Fundamental Bass notes OK, but chord, minor, 7th...

[oop]

My accordion did not make a plane trip unscathed.

At first there were some stuck-down bass notes, but I fixed these after poking around in the bass machine

Putting it back together It seemed like it would work, but when I kicked into the oom-pah beat, the oom sounded great while the pah sounded like a dying goat. This is true up and down the bass section, for all minors and 7ths as well.

I've gone back in twice now, looking at that reed block, and at the pistons, levers, but I can't see anything wrong.

I hope not to dismantle the bass machine

Any thoughts, advice?

Thanks

 

[donn]

I hope not to dismantle the bass machine

You hope in vain, is my thinking. I mean, dont dismantle it strictly speaking, but youre going to have to correct some things in there. Start by figuring out how to remove the end panel or whatever by which you get access to it. Then start figuring out how its supposed to work, and whats wrong. I did this last weekend, and honestly it was kind of entertaining, but the problems were relatively minor.

On an impact, things can kind of skip around in there and get out of place, and its possible they can just be slipped back into place without any real force. You want to avoid bending anything, because then many further adjustments are bound to be needed to restore balance. Im sure there are references that can easily be found online that will provide much more reliable guidance.

 

[TomBR]

If I've understood your post correctly all bass chords sound bad? If you have bass registers do these (A) seem to work ok (but be gentle) and/or (B) make any difference?
If bass notes are OK, but all chords have a problem, I think that points initially to a reed block problem rather than a Stradella mechanism problem. "Dying goat" sounds like not enough air getting to some reeds, and hence a misplaced reed block or register slide.

Removing and replacing reed blocks should be easy, BUT be very careful about register slides. I don't know the make of your accordion, but with Hohners the registers slide in the bottom of the reed block. You have to be very careful when removing reed blocks to make sure that you don't bend the soft aluminium register slides. Once they are bent they are very hard to straighten perfectly. You may be able to see the slide projecting from the reed block to where a lever passes through a slot in the end to move the slide. Undo the screw(s) that holds the reed block, then gently and carefully lift if out. It's ok for the slide to pull partway out, but then carefully unhook it from the lever. If you don't then see anything wrong, just put it back, and repeat for the other blocks.
Once the block is out, make sure a slide doesn't fall out, or part way out, and get bent, or mixed up.

(The chord reeds will be the smallest ones of course - the "fundamentals" are the big guys. Sounds like you can leave them alone.)