Tuning a piano accordion?

Harry Pattinson

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Jan 15, 1997, 3:00:00 AM1/15/97

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Greetings!
Does anyone have any information, or know a source of information, on
retuning a piano accordion?
Thank you for showing interest in this posting...
Harry

DoN. Nichols

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Jan 15, 1997, 3:00:00 AM1/15/97

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In article <32DC30...@harry-the-planet.demon.co.uk>,

Harry Pattinson <ha...@pobox.co.uk> wrote:
>Greetings!
>Does anyone have any information, or know a source of information, on
>retuning a piano accordion?

I've got some information on retuning concertina reeds in my web
page. They will give you the principles involved. However, there is a
*lot* more to worry about with accordion reeds (as well as things to make
access more difficult). With a normal concertina, you have only one reed
per button per direction of the bellows. This means that you don't have to
worry about how well the pitch of the two (or more) reeds per key track with
varying bellows pressure.

If you have a *good* instrument, I would strongly advise against
attempting the task as a first tuning job. And *never* tackle someone
else's instrument before you have proven your competence on something which
you own.

If it is a junker, one for which the question is "Do I toss this in
the trash bin, or see whether I can learn something by attempting the job on
my own", then go ahead. (If it is quite old, you probably should check with
others as to whether it is some form of collector's item before taking this
step.)

Good Luck,
DoN.
--
Email: <dnic...@d-and-d.com> | Donald Nichols (DoN.)
Voice Days: (703) 704-2280 | Eves: (703) 938-4564
My Concertina web page: | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---

Craig and Jill Carlile

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Jan 19, 1997, 3:00:00 AM1/19/97

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An authoritative book on accordion repairs is: "Accordion Repairs Made
Easy" by John Reuther, for about $17.95 from Ernest Deffner Publications,
P.O. Box 608, 230 Herricks Road, Mineola, N.Y. 11051.
The concensus of informed opinions is that you are plunging pretty deep
when you start tinkering with the tuning of your reeds. Best to let a
professional do it unless you don't mind a "throw-away" mistake.
The physics of it are basically:

1. To lower the frequency: make the end of the reed heavy in relation to
the base of the reed by either adding weight to the end or weakening the
base by filing it down to thin it; or

2. To raise the frequency: make the end of the reed light in relation to
the base of the reed by removing weight from the end (filing some off).

Lowering the frequency is equivalent to making the end of the reed vibrate
more slowly, and raising the frequency is making the end of the reed
vibrate more rapidly.

I offer this subject to correction by the more knowledgeable members of
the group.

Craig Carlile

Craig and Jill Carlile

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Jan 19, 1997, 3:00:00 AM1/19/97

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The easiest way to answer this question is to direct you to Phoebe's
accordion site:

http://www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs/user/phoebe/accordion/accordion-FAQ.text

You will get good advice there on why you should not attempt tuning on
your own.

Craig Carlile