accordion temperature extremes?
Adrock
have/use an accordion in without damage to the instrument or to the
tuning?
I'm a busking musician until winter sets in, and I'd like to know how
long I can keep doing this, since I am no longer travelling.
thanks,
-A
DoN. Nichols
> Are there approximate high and low temperatures that it is safe to
> have/use an accordion in without damage to the instrument or to the
> tuning?
Well ... I don't work on accordions -- only English construction
concertinas, which tend to be more forgiving about high temperatures at
least, but let me point out the things which I consider worth worrying
about:
1) On the high end -- most accordions have the reed plates mounted
by a wax melted and poured in place. Get too hot, and that wax
will run, releasing all the reed plates and probably gumming
things up rather badly.
This could be a problem with the accordion stored in a closed
automobile in the summer. I don't think that it is a problem at
any temperature at which you can continue playing.
2) For the cold end, I see two possible problems:
a) If it gets *really* cold, the wax will get brittle and
perhaps more sensitive to breaking as a result of bumps.
However -- I think that you would also have problems
getting your fingers to behave when it is that cold, but
it could also be a problem when transporting the
instrument in the extreme cold.
b) A more certain problem is the condensation of moisture
onto the reeds. (This is a problem both in the winter
and the summer.) In the winter, if you bring the
instrument in from outside (in your car, carried on a
long walk, whatever) to a place where there are a lot
more people and there is a lot more humidity, when you
start to *play* the instrument, that humidity will
condense on the reeds, and is likely to promote rust.
Also -- in the summer the same problem applies in
reverse. You will carry the instrument out from an
air-conditioned place, and playing it outdoors will
condense moisture on the reeds. This is especially a
problem if you are close to the sea, because there is a
little salt in the humidity, which promotes rust even
faster.
In either of these cases, you can avoid this problem if
you let the instrument stay in its case long enough in
the new environment so the interior (especially the
reeds) reaches the same temperature as the air where you
will be playing it.
> I'm a busking musician until winter sets in, and I'd like to know how
> long I can keep doing this, since I am no longer travelling.
> thanks,
So -- where (approximately) are you located? In South Texas,
both the humidity and the low temperature are very rare problems, but
extreme highs are serious problems for your reed wax. In the Washington
DC area, humidity and high temperatures are serious summertime problems
(for the people as well as for the instruments).
The English construction concertinas don't use the wax system
for mounting the reeds, so only the humidity remains as a problem. But
they are not what you are playing.
Squeeze On,
DoN.
--
Email: <dnic...@d-and-d.com> | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---
Adrock
> both the humidity and the low temperature are very rare problems, but
> extreme highs are serious problems for your reed wax. In the Washington
> DC area, humidity and high temperatures are serious summertime problems
> (for the people as well as for the instruments).
>
I'll probably be in New Haven Connecticut or parts around the
northeast of the US for this winter. Any guess as to how long it takes
for an instrument to adjust temperature?
thanks for all the logistical info, btw.
-A
joer...@sbcglobal.net
Here are some tips that you may find interesting http://www.houstonac.org/accordion_care1.htm
Good luck
Joe
DoN. Nichols
Not really -- because they are a *lot* more mass than my
concertinas. For concertinas, I would tend to say about an hour or an
hour and a half with it outside the case, and probably three hours
inside the case.
> thanks for all the logistical info, btw.
I gave what I could. There may be a lot of things which I just
don't know about. :-)
ike milligan
"Adrock" <morpheu...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1190038260.0...@d55g2000hsg.googlegroups.com...
I used to play in all temperatures when I was busking. Busking is so bad for
the accordion that the temperature is only a part of the problem.
ike milligan
"DoN. Nichols" <dnic...@d-and-d.com> wrote in message
news:fcnc3...@news4.newsguy.com...
> According to Adrock <morpheu...@gmail.com>:
>> Are there approximate high and low temperatures that it is safe to
>> have/use an accordion in without damage to the instrument or to the
>> tuning?
>
> Well ... I don't work on accordions -- only English construction
> concertinas, which tend to be more forgiving about high temperatures at
> least, but let me point out the things which I consider worth worrying
> about:
>
> 1) On the high end -- most accordions have the reed plates mounted
> by a wax melted and poured in place. Get too hot, and that wax
> will run, releasing all the reed plates and probably gumming
> things up rather badly.
>
> This could be a problem with the accordion stored in a closed
> automobile in the summer. I don't think that it is a problem at
> any temperature at which you can continue playing.
>
Chinese wax run all over most of the reeds, and I should have charged the
same as complete a reed overhaul. That damn Chinese s* was like water when
it got hot.
> 2) For the cold end, I see two possible problems:
>
> a) If it gets *really* cold, the wax will get brittle and
> perhaps more sensitive to breaking as a result of bumps.
> However -- I think that you would also have problems
> getting your fingers to behave when it is that cold, but
> it could also be a problem when transporting the
> instrument in the extreme cold.
>
I have never seen an accordion having the reed get loose just because of the
cold, but if the wax is very old and brittle, the reeds could get loose
faster from expanding and contracting the metal.
> b) A more certain problem is the condensation of moisture
> onto the reeds. (This is a problem both in the winter
> and the summer.) In the winter, if you bring the
> instrument in from outside (in your car, carried on a
> long walk, whatever) to a place where there are a lot
> more people and there is a lot more humidity, when you
> start to *play* the instrument, that humidity will
> condense on the reeds, and is likely to promote rust.
>
> Also -- in the summer the same problem applies in
> reverse. You will carry the instrument out from an
> air-conditioned place, and playing it outdoors will
> condense moisture on the reeds. This is especially a
> problem if you are close to the sea, because there is a
> little salt in the humidity, which promotes rust even
> faster.
>
This is true, and it is a slight problem because the rusting is a slow
process, and doesn't toatlly ruin the reeds, but the part about the sea is
understated, because this type of salt air will quickly ruin reeds, maybe
beyond the possiblilty of salvaging them.
> In either of these cases, you can avoid this problem if
> you let the instrument stay in its case long enough in
> the new environment so the interior (especially the
> reeds) reaches the same temperature as the air where you
> will be playing it.
>
Except, don't play near the ocean unless your accordion is to be thrown
away later.
ike milligan
Thge point is, that when the accordion is cold, let it warm up before
playing it, like letting air in through the air valve and wating until the
temperature inside equalizes, maybe 30 minutes. However, if you are busking,
your accordion will wear out quicker from that, than the slow rusting on the
reeds.
Adrock
> your accordion will wear out quicker from that, than the slow rusting on the
> reeds.
what about busking tends to wear an accordion out so quickly? is it
sweat, or trying to force volume out of a box to compete with traffic,
or what?
ike milligan
"Alan" <Alan....@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1190385452.6...@g4g2000hsf.googlegroups.com...
> On Sep 19, 7:57 pm, Adrock <morpheus.dra...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> what about busking tends to wear an accordion out so quickly? is it
>> sweat, or trying to force volume out of a box to compete with traffic,
>> or what?
>
>
> use. Perhaps with silicone reed plate attachment and stainless steel
> reeds. Probably a large untapped market for cruise ship musicians or
> ocean going pirates. What do folks living near the equator like in
> Belize do as the tropical humidity must soak into the reeds whatever
> no matter how careful you are.
>
Play the marimbas.