Thanks a lot for your willingness to share your experience and knowledge. Very useful for somebody who wants to get dipper into accordion technicalities.
You should always check whether the tuning is 440 etc. with the reed blocks inside the accordion, because the tuning will be significantly different once the reed blocks are removed from the instrument. Factors like the internal pressures, the different materials the blocks are clamped to all effect how the reeds sound and the final adjustments should always be made with the blocks inside the instrument. Anyone who's serious about tuning accordions correctly should consider Thierry Benetoux's book 'Sounding out the accordion' this comes with a DVD that shows the correct way to tune using 5ths, a tuner and metronome.
I have zero experience in accordion tuning but reading your comment and comparing it to the techinques described at the George Bachich's "Accordion Revival" great resource I completely agree that the look-up table should be filled in with reed blocks inside an accordion to find the amount of correction to be applied to each reed. Once out of the bellows the pitch of all reeds will be sharper. I'm sure tuning is a tedious process and it's not a simple formula but it should be possible to tune up a badly detuned accordion to a better condition with thought and dilidence but without too much fanaticism.
Very thorough! I would recommend, however, that you chart the notes with the reed blocks IN the accordion, then check the deviation once you've pulled it out. Getting the reeds on pitch outside the accordion is counterproductive if the reeds sound different once you've got them back inside. Just my two cents. (no pun intended)
one suggestion: when tuning the wet reed block, tune four notes, one from each category, and listen if the amount of 'wetness' is what you want. Only then tune all reeds. The amount of wetness one finds pleasant depends on playing style and personal preference.
Sir thank you for the accrodion video I really like helps me a lot. Please if you can do Moore video will be good I'm Moore interested on Tunnig and the mechanical of both hands. Thanks From Canada 🇨🇦Ontario ROMEO
Just curious as someone who has tuned a couple pianos, I know the notes aren't tuned exactly the same depending on style of piano. So just curious if I have a tuner, do I have to make adjustments or maybe better to buy the software and use a computer? The tuning curve (difference in cents/note) for a small piano is different than a large grand piano for example.
I need to reflow the wax around several reeds. I bought more wax. I'd like to do it where I don't warp the reed flappers. Is it possible to use a soldering iron set at low temperature ? How would you do it ? Thank you
Thank you Dennis for the informative video. Do you have any tips on how to properly re-assemble the bass (button) side of an accordion. I had to take mine apart to repair a valve which was impossible to reach otherwise and now am having trouble putting it back together. I have not found anything online as far instructions are concerned. I'm wondering if there's even a diagram of some sort.
When it comes to repairing the base side, there is no single technique that will work. This is because most accordion makes are all constructed differently. So what works for one will not work for another. The most basic tip I can give you is 'when removing bass button bars, place them carefully in a row so that you can re-assemble them quickly and correctly by picking them up in reverse order and putting them back in place.' Hope this helps.
Hello dennis, thank you for your very interesting videos. I have a question please, as I don't have a blower to test the notes during the tuning, can I pinch the notes to make them sound to read the note on a software on a smartphone ? Thanks in advance ☺
Hi Dennis love the video can you tell me what size you saw to build a single hi Dennis can you tell me what site you were on to build a single reed tester block thanks phil
Hey Dennis, I tune accordeons myself but your videos have been very helpful, I play a 5 switch gabbanelli button accordeon which is the type most mexicans play. these types of accordeons use 1 low reed tuned at the standard 440, one middle reed also tuned in the standard 440, and another middle read tuned wet ranging from 442-445. My question is, should all middle reeds that are tuned wet be tuned to the same frequency? or should it vary? For example, Should I tune all wet reeds to a single frequency? or should some be tuned to 442 and some 443 and some 444, depending on how deep it is? Thanks
My first approach to tuning (and probably the easiest) is to keep the musette reeds tuned the same way as the instrument came out of the factory. You can examine the musette row of reeds from top to bottom to determine how the instrument was tuned at the factory. Then if you maintain that same tuning approach, most/many of the musette reeds will still be correctly in tune and not need any further tuning. You can then tune all out of tune reeds to the same frequency difference as the already in tune reed closest to that reed. Hope that helps.
Hello Dennis,love your videos,just retired and trying to learn how to tune my own accordion.I just bought a used F-B-Es Weltmeister 3 row Diatonic accordion. I now have a tuning jig and a tuner app on pc. A few notes sound very wet, or out of tune,now my question if i may, on the 440 side are all the reeds on each reed plate tuned at 440 on zero on the tuner app ? and on the other side the tuner app tells me 445 . taking my time i can get each note on zero on tuner app,if that's the way to go.I just don't understand the part of dividing the reed block into 20 cents 15 cents and so-on. i would like to see a video on that to understand that process. Now that i'm asking ,what does the Es stand for on F-B-Es ? and do you know if the serial # tells what year the weltmeister was made ?starts with these 02/234 **.Thank you for sharing your know- how..
Question #1: on the 440 side are all the reeds on each reed plate tuned at 440 on zero on the tuner app ? I just don't understand the part of dividing the reed block into 20 cents 15 cents and so-on. Step 1: Set the BASE FREQUENCY of your tuner app to 440 c/s Step2: If you have 2 middle reeds on your accordion then examine both rows and find out which row is tuned the closest to zero. a) If this row is tuned to exactly 440 c/s the all reeds on that block should show a zero reading. Some reeds may be either a little high or low so re-tune them appropriately to a zero reading. b) If this row, from a) above, is not tuned to exactly 440 c/s then adjust the BASE FREQUENCY either UP a bit e.g. 442 c/s or maybe DOWN a bit e.g. 438 c/s until that row shows zero on the tuning app. Many accordions as tuned by the factory are actually tuned slightly above 440 c/s and may be tuned say 442 or 443 c/s BASE FREQUENCY. Step3: Having determined the acdn BASE FREQUENCY now examine the other middle reed block. a) Start at the lower end reeds and make note of how many cents off they are from zero e.g. 25 cents b) Move ¼ way up the block and make note of how many cents off they are from zero e.g. 20 cents c) Move ½ way up the block and make note of how many cents off they are from zero e.g. 10 cents d) Move ¾ way up the block and make note of how many cents off they are from zero e.g. 5 cents e) Examining the change in cents from low reeds (25 cents)to high reeds (5 cents) will give you some idea has to how the accordion was originally tuned. f) Having established how you think the acdn was originally tuned, you can then tune each reed and bring them into line. NOTE: Most acdns are tuned wetter on the low end e.g. 25 cents off and reduce wetness as they go higher up the scale e.g. 5 cents on top most reeds. In this case you can tune the first say 10 lowest notes to say 25 cents, then the next ten notes up to say 20 cents up, then the next ten up to 15 cents etc etc.. HOWEVER: Some accordions reeds are tuned to the same wetness all the way up e.g. 10 cents from lowest to highest.
Hello Dennis, Can you please tell me how you secure the bellows to the top of the tuning table and how you secure them to the bottom of the table. Also do you happen to have the website where I can acquire the tuning software for my lap top. Thank you so kindly. Joseph Torre
Hello. I secure the bellows to the top and bottom of the tuning table using the same method as the bellows is attached to the actual accordion. Simply attach a small piece of wood say 3/8th inch square to the top and bottom plates. Then mark the spots where the bellows pins would normally be pushed through. Drill small holes to fit the bellows pins. Then attach the bellows to the tuning table in the same way that you would attach the bellows to the accordion. Hope this helps.
I favor Dirksprojects.com for his software. I used silicone adhesive to secure the bellows in this tuning table. The bellows can be rather small because we're only feeding two reeds at a time, typically. Here's a little video. tinyurl.com/y93p85zj
I'm saving up for an accordion thst I plan to tune the pull reeds normally, then tune the push reeds a quartertone lower to achieve arabic tuning. I'm currently thinking about getting a 30s hand painted hohner with MR reed blocks. I've read that it's safer to add solder to the notes I want to lower. You said in a previous comment thst early hohner reeds are thinner, is the accordion i want suitable for arabic tuning?
In the case of wet tuning, when you say the first quarter of the second middle reeds should be tuned 20 cents higher, the second quarter 15 cents higher... do you mean to say 20 hertz, 15 hertz, etc?
To tune an accordion, I always recommend using a computer app such as FMJ software. In this case, the needle always indicates the reed as sounding either so many CENTS higher or lower than the ZERO mark i.e. the target frequency. Using tuning software and CENTS is incredibly much easier than trying to physically listen to the number of 'beats' by EAR that each different each reed is making. Yuk!
how do I find out the hertz in a 30's-40's Hohner? Also how do I know which reed block is supposed to be the 0 cents and the 20 cents if the whole accordion is out of tune?
Here is a method to tune an accordion. Let's assume the accordion is LM1M2 i.e. one Low reed and two Middle reeds. 1) Set the base frequency of whatever method you are using to measure the reed frequency to A4 = 440. 2) Start by examining the all the Low (L) reeds. Make a quick list of how eqach reed is vibrating. Examine the list and look for a pattern. Example, if all L reeds appear to be on the low side then reset your measuring device to say A4 = 442 and measure all low reeds again. This approach should allow you to quickly discover how the acdn was originally BASE tuned. Remember the BASE fequency of any acdn could be anywhere between 438, 440, 441, 442 and 443 or even higher. 3) Once you feel confortable setting the BASE fequency on your measure device, retune all base reeds as needed. 4) Now, quickly examine both of the middle M1 reed blocks and try to determine which reed block seems to be one octave higher then the low L reed block. Tune that block to be reasonable close to one octave above the low L reed bloc, 5) Finally, quickly examine the second middle reed M2 block make a list of the results.Examine the list and look for a pattern. This is probably the hardest part of tuning because you have to somewhat guess how many cents the M2 reed block is ABOVE or BELOW the M1 reeds. Make your best guess and then tune all M2 reeds appropriately. Hope that helps.
How to cut square holes: 1) Take a regular round 3/8th drill bit and drill 2 holes 5/8th inch apart. 2) Take a 1/4 inch square shaped file and cut out the four corners of each hole. That’s it!
Sorry but I personally have never used the Dirk's tuner. However, I have watched it being used by other accordion tuner people and I am sure that it works extremely well.
The musette settings as you describe are used for many Hohner models that are typically described as 'polka' sounding accordions. If you want an even 'wetter' sound as is often referred to French musette, you can increase all setting to say 30, 25, 20, 10. However, you should also realize that the best musette sounds are usually achieved using thee middle reads (mmm) and not two middle reeds (mm) accordions. Hope that helps.
French musette music was popular back in the 20s, 30s and 40's etc. and hence played on older accordions. And in general these old accordions had, what is termed, an 'Organola' sound. Organola implies a bright, sharp sound which was achieved because the metal reeds were actually made much thinner in those days. So, other than the way you choose to tune the two MM reeds, the final sound also depends directly on the quality (thickness) of the reeds and also on the way the accordion was manufactured. @@Izakokomarixyz
Hohner made many different models so I cannot be certain as to how they tuned each model. However, for many of the models that had strong 'Polka' musette sound they tended to tune the Low reads and the none musette middle reads to 438 c/s. This meant that when the second middle musette read was added, the average frequency was based around 440 c/s. Hope this helps.
Your laptop mic must be better than mine. Mine doesn't too well with the very low frequencies. Do you have any tips for cleaning the reeds. I'm restoring my first accordion and used kerosine and apple cider vinegar to remove the wax residue and corrosion. Do you do anything like that?
How the mic picks up the reed sound is VERY IMPORTANT. 1) I use an external mic but I have found it is about the same sensitivity as the laptop mic. Using an external mic will enable you to position the mic closer to the reed block and closer to the reed being tuned. 2) Most important I found that the closer the reed being tuned is to the mic, the more accurate the results are. So, I always turn the reed block around so that the reed being tuned is closest to the mic. 3) I have found that by NOT turning the reed block around and trying to tune a reed furthest away from the mic, the reed will actually be tuned a few cycles LOWER than is indicated by the tuning software.
I think my answer here will surprise you! I actually choose NOT to clean the reeds if I can help it. Yes, I do use a tooth brush etc. to brush off any obvious loose crap sticking to the reeds. But if the reeds are a bit corroded (i.e. non-loose) say by a rusty red due to dampness, I just leave this in place because I have found it makes little or no difference to the tuning if it is removed or not. In other words, why bother to remove any reed corrosion if it doesn't actually make any real difference. I fully realize that these are very inflammatory statements, but my goal in tuning is to get my accordions into great and reliable playing condition ASAP and not spend light years tuning them.
Just to let you all know......... I have created a new web site the intent of which is to show exactly how various manufactures tuned their musette sounding accordions as they came out of the factory. Please see: www.mymusette.ca
Hi Dennis love the video can you tell me what size you saw to build a single hi Dennis can you tell me what site you were on to build a single reed tester block thanks phil
