018, 05:44:13 PM »

But don’t use your best file because it will end up clogged with solder.
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Theo Gibb - Gateshead UK

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Fred

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Re: Sideproject: my first 1-row Hohner
« Reply #52 on: November 18, 2018, 06:12:10 PM »

That sounds very interesting. I think I want to try it out.
Do you have any pictures at hand so that I could see how a finished reed with solder on it might look like? Thanks in advance. (:)
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tirpous

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Re: Sideproject: my first 1-row Hohner
« Reply #53 on: November 18, 2018, 07:44:25 PM »

Here are 2 pictures, one with focus on bass reeds, the other on chords.  This is a Hohner Double Ray.

I used electronic-type solder (old - with lead in it...) after roughening slightly the reed surface with fine sandpaper.  Not sure the sandpaper step was necessary.
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