Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Winston Smith]

I was going to ask this within mselic's thread, but was a bit frightened of the thread drift it may cause.

To get away from the (what I have perceived as) screechy sound of the D/G in the upper octave on the G row, I've retuned a couple of my boxes to "Bandoneon" tuning. i.e. A full octave jump where the tremolo would normally be.

I was wondering if this idea of removing the wood between the vents in the fondo might help to get the octave tuned reeds to "lock together" and sound properly dry when they aren't really tuned exactly so? Or would the fact that they are tuned to different octaves spoil the "locking together" effect which mselic is trying to overcome.

I know, its the sort of question only a dummy would ask, but please bear with me?

[mselic]

I believe the best possible answer to your direct question would be: maybe.

However, in the case you're describing, best practice would really be to just tune the reeds exactly on pitch instead of trying to cheat it by messing around with the casework itself.

[Jon Stapleton]

But it is an interesting proposition.   I suppose it was never done "back then"  as the people back in black and white days liked a fully hysterical tremolo in their boxes.  If you do it, and it works, it would reduce the "frequency" of tuning operations on a dry tuned box.

[Winston Smith]

Of course you're right, mselic.
However, I've been dabbling with tuning for about 5 hears now, and never ever do I seem to be able to get them dead-on! They sound OK (nigh enough, anyway) to my poor old ears when played, but the computer says "No", they're always not quite there!
Thanks for the "maybe" though.
Mind you, as Jon suggests, the trick could be useful in dry tuned boxes.

[fc diato]

I have no idea, but presume that Emanuel Pariselle does, so can share an observation: 
on the Pariselle building gig, MM boxes got a brace, LM boxes did not. Suggesting that LM do not have the sympathetic vibration problem... or so I would assume.

[Theo]

Yes,  that is because LM reeds are always tuned exactly in unison, so there is no tremolo to loose.

[Kimric Smythe]

Most dry tuned small instruments (you see this a lot on the bass) that do not have registers have the bottom 1/4 if the divider open between the reeds. This probably helps with syncing and evens out air flow.

[Winston Smith]

"the bottom 1/4 if the divider open between the reeds"

Of course they do! I've known this for a long time, but it's only clicked just now when I've read your post. Thank you!

Also, creating that airway through the divider would make for an easier repair in case it doesn't work out the way I'd want. Thanks again!

(That was a real Ah-ha moment, if ever I had one!)