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[Ptarmigan]

This may well be a stupid question ..... but what the heck, here goes.

I'm afraid I'm not a key person, just a simple diddler of tunes, so I was wondering if it was possible to actually convert a Single Row Melodeon from C to F?

If so, would it be a simple task or involve a massive, total & complete overhaul?

If it is not possible, does anyone actually make single row Melodeons in F?

Cheers
Ptarmi

[Pete Dunk]

It would be far easier to transfer a reed set from a donor C/F box than to retune from C. If you wanted to retune anything I would have thought a one row G box would be a more likely candidate for the job.

Pete.

[Steve_freereeder]

This may well be a stupid question ..... but what the heck, here goes.

.... does anyone actually make single row Melodeons in F?

Easy-peasy modification. Here's what you do:

1. Look on Ebay for someone selling a C/F two-row melodeon.
2. Put in outrageous sniping bid to ensure that you win the auction.
3. Meanwhile, collect together the tools that you will need for the conversion, viz. a hacksaw, wood filler, some sandpaper and some black paint.
4. When the melodeon arrives, immediately (before you have a chance for 2nd thoughts) saw off half the width of the keyboard together with the outer row of buttons, leaving the inner row intact.
5. Smooth the remaining keyboard with the sandpaper, fill in the exposed gaps and slots with wood filler, shape to a smooth finish and touch up with black paint.
6. Robert is your mother's brother: you now have a one-row melodeon in F.

 

[rees]

Steve, you are such a fount of wisdom and helpfulness. 

Now, this is a coincidence. I have never before seen a one row melodeon in the key of F (apart from some wheezy old ones made in Saxony).

Imagine my surprise when I was offered one in part-ex at Sidmouth festival.
Imagine even more surprise on finding someone on this forum who is looking for this very thing.

It is a beautiful instrument made by the respected French maker Eric Martin.
It is pitched in the higher octave not the growly one below low G.
Standard Cajun size with four stops, Italian reeds, etc.

I was going to convert it to C or D and play it myself, but money talks so if someone were to want it in F who am I to refuse.

I'll see if I can organise a picture later today.

[Ptarmigan]

Ha Ha The funny thing is Steve ~ surprise, surprise ~ a C/F Melodeon has just landed on my doorstep!

Now, where did I leave my Hacksaw ...............

Oh, wait a minute, this one has a third 1/2 row! ... drat, back to the drawing board!

Rees, I honestly did receive a C/F Melodeon in the post this very morning, as Steve well knows!
So I'm sorry, but I'm not actually in the market for that F Single Row, at the moment.

The fact is I am a complete beginner on ye olde Melodeon & by the sound of it, this instrument you have should probably go to a good player, who can do it justice .... & who has enough cash.

However, I would be very interested to see that photo ....... saves a thousand words etc etc

Cheers
Ptarmi

[BruceHenderson]

It would be far easier to transfer a reed set from a donor C/F box than to retune from C. If you wanted to retune anything I would have thought a one row G box would be a more likely candidate for the job.     Pete. 

    That is what I was thinking, Pete.  I'm sure that most people here know that reeds are "retuned" by having metal removed from strategic places but for someone who doesn't know, this removal is usually done by "scratching" with a pointed awl-type instrument (which only works for "fine tuning" and rarely for moving from one note to an adjacent one) or filing or grinding material off with a very fine-toothed file or fine-grained grinding wheel.  Moving a reed from F to C is a big jump -- five semitones or about 1/3 of an octave scale.  You'd be talking about considerable amounts of metal and once you got "close", you'd have to do lots of hand work to get the final "fine-tuning".  There are some craftsmen who could successfully accomplish this but -- in the hands of anyone but the most skilled and experienced tuner -- you'd find that there would likely be more metal removed than is good for the reed, leaving the reed with the right pitch but very poor tone and likely to break very prematurely in service.  And my guess is that the best craftsman would say "I can do this but it's not practical and I'd advise against it".

    So, how do you retune from one key to the other?  There are ways:  One would be to chart the notes you have and move those reeds to new positions on the reed block (which will then require a fine-tuning; every time you remove a reed plate from a reed block, it changes the pitch of the reed and it must be re-tuned in the new spot). Then you will have to find individual reeds to "fill in the holes".  You'll also likely have to deal with accidentals (i.e. if you have an F row that you wanted changed to G, you'd have to sharpen the Bb reed and also the Fnatural reed).  Another way would be to buy a complete reedset from a reed maker (almost certainly Italian) in the proper notes for the key that you want.  Or, you could try to find a "donor" instrument -- one that was so used or damaged or worn that it's only good for taking the used reeds out of -- of course, for the reasons stated above, you'd need to find a box in the key that you want to go to.  It's best if you can find a compatible instrument so that you can just take the reed blocks out of the donor box and put them into the one that you are "retuning"; it would be possible to remove individual reeds in some circumstances and move them to the reed blocks on the existing instrument but the complexity (and cost) would be much higher.

   The "best way" to retune an old accordion?  Many people think that it's to put the "wrong key" accordion for sale, put it in the hands of someone who needs/loves that key, and take the proceeds and buy an accordion in the "right key".  Quick, easy, probably the least expensive, and you make three people happy (the owner of the "old key" box, the owner of the "right key" box, and the repairer/craftsman who doesn't have to spend a lot of time on a difficult, low-paying job).

   Probably the best way to approach this is to ask "What's the most practical ...?" rather than "Is it possible ...?"

   Hope this helps "newcomers" who haven't been down this road before (I apologize for taking the time of anyone who knows this and is still reading this far).

BH, NC USA

[Ptarmigan]

[rees]

   The "best way" to retune an old accordion?  Many people think that it's to put the "wrong key" accordion for sale, put it in the hands of someone who needs/loves that key, and take the proceeds and buy an accordion in the "right key".  Quick, easy, probably the least expensive, and you make three people happy (the owner of the "old key" box, the owner of the "right key" box, and the repairer/craftsman who doesn't have to spend a lot of time on a difficult, low-paying job).

Bruce, that is such good advice, well done.

As for you Mister Ptarmigan, I thank you for not buying this accordion. F is a very silly key for a Cajun box even if they are Binci reeds. It's just too darned high.
I shall be much happier converting it to C as it is such a well made instrument and deserves to be played in earnest.

Meanwhile, good luck with your new C/F. I've just acquired an old C/F Erica and I can't put it down. Much more friendly and mellow than D/G.

[Ptarmigan]

Thanks for the good wishes, Rees.

Yes, I'm afraid my C/F will be used mostly to accompany our little group's singers, who mostly sing in F & sometimes in C. However, I am also addicted to Kerry Polkas & Slides so they won't escape ...... I may even learn a Jig or two, but I know I certainly would not be able to do your F box any justice.

I must say though, I'm very pleased with the one I now have & just love it's mellow sound.

Cheers
Ptarmi

[EeeJay]

4. When the melodeon arrives, immediately (before you have a chance for 2nd thoughts) saw off half the width of the keyboard together with the outer row of buttons, leaving the inner row intact.
5. Smooth the remaining keyboard with the sandpaper, fill in the exposed gaps and slots with wood filler, shape to a smooth finish and touch up with black paint.

Truth's stranger than fiction Steve... it's not a million miles from what this guy seems to have done. Quite a few of his Hohner Pokerworks/Ericas (and a former Hohner Student piano box) seem to have been modified... I assume the inside/outside row linkages have been spliced together for a 4 voice setup...

And as to keys - many of these boxes seems to be in all manner of weird and wonderful pitches. I assume there's a high F box too...

On a similar note, I recall blundering across the web page of someone (from what I recall, associated with a morris team, in South Wales)... who'd fitted out a Hohner Pokerwork/Erica with both low and high G reedblocks (cribbed off a G/C and a D/G I guess). Played it on either row, or, using fingers flat across the rows, as a LLMM one row jobbie...

Ed J

[rees]

I assume the inside/outside row linkages have been spliced together for a 4 voice setup...

  a Hohner Pokerwork/Erica with both low and high G reedblocks (cribbed off a G/C and a D/G I guess). Played it on either row, or, using fingers flat across the rows, as a LLMM one row jobbie...

Ed J

You learn something every day. Now that's two more things I'd never thought of doing to a two row melodeon and I've done some things, believe me. Oh yes.
It was in November 1978 on a dark and stormy night in the cheese factory engineering workshop. 2am and I'd just fired up the gas welder to begin work on my six month old Black Erica. I paused. Perhaps one more bash at The Princess Royal before applying the heat. I'd just got to the "slows" when in walks the chief engineer. Drunk as a skunk.
"MANAFERNI" says he in Welsh before falling down the stairs and passing out on his office floor.

Oddly enough every word of that story is true. Sorry, I lied about the gas welder.