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[Steelarts]

Hi there, thanks to everyone who answered my other questions in another thread; it's certainly given me a lot to think about.  There certainly seems to be no one answer as to what makes the perfect squeeze-box and a lot seems to be down to individual tastes and/or perception of sound (which is probably why there are so many different boxes for sale).  I also explained in the other thread how my primary interest is morris/English with perhaps a leaning towards some Irish session stuff and this hasn't changed  but I do have another couple of questions that I hope someone can help me with.

As I said before, I'm very new to this world of melodeons but I'm finding it very exciting and I think research and understanding of the subject will help me when it comes to choosing my next box. My first question (and I do hope I don't sound too stupid) is about 'voices' and 'tunings'.  Could someone please explain what is meant by the amount of 'voices'?  I see ads for boxes with 1, 2 and 3 voices, could you tell me what the pros and cons (advantages or disadvantages) of having more or less voices?  Also, could someone please explain the different tunings e.g. wet, dry, swing, semi-swing, etc.

Our side was out dancing the other night and I finally took notice of what our melodeon player (as opposed to the usual accordion players) was playing.  He has a lovely sounding old Excelsior box which sounds totally different to a Pokerwork.  It sounds much punchier/tighter if that's the right description.

One other thing I have to consider is weight and a heavy box (over 9lbs) might cause me problems.  Would something like an Excelsior Mini work for the kind of stuff I'm going to play.  Also, does anyone have any experience of the Excelsior Chiltern?  

Thanks again in advance,
Marcus

[Stiamh]

This is a question that comes up quite frequently and I really think it is the kind of issue that should be dealt with articles on the main site (moderators?).

Some info. about voices at least in this thread from a while back: http://forum.melodeon.net/index.php?topic=1456.0

[Stiamh]

PS for Irish stuff, and maybe anything else as well, if you're just starting I'd recommend a lighter box with 2 voices. You can always move on to heavier 3- and 4-voice boxes later on. The heavier they are, the harder they fall are to carry around, and generally are more work for your left arm.

The advantages of the various tunings? The wetter the tuning, the more clearly you will be heard in ensembles. (A big old-fashioned 4-voice Paolo Soprani with musette tuning can drown out just about anything else.)

But the wetter the tuning, the less precise the pitch will be and people playing with you may be frustrated by this. A lot of modern Irish players like dry tuned boxes because they blend very easily with other instruments. Then again lots of Irish players dislike dry-tuned boxes because the sound is thinner, less accordion-like.

I'd recommend again that you start with something middle-of-the-road, like swing. You can always go wetter or drier once you find out what you like and why.

[Theo]

This is a question that comes up quite frequently and I really think it is the kind of issue that should be dealt with articles on the main site (moderators?).

Some info. about voices at least in this thread from a while back: http://forum.melodeon.net/index.php?topic=1456.0

Yes, good idea.  such an article would fit in naturally with the beginners guide.

[stevejay]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-10Ze-4aGSM

Does a good job of letting you hear the differences. It's probably been posted, but in case you never heard.

I sometimes think no matter what the tuning, people will start to yearn for something different sometimes for variety. That said, my CF was tuned to factory specs and I had it made dryer. It sounded too "mushy" for my tastes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPwd8S0OUJ8&feature=related so you can get up and running for tuning at home.  http://www.oscilloscopedepot.com/ should hook you up. 

Just teasing.

[nfldbox]

My Cairdin is very dry, two voices. I like it for sessions but it does sound a bit like a concertina. My Hohner is so wet it blows everyone away. The vibrato is wide enough to drive a truck through it. I enjoy it but I have yet to take it out of the house and I don't play it when someone is in the room.

[melodeon]

Just musing

Isn't

"very dry"  the same as "very unique"

dry is dry, and unique is unique

there is on fact no degree of dry  only degrees of wetness

and unique cannot be modifiied as it is a superlative..
no-nos  would bey: "truly" , "very" ,"completely"  etc...

something is unique .. or it isn't

tuning is either dry.. or it isn't..


or 

that is a truly  unique, very dry tuning...

back to work

[Theo]

Spot on Jeff!

[Stiamh]

Isn't "very dry"  the same as "very unique"

I wouldn't say so. If you view degrees of wetness as a continuum, there comes a point on the scale from musette to absolute unison when your ear will say "dry" (as mine did when I heard my "strong-swing" tuned Gaillard ) although there is some tremolo. The way you would say your hair was dry after a swim even when it's actually still a bit damp.

So "very dry" would be a bit drier even than that.

Edit: PS Thinking about this some more: our tumble dryer has several dryness settings. And we all know there's a difference between a dry towel in your cupboard and a dry towel that comes off the clothesline after a day in the hot sun. And why would people feel a need for expressions such as "bone dry"?

So "dry" doesn't have to be an absolute value and I would suggest that in most peoples' minds, for most purposes, it isn't. Perhaps accordion tuners are an exception. This is probably what got me into trouble talking to certain people in France not long ago...

[Andrel]

For practical purposes we need to be able to refer to degrees of dryness. And *unique* cannot be used with a comparative, as in *more unique*, whereas dry can: drier. There. I rest my case.

[Theo]

I beg to differ,   you can have different amounts of tremolo ie wetness, but you can't have different amounts  of no tremolo.   
And I am talking practical purposes here, because I frequently have to discuss with clients the type of tuning they want. It is a difficult area because not only there are so many different ways to describe the same things, but there are so many different combinations of reed pitches, and a variety of ways in which the tuning can vary as you go up and down the scale.

For example a client recently asked if I could change his Hohner Corso to "wet" tuning.  Our communication was by email so I said yes, then yesterday when it arrived I discovered it was already in Hohner wet tuning, so we had to have some further discussion to find what he was after.   I think we got there in the end, but I'll only be sure once he gets it back and plays it for himself.

So 'wet' is a term that covers a range,  'swing' also covers a range, so please can we keep dry to mean 'no tremolo'

[rees]

eins, zwei, drei!

[Stiamh]

Well if dry has to mean no tremolo, it's a bit like standing at the north pole. Any step you take will be south. So by Theo's measure any degree of tremolo has to be referred to as wetness. I don't think that will fly with the squeezing hoi polloi*. Hmm, I think there's the germ of a limerick in there...

*I use in the term in its proper sense  

[melodeon]

As always

there are those who would split "wet" hairs.

Truly unique individuals.

[Andrel]

Dry sense of humour ? 

[melodeon]

I thought only newbies talked about degrees of dryness. 
I suppose we could forgive them for being wet behind (between) the ears.

[Andrel]

No reason for animosity here, please.

[Québécois]

Bernard Loffet has sound samples of his melodeons with various degrees of wetness (tremolo), dryness (sec, demi-sec) and swingness!

http://diato.org/son.htm

[melodeon]

Caution

No Levity Zone

[Theo]

Dry humour is the order of the day.