Double Octave or Musette

[hais1273]

When I started playing accordions I never imagined I would want or even be able to play a 4 voice instrument let alone want to make decisions about whether the instrument should be double octave or musette. A two voice Weltie Perle is so straightforward.
Anyway, for reasons I can't quite explain I'm thinking about buying a used 120 bass 4 voice instrument, I think I'm drifting toward a musette box (LMMM) but I like the sound of both. I'd love to hear if anyone has any thoughts about the relative merits or otherwise of each tuning.
We do a lot of French style folk dance, Mazurka's, Valse, Bourree and so on. I think musette works very well for that style of music..

 

[acordiansam]

Well I think that's why most of us on here have several boxes. You just have to pick what you like the sound of mostly. Even musette's are all different in tunings. Sum wet and wild and sum sweet! So sorry I'm no help that's why I have 11 boxes. If my wife reads this i'll have sum explaining to do!
Good luck

 

[george garside]

there are no particular 'merits' to either musette or octave tuning and the actual sound varies within those two broad definitions.

So the choice is simply up to what the individual player likes best and should not be made for any other reason.

george

 

[donn]

Or even better if you can anticipate what you will like best a year or two hence.

It seems to me some Italian maker's web site has sound clips of their models in two or more musette tunings, which seems potentially useful for those of us who really aren't acquainted with them from experience. I'll follow up if I can remember where that is.

I personally use LM a lot, MMM once in a while. There's a good chance my next accordion may end up being LMMH whether I prefer it or not, so I'm trying to be optimistic that the LMH combination will be good and loud, and not unbearably shrill, a good thing to have up my sleeve when playing with percussion for example. (Here's an example, by the way, of factors that might not be very evident in the showroom. An accordion might sound quite lovely in a quiet room played at an appropriate volume, and then in a raucous band you're simply drowned out, the treble side isn't loud enough.)

And maybe the H reeds will be smaller and lighter. On the other hand, if you're playing in a style that calls for a good musette setup, then that's what you want - and I suppose, tuned appropriately for that style.

 

[Soulsaver]

My advice would be if you go for LMMM make sure its tuning suits your taste. If you're not Scottish or into that genre you're unlikely to like the sound of Scotswet tuned instruments, for example.. and it'd probably not suit your band.

 

[Anyanka]

I would recommend playing the actual accordion you think you want, on all the possible reed combinations - and listening to somebody else play it, as the sound can be quite different from the other side! Focus on the main reed combo you are likely to use, e.g. single reed or MM or MMM. As mentioned by others, there's more to the 'flavour' of an accordion than just the number of L and M reed sets etc, and in my opinion, the quality is best judged by just listening & seeing how that makes you feel: do you like it? Will you want to play it and play it and play it?

 

[JIM D.]

Anyanka's recommendation echos something I have advised for years now. When trying out a new box (1) of course observe the fit and finish and play tunes your comfortable with. (2) and very important make sure there is another accordionist present (whether dealer or friend) to play the box while you keep a distance of at least 10 ft. and listen to the sound quality. The difference of the accordions sound quality heard when you play it yourself, and what the box sounds like from a distance is quite dramatic. :tup:

 

[Glenn]

The sound difference between what you hear when playing and what others hear is quite obvious really.
A bit like hearing your own voice on a recording.
However, should the accordion sound good to you playing it or good to the listener in the room?
Ideally both I guess but personally, as an infrequent performer, I would go for the one that sounded nice to me playing.

 

[george garside]

there is also the question of amplification which can make a box sound different to an audience or floor full of dancers than it does to the player. This can be even more so if there is a very good sound engineer twiddling his knobs during the performance as some of them can almost turn shit into milk chocolate!

george

 

[hais1273]

I agree completely with play before you buy, and also agree that instruments sound completely different when being played as opposed to being listened to. My 30key fantini sounds pretty good when I'm playing it, but when I'm listening to someone else playing it, it sounds marvelous, could be I'm really average at playing it of course!!

I guess it comes down to personal choice, whats availible on the day, what you can afford and what fits. But I must say I really enjoy dancing a spirited waltz played on a musette accordion.

 

[artidots]

My 30key fantini sounds pretty good when Im playing it, but when Im listening to someone else playing it, it sounds marvelous, could be Im really average at playing it of course!!

Snap as they say. Absolutely my experience too, particularly if the player is Emilio Allodi !

Rob

 

[TW]

or,
you could select the digital route....
and never need to make either/or .... both/and ... decisions....

 

[JIM D.]

With the high cost of a quality new acoustic, yes the digital is the answer.

 

[acordiansam]

If you are playing out and serval different types of music I got to say a dig. Box is the way to go! It will not beat a good acoustic box. But for giging I love my roland.

 

[Zevy]

<FONT font=Garamond><SIZE size=125>Just to throw a monkey wrench into the equation, all of my accordions are dry tuned, and that includes my Borsini LMMM. Thats the way Frosini and Deiro bros. played. Because of the natural overtones, one doesnt miss the piccolo reeds.

 

[donn]

So ... supposing you invest in an LMMM setup, and then later you wish it were tuned differently - maybe a slightly different musette, or the dry tuning described above - that can be done, right? I suppose no one can say how much that would cost, but as a general idea, it would be considerably less than the cost of a new high quality accordion, true?

 

[Zevy]

So ... supposing you invest in an LMMM setup, and then later you wish it were tuned differently - maybe a slightly different musette, or the dry tuning described above - that can be done, right? I suppose no one can say how much that would cost, but as a general idea, it would be considerably less than the cost of a new high quality accordion, true?

<FONT font=Garamond><SIZE size=125><COLOR color=#0040FF>Of course it can be done. But be sure that you have a good, experienced tuner.

 

[donn]

Of course indeed, it can be done, but the question I was trying to get at was, if you're leaning towards LMMM, how big of a commitment are you necessarily making to the accordion's actual tuning? If it's a small matter to get the tuning changed, assuming a qualified person is available to do it, that would make it a lot easier to go ahead. If it's technically possible but you might as well just start looking for your next accordion, then the actual tuning is very important.

 

[Sandy Flett]

If you want one accordion to give you both MMM and MM then I would advise you do not get a very wide (wet) tuned MMM as the resulting MM inevitably sounds very harsh. I use one accordion for both my English and Scottish ceilidh band work, and have found the compromise of MMM tuned to no more than plus-and-minus 20 cents at A=440 gives me a rich enough MMM musette for the Scottish, and a mellower, but still punchy, MM tremelo more characteristic for the English tunes (ie more towards the melodeon MM sound).

In my experience on the folk and dance side of things, having MMM is much more useful than any of the combinations offered by having an H reed. The H reed adds subtle differences to the sound whereas switching in MMM is much more noticeable.

 

[Glenn]

It's interesting that nobody has raised the spectre of a 5 voice accordion.
This will give you LMMMH in all combinations.
Are these instruments undesirable these days?