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Author Topic: The Way a Hohner Should Be?  (Read 3160 times)

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Earl Bryce

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Re: The Way a Hohner Should Be?
« Reply #20 on: November 27, 2019, 10:19:28 PM »

I’ve enjoyed listening to all the links posted and hearing what a Hohner is capable of!

They are the MGB of accordeons.
I must admit, I did not know what an MGB was and had to look it up. I’m afraid the subtleties of that analogy were lost across the pond, but I think I catch your drift.  ;) I like the car comparison.
Initially, I wasn’t much of a Hohner fan. I always wanted a Castagnari. But after having one, I’ve fallen for its humble charms. Reliable, unassuming, simple, may I even say elegant in a minimal sort of way. And the sound, wet or dry, can be really lovely I’m hearing. I guess there’s a certain soul or essence to a good old Hohner that makes it a very personal thing.
Disclaimer: I am not paid by Hohner to advertise their instrument. But now I see why so many here are part of team Hohner haha
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Stotty

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Re: The Way a Hohner Should Be?
« Reply #21 on: November 27, 2019, 10:39:03 PM »

Many Hohners, mine included, have benefit from being "dried out", i.e. having the tremolo reduced a bit from factory. Plus, they go a little out out tune after 10 or 15 years of savage beating

They are never in tune from the factory in my experience ::)

Quote
  But certainly never close to two reeds in unison!  I mean, why have two reeds?  (:)

Because two reeds in unison sound different from a single reed. For example here is Josephine Marsh playing a dry tuned 2 voice Hohner:

https://youtu.be/Ba4x5Ac61LE?t=53

  Close your eyes and it is still recognisable as a Hohner!
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Steve C.

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Re: The Way a Hohner Should Be?
« Reply #22 on: November 28, 2019, 01:54:06 AM »

Jeffe, pretty soon us ol' fots are gonna have to start referring to Hohners as the "VW's of melodeons" or the Honda Civics of Melodeons" or maybe even some totally other analogy as current generations don't work on their own cars.
I mean not knowing what an MGB is/was does mean something, generation-wise, does it not?
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Stockaryd

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Re: The Way a Hohner Should Be?
« Reply #23 on: November 28, 2019, 11:18:22 AM »

Jeffe, pretty soon us ol' fots are gonna have to start referring to Hohners as the "VW's of melodeons" or the Honda Civics of Melodeons" 


I would say  "VOLVO"     ;) 
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Tone Dumb Greg

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Re: The Way a Hohner Should Be?
« Reply #24 on: November 28, 2019, 12:16:20 PM »

Jeffe, pretty soon us ol' fots are gonna have to start referring to Hohners as the "VW's of melodeons" or the Honda Civics of Melodeons" 

VW is probably a good analogy. The people's instrument and the people's car.
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arty

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Re: The Way a Hohner Should Be?
« Reply #25 on: November 28, 2019, 12:48:30 PM »

To my knowledge, Hohner has never lied about it’s emissions  ;)
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playandteach

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Re: The Way a Hohner Should Be?
« Reply #26 on: November 28, 2019, 01:01:55 PM »

There are plenty of Honers who lie about their omissions though.
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melodeon

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Re: The Way a Hohner Should Be?
« Reply #27 on: December 02, 2019, 01:51:03 AM »

I am across the pond in Oregon, USA.
I have a 1964 MB, I have owned 7 MGs, 11 Morris Minors, 2 Oxfords, 4 Thames vans, 1 Commer, 1 TVR Grantura, one Fairthorpe ELectron Climax, 5 Land Rovers, 1 Rover SD1 (3500 v8) e58 Frog(bug) eye Sprite, and more.
To add:
VWs.. 55,56,57,58,59,60, 54 VW Bus rt hand drive dbl door, 71 Bus, POS Jetta, 1973 Thing

After 4 years at a BMC, Rolls Royce, Bentley, Aston Martin, Lotus dealership for 4 years, I was the service manager of a Honda dealership for 4 years and bought the first Civic CVCC Sport 5 speed.

I will concede that most VWs  ( most but  not to include the THING which was built in Mexico) are  made in Germany and air "cooled"

The B (MGB) still gets my vote for over the VW ( which was largely a myth for reliability) for a comparison to the Hohner.
Largely because older VWs are now selling for "earth money" ( ridiculous amounts given what they are/were)

A similarity between Hohner and MG is that they are now made in China.. and the quality is not what it was in years gone by.  Many VWs are made in USA and here because they are made by XXXXX XXXXX they might as well be made in China given the quality.    VW lies about their omissions as well, referring to design, materials, workmanship and customer service.

Volvo and Hohner also have a commonality being made in China.

I like older Hohners and older VWs ( Did I mention I owned a 1954 Porsche 1500 Normal bent window)?

 I have owned 14 Castagnaris.. only one was a total dog.. a Mory in C.. absurdly substandard.
All other very good to excellent.. excepting the 4 MELODEONS ( MAX) with the stooooopidly placed air button and the reason I offed all of them.

Rumor has it one Irish dealer now has themmade with a relocated air button and hand made reeds.

Too bad that Hohner USA has rolled over and gone for junk and over priced Ancketas (sp) and ignored the rest of us who made them who they are.

Lecture over.


"Safety Fast"


MOWOG

Down with Leyland
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Winston Smith

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Re: The Way a Hohner Should Be?
« Reply #28 on: December 02, 2019, 07:41:14 AM »

That's an awful lot of cars, Mr Melodeon. You must be a very difficult man to please to have gone through, and kept buying (in the case of the VW's) so much rubbish!
But your analogy between cars and melodeons is certainly a good one. I spent most of my working life repairing most of those makes of cars (for my sins!) whilst always having the urge to make modifications to them as well. Now, my attentions have turned to our beloved instruments in the same sort of way.
I greatly enjoy playing them, but because of financial restraints I also have to repair them. Plus, I still cannot help having a go at modifying them, I always have a few Frankenstein's on the go! (Obviously, working in the cheap end of the market, my experience will be nowhere as wide as yours!)
Like motors, I believe there are too many differing circumstances around ownership and use of melodeons to make blanket comments. We can only really pontificate from our own experiences, as you and I have done, to varying extent, here.
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Peadar

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Re: The Way a Hohner Should Be?
« Reply #29 on: December 02, 2019, 08:00:17 PM »

I don't know about the Hohner being the VolksWelodeon...but I have been getting the impresion that melodeons are the legal high of musical instruments.
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playandteach

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Re: The Way a Hohner Should Be?
« Reply #30 on: December 02, 2019, 09:11:34 PM »

I think a Hohner is a bicycle with a basket. And in that basket is a pencil in a brown paper bag, a postcard to a loved one and a map and a packet of sherbet lemons.
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Steve C.

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Re: The Way a Hohner Should Be?
« Reply #31 on: December 03, 2019, 12:47:23 PM »

"Poetry"  (:)
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Steve C.

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Re: The Way a Hohner Should Be?
« Reply #32 on: December 03, 2019, 12:51:21 PM »

The old country
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baz parkes

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Re: The Way a Hohner Should Be?
« Reply #33 on: December 04, 2019, 10:44:57 AM »

I think a Hohner is a bicycle with a basket. And in that basket is a pencil in a brown paper bag, a postcard to a loved one and a map and a packet of sherbet lemons.

In a previous life I spent a lot of time teaching and analysing the use of metaphor. You have just been awarded 100 House Points  :|glug
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Dick Rees

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Re: The Way a Hohner Should Be?
« Reply #34 on: December 04, 2019, 03:02:27 PM »

Many Hohners, mine included, have benefit from being "dried out", i.e. having the tremolo reduced a bit from factory. Plus, they go a little out out tune after 10 or 15 years of savage beating

They are never in tune from the factory in my experience ::)

Quote
  But certainly never close to two reeds in unison!  I mean, why have two reeds?  (:)

Because two reeds in unison sound different from a single reed. For example here is Josephine Marsh playing a dry tuned 2 voice Hohner:

https://youtu.be/Ba4x5Ac61LE?t=53

Two reeds may be tuned to the same pitch, but in all probability will not be in phase accounting for the difference in sound compared to a single reed.
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tirpous

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Re: The Way a Hohner Should Be?
« Reply #35 on: December 04, 2019, 04:02:36 PM »

Quote
Two reeds may be tuned to the same pitch, but in all probability will not be in phase accounting for the difference in sound compared to a single reed.

Even if they are tuned to the same pitch, in practice it is not the 'same' but rather 'very-close-but-not-quite-the-same'.  Could be because of tuning accuracy tolerances, the way the 2 reeds change frequency with different pressure, drift over time... 

It reminds me of the old analog synthesizers: you could tune 2 oscillators to the same pitch and it would sound fatter than a single one, but with a 'phasy' quality.  If you had a 'sync' option, it would lock the oscillators together and the phasiness would disappear.  There is no sync in Melodeons, so dry tuning has the phasy sound due to the unavoidable very-slow beat.
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David Summers

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Re: The Way a Hohner Should Be?
« Reply #36 on: December 04, 2019, 04:11:05 PM »

Many Hohners, mine included, have benefit from being "dried out", i.e. having the tremolo reduced a bit from factory. Plus, they go a little out out tune after 10 or 15 years of savage beating

They are never in tune from the factory in my experience ::)

Quote
  But certainly never close to two reeds in unison!  I mean, why have two reeds?  (:)

Because two reeds in unison sound different from a single reed. For example here is Josephine Marsh playing a dry tuned 2 voice Hohner:

https://youtu.be/Ba4x5Ac61LE?t=53

Two reeds may be tuned to the same pitch, but in all probability will not be in phase accounting for the difference in sound compared to a single reed.
Well typically there will be coupling between the two reeds, and also to the main structure of the melodeon. This means energy can flow between the two reeds.

So with most systems like this, what happens is two modes set up; one where the two reeds are in anti phase, and little energy goes into the main structure of the melodeon; and another where the reeds are in phase, and maximal energy goes into the structure of the melodeon. As these two modes excite different things, there frequencies do differ somewhat, and so that splits the tone again, to give beats.

Its why the note changes, when you take the reed out of the melodeon, and try and tune it in isolation, its different from when its in the box.

But yes, agree with the general point; two reeds, however dry or wet they are tuned, will always sound somewhat different to a single reed.
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Gary P Chapin

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Re: The Way a Hohner Should Be?
« Reply #37 on: December 04, 2019, 06:11:00 PM »

HOHNER is well known for its own proprietary tuning , which I believe is patented/copyrighted/trademarked as " ALMOST" tuning.
Wet dry, swing.. if HOHNER tuned it.. it is "ALMOST"

It's true that Hohners do have "a sound" that I love. The Dino Baffetti F/Bb/Eb that I have essentially mimics the "almost" Hohner tuning. It really is lovely and many people comment on it. On the other hand, my first Corso G/C was genuinely wet tuned (MM) and that ALSO drew a lot of compliments because it was so striking amongst the drier boxes of the rooms I was playing in. I do like the sound of a wet box, but don't have one right now. Button Box has a used C/F Erica on its list right now advertised as wet tuned. I would snap it up if it weren't for the money thing.

Here's a piece I wrote many years ago about my Mighty Corso: https://accordeonaire.com/2011/02/12/the-mighty-corso/
And another about the Baffetti, written just after I got it: https://accordeonaire.com/2013/06/02/first-tunes-with-the-baffetti/

Also, I am guilty of sloppy language, also. I say "dry tuned" when what I really mean is "drier."
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Kimric Smythe

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Re: The Way a Hohner Should Be?
« Reply #38 on: December 04, 2019, 06:33:20 PM »

"They are never in tune from the factory in my experience ::)" Preach it brother!

I stopped carrying Honers in my shop years ago due to the issue of having to spend 1-3 hrs tuning them before I could sell them, then seeing them on line for a few $ over my wholesale.
 They are reliable once set up but it only makes sense to do so if I get them for almost free before I work on them since I give a 1 yr warranty and 75% 1 yr buyback, so they need to be right before they get sold.

Hohner will give you 90 days warranty and will not authorize or pay the dealer for the work ,and you need to pay the shipping.

 I typically make more fixing the ones people buy online.
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Earl Bryce

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Re: The Way a Hohner Should Be?
« Reply #39 on: December 05, 2019, 07:40:24 PM »

I think a Hohner is a bicycle with a basket. And in that basket is a pencil in a brown paper bag, a postcard to a loved one and a map and a packet of sherbet lemons.
1
Wow, in this post, I have realized that I've found my home here, a place where all of the wonder of a melodeon is truly appreciated. Well said!

The interaction between two reeds tuned the same (or close to the same) is one of the great joys in life to me. The tonal depth and variations of frequencies that are never exactly the same adds complexity to music that's not totally mastered or controllable by the musician, and to me, that gives a bit of heart to a song that can't be replaced.
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