How to choose a Diatonic Button Accordion - page 2
Size and weight
This topic sounds obvious, but is surprisingly complex. It would seem the simple answer is to get the smallest lightest instrument you can, but everything in the melodeon world is a trade off. By going with a small instrument, you might be giving up some very valuable options. First of all, why do we want a small, light instrument? Well, obviously, its less tiring to carry around and it packs into a smaller space. In addition, it can be easier to play quickly, since the bass end is lighter and therefore takes less energy (it is a function of inertia and momentum...ask your favorite physicist or engineer) to change directions (accelerate)...note that this is mainly related to the weight of the bass side, which is the end that moves, thus, as a rule an 8 bass instrument will usually be quicker than a 12 bass instrument. Less obvious is the fact that smaller bellows create more pressure for the same amount of force when compared to larger bellows (pressure is a function of force and cross-sectional area...thus pounds per square inch). Pressure is important in accordions because it translates to volume of sound. Therefore, smaller is louder, all else being equal. It is also easier to vary the dynamics of the sound with a smaller instrument, for the same reason.Ok, so what are we giving up for all these advantages? Well, to make the bass end lighter we have to reduce the number of reeds in the bass end. We do this by either reducing the number of buttons (e.g. 12 to 8) - thus limiting our choice of bass notes and chords, or we simply use fewer reeds per button (e.g. 2 or 3 reeds per, instead of 4) - which results in a thin, weak sounding bass. Also, we give up the option of having stops on the bass side. Stops are sliders which can be used to block airflow to a given set of reeds, thus allowing us to change the sound made by the instrument. One particularly useful stop for the bass side is one which is configured to turn on and off the reeds which comprise the 3rd step of the chords. This is the reed which determines whether a chord will sound major or minor. With this stop, we can make the chords sound neutral, so that they will work with either a major or minor key...allowing us much greater flexibility in the types of tunes we can play. But it adds weight... Smaller instruments have smaller bellows, and that means less volume of air to play with. With low tuning, or lots of reeds, or when playing loudly, you need more air to push pass the reeds....you may find yourself running out of bellows more often unless you are very good with the air button. In addition, there is a long-standing truism in the accordion world that heavier accordions sound better (as in richer, rounder, smoother, more refined). Whether or not this is actually related to weight or some other related attribute, I cannot say with certainty, but it does seem that heavier accordions usually have a superlative voice.....exceptions acknowledged.
It is less important to have a light treble side, unless you play for long sets standing up or strolling, or if you tote your instrument around a lot. However, you will probably find that instruments with a small, light bass end will also be light and small in the treble. This is acheived in the same way....fewer buttons, fewer reeds, no stops. So one row melodeons will be lightest, and 3 row boxes are normally heavier (this can vary somewhat depending on the number of reeds per button)
Switching between instruments
For those who play standardized instruments, it may seem unusual that one would have to consider the possibility of not being able to play anybody else's instrument but your own. With button accordions, though, that is just the case. Many people have the idea that they can improve on the default layout of the buttons, or customize them to their needs, to provide greater convenience or flexibility. That is all fine and good, and many people are successful at finding a layout that works better for them. They then invest a lot of time and effort in building up a repertoire on their 'system'. What then happens, is that hours before a live performance, their button accordion breaks a reed, or rips a bellow. They are left without recourse, unless they have a spare in the same system, because they can't simply borrow a friend's box for the performance....they don't know how to play it. The more you tweak and customize the layout, the farther you get from the standard, the less able you will be to fake it on someone else's box. Performances are, of course, the most critical time when you may regret your custom layout, but there are other times also. What about the ability to walk into a shop off the street and pick up any box on the shelf and make a good tune come out of it? Or how about swapping instruments with a fellow musician for a little variety or to try out the virtues of a differant model of melodeon? All I'm saying is, think twice about making your instrument too unique.For some models, like the 1/2 row on a 2 1/2 row instrument, there is no standard. In this case, do whatever you want....though something tried and true might be the way to go if you're new to the instrument. The key here is that if you leave the other 2 full rows fairly standard, you'll still be able to pick up and play virtually any 1, 2 or 3 row box out there. The one place where most people do their fiddling with the standard system is on the first button of each row (the ones nearest the chin). Normally, these are accidentals, but quite often (especially on older boxes), they are not. Since these buttons are not used much, some players feel that its OK to tweak them a little bit. One popular variation is to reverse the reeds for those buttons. Another popular variations is to eliminate the accidentals and just continue the normal diatonic scale. Other players put some of the most commonly needed reversals on the first button. I have collected and/or invented quite a number possible layouts for button accordions, some of which I have posted here on my website for the prospective layout-tweaker. The system that I use on my own 2 1/2 row D/G is one that was suggested by Bernard Loffet. It leaves all the buttons of the 2 full rows as standard except the first button of each row, which is mainly a continuation of the scale. A reversal is provided on the 1/2 row, but I try to avoid relying on it too much. I mostly use it only where it makes a big differance in the way the tune works. Thus, most of my repertoire is completely transferable to a standard 2 row....the only ones that aren't transferable are the ones that would be impossible to do on a 2 row anyway.
You can read more about different layouts and customizations here, on my "Layouts" page.
Quality Issues
As with most everything else, quality counts for a lot with button accordions. There can be a vast differance between the inexpensive entry-level models and the top quality professional models. The differance manifests itself in a number of ways, but mainly in the reeds, the action, the bellows, and the craftsmanship that goes into the fit and finish of the box.A top end box will have hand-made reeds which sound with just the slightest puff of air from the bellows, and will respond with increased volume to the slightest increase in air pressure from the bellows. These reeds are so well fitted in their slots that very little air is needed to play. The sound is rich, full, bright, and expressive, and the reeds will resist rust and hold their tune for many years of playing. The next step down is hand-finished reeds. These are good quality reeds which are machine made but finished by hand. The best ones can approach hand-made quality, and the worst ones are little better than machine made reeds. The lowest grade of reeds are the machine-made reeds. These are OK for the beginning player or for those players who never want to play softly, but they may require a relatively large amount of air pressure before sounding, they may go out of tune prematurely, and they are more prone to breakage and rust. The reeds make a huge contribution to the overall sound of the instrument. Keep that in mind when deciding what you can afford.
The next most important feature in a quality box is the quality of the action. This basically refers to the ease and speed with which the buttons can be depressed and spring back to normal position. A good action should be easy to push, quick, smooth, silent, positive and durable. Buttons should not descend below the level of the keyboard. I like the mushroom type buttons. Another feature of the action is the spacing between buttons. Make sure its comfortable for you. Large handed people will be uncomfortable on a small keyboard, whereas small handed people might have difficulty reaching for distant buttons on a large keyboard. A heavy action will require greater hand strength and stamina...especially for fast music. A lighter action demands more precision. Be sure to check the action of the bass side as well. Often the treble side will have an almost silent action, whereas the bass side will make all kinds of mechanical noise....Hohners are famous for this. While you are at it, check the air button, you'll be fooling with this a lot so it might as well be easy to use and within comfortable thumb reach of the lowest inside bass buttons. I started on a box with fairly stiff action and large keyboard. At the time it was fine for me. When I moved to a higher quality box I found that playing the old squeezebox just wore me out and slowed me down...so I eventually sold it, even though I loved the sound.
Bellows perform an obvious function on the accordion, and one would think that there shouldn't be much differance between various brands. That is far from the case though. What you want in a set of bellows for a button box is something that is sturdy, supple, and long enough for your arms. Some players exert a lot of pressure on their bellows, and the last thing you want is a blow out, so make sure the bellows are well made. Smooth rounded corners reduce the chances of snagging on your clothes. A supple set of bellows is preferable to stiff bellows, since you will be using them a lot, and any savings of effort will be of benefit. I have a friend who bought a melodeon with a particularly stiff set of bellows. Every practice session would be like an upper arm workout, and he would come away with fatigued arms and shoulders and experience soreness the next day. With time, the bellows loosened up some (and his arms strengthened), and they are now much better.....but at first it was quite difficult. Bellow length is a topic which most players probably don't give a second thought. My first accordion had bellows that could apparently stretch forever. I liked that very much indeed. My current accordion has rather average length bellows which, while adequate, are not quite as easy to use on long passages of music without reversals. Now, purists will tell you that with adequate air-button technique you shouldn't ever run out of bellows (indeed, some would say that it is bad form to play with bellows fully extended), but I'm here to tell you that there are some odd-ball tunes out there that don't allow for a bellows reversal for 8 or more measures, and when that's the case, I want my long bellows back. The air button does you no good unless you have a momentary pause or quick reversal to dump some air with. I have heard stories of overly enthusiastic players actually tearing their bellows in two trying to get the last note out of them. If my bellows are longer than my arms, I don't have to worry about that. Enough said about bellows.
Craftsmanship is a term that encompasses all the little extra things and attention to detail that make an ordinary box a superb box. If you do any checking around at all, you will soon notice that 2 basic styles are available; wood boxes and plastic boxes. Plastic boxes are not solid plastic....they have a wood frame under there, its just that you can't see it. They come in a variety of colors and they are mostly nicely moulded. The plastic is durable, water repellant (though the bellows aren't), and can be quite showy. I prefer a wood body accordion, mainly because I just like the look and feel of wood and I appreciate the fine wood-working and exotic woods that go into that kind of box. My friend bought a gorgeous walnut body accordion over a year ago and to this day, an attentive observer will still notice a little smile of satisfaction cross his face every time he takes it out of its case. He has the pleasure of knowing that he is the owner of a unique piece of art which is not only beautiful to hear, but to see as well. Many of the wood boxes have some inlay of exotic woods and ornately carved grills of wood or metal which also add to the look. Some other luxury features to look for include; 2 padded adjustable leather shoulder straps (especially larger models), a padded leather wrist strap on the bass side, 1 or 2 thumb wheels to quickly adjust the tension of the bass strap, a sturdy padded case, precise and tight joints, air tight bellows, rounded edges where the arm rests on the bass side, a thumb groove on the edge of the treble keyboard. One other thing to be aware of is that the body of the accordion can have a huge effect on the sound that is produced. The same reeds in two differant boxes will sound quite differant. So don't assume that if your "Acme" accordion has brand "X" reeds the sound will be the same as your buddy Joe's "Muse" accordion which also has brand "X" reeds. You have to hear the particular reeds in the particular box to know what they will sound like.
Reed configurations and Tremolo
Lets start with the assumption that most melodeons will not have more than 4 sets of reeds per note. Lets also assume that there are three possible octaves of reeds: Low (L), Medium (M), High (H). Lets further say that reeds can be tuned either slightly below pitch (-), exactly on pitch, or slightly above pitch (+). With that in mind, here are the most common configurations of reeds for a melodeon:- M
- MM+
- M-M+
- LM
- M-MM+
- LMM+
- LM-M+
- LMH
- LMM+H
- LM-M+H
- LM-MM+
(2) is a common configuration for 2 reeded accordions. The + reed produces a wavering tremolo effect in conjunction with the other reed. Since the ear will hear the average of the 2 pitches, the note will sound just slightly sharp of concert pitch.
(3) is a less common configuration, but superior for 2 reeds. Because there is a sharp reed and a flat reed, they will average out to be right on pitch but still with tremolo. The only time option two is superior is when there is a stop to remove one of the reeds, in which case one would want the stop to work on the sharp reed.
(4) is the so-called bandoneon tuning it produces a full sound with no tremolo...I use it quite a bit on my accordion when playing along with fiddlers.
(5) is known as true Musette tuning (of French fame). It give a very full, powerful sounding tremolo effect without sounding off pitch.
(6) is the most common configuration for 3 reed boxes. It gives a nice full sound with tremolo and though it sounds a bit sharp of concert pitch it offers a lot of flexibility for instruments equipped with treble stops. Notice that if an instrument has a stop for each bank of reeds, it can produce the following sounds from this configuration; 1,2,4,6 plus a single L sound. Thats 5 differant combinations.
(7) would sound truer to pitch than 5, but it only gives 3 usable combinations with stops.
(8) has no tremolo, but the H reed adds color to the already full sounding LM combination for a very rich effect.
(9) is very much like 6 but with the added color of the H reed it offers even more possibilities.
(10) is again, much like 7 with some added tonal color.
(11) is a nice combination which offers true musette as one of its possibilities, but also filling out the sound with the L reed.
At this point you may be asking yourself why I didn't list any combinations with two or more L reeds or H reeds. Well, the problem with multiple L reeds is that they are very greedy for air and somewhat slower to respond than M reeds. Having multiple L reeds would result in a mushy sound that uses too much air. Likewise the H reeds, while being air-stingy, are quite shrill and unpleasant on their own. Their main use is to add some upper harmonic color to the reed mix...indeed most people would find it difficult to pick up on the sound of the high reed unless it was compared directly to a configuration in which it was absent. As a side note, you will notice that I didn't ever show a + or - reed used alone with a L or H reed. The simple reason for this is that it just sounds plainly out of tune, and nobody wants to listen to an accordion that sounds out of tune, but hey, you do whatever you want.
The amount of tremolo of a given set of reeds is most accurately measured by the beats per second (bps). In other words, how many "wahs" can be heard per second. Very few "wahs" is called dry tuning. A lot of "wahs" is called wet. 0bps is sometimes called "perfectly dry". The beats per second most generally range from 0+ to 8. Hans Palm has a pretty good overview of accordion tremolo and wetness with sound samples and characteristic tunings on his website. This whole thing is complicated by the fact that at higher pitches, it takes more beats per second to sound wet than at lower pitches. This leads to two basic approaches to tuning the tremolo in an accordion.
One approach is to compensate for this variability by tuning a little tremolo into the lower pitches and more tremolo into the higher pitches. This is called tuning "on the curve" and it produces an accordion that seems equally wet across the whole range. My accordion is tuned in this way from 2bps on the lowest note to about 6.5bps on the highest note (a tuning called "Wide Morris" for its apparent appeal to morris musicians, who play outdoors often). This gives it a fairly wet and full sound which carries well in large spaces.
The other approach is to tune the whole instrument to the same tremolo. The thought is that in this way, when chords or octaves are played, the reeds will beat in unison, producing a very nice effect. This is also good for singers, who can sometimes match the tremolo in their voice to the tremolo in the instrument. My good friend who I've often refered to on this page, has an instrument tuned uniformly to roughly 1 bps. This is a barely perceptible tremolo, and it sounds just gorgeous indoors, but outdoors it doesn't carry as well as mine (even though the instruments are the same in every other way). I have often thought that my next instrument (which probably won't be a morris instrument) will be tuned to a uniform 2bps, for a moderate tremolo. Note that some instruments have even more than 8bps of tremolo, but the current trend is for dryer rather than wetter instruments...the reverse used to be true.
Often, the degree of tremolo in the tuning has a bigger impact on apparent volume than the number of reeds....something to keep in mind if you have special needs in that regard. One common error is to assume that 2 reeds would be twice as loud as one reed. In fact, 2 reeds will only be about 40% louder than 1 reed, all else being equal. So a wet tuned MM+ might actually sound louder than a relatively dry LMM+. In short, If you need a louder instrument, getting one with more reeds might not be the best answer. Also note that for a given quantity of air consumption M-MM+ will be louder than LM-M+ since the L reed uses much more air than the M reed.
