Hohner Morino VI M Question - Sorry VI N not M

[FrankieFrank]

Hello All !!
I decided to re-visit my "bassetti' playing days of 50 years ago (long gone Giulietti Classic Transformer) and have just acquired a Morino VI M - my first Hohner. I assume it's a later model with the Gola-like registers on the treble side and 3 bass registers.
Can someone kindly describe/explain the "sliders" on the treble and bass sides and what they are actually supposed to do. The person I bought it from really didn't have a clue. I have a feeling that mine are needing some adjustment or repair.
Thanks for your input.

 

[debra]

I just dismantled a Morino VI M. (I mainly kept the reeds and bellows and tossed everything else. The whole thing was really suffering from old age and bad smell and beginning rust on the bass reeds... and I don't have a better purpose for the accordion than keeping the reeds and giving away the bellows.)
Let me see what I remember... the "sliders" are basically the same as on the later Morino VI N. The treble sliders go up and down and each of these activates one treble register. To find out which, push down and see which normal register switch moves. The coupling is purely mechanical from slider to register switch (unlike by newer accordions where such sliders or chin switches only move internal register sliders so nothing happens with the register switches). You can expect something like LM, MMMH, M, maybe MH... I don't remember exactly. The one large chin switch is a master (LMMMH). On the M the M+ and M- reed banks are internally coupled. On later models like the N and S series the M+ and M- have a separate register slide so you can for instance uncouple the M- from the registers that have MMM and create a separate slider switch for that reed bank. On the Morino M series you cannot do this.
On the bass side if I'm not mistaken there are two sliders, one is to select a low or high register (slider up and down) and the other is to cut off the highest bass octave. That makes standard bass sound better (no highest reeds in there) but it also disables that highest octave in the melody bass.
It takes a bit of experimenting to find out what each slider does exactly, but you can find out by just trying them.
Many people have actually removed the sliders because on the Morino M series the treble sliders are on the outside and you will hurt your hand touching them by accident. The later Morino N and S series have these sliders under the keyboard and that is ergonomically better.

 

[John Doe]

Owned a VI M and really enjoyed the sound, LH and appreciated the healthy workout it afforded my shoulders when playing for extended periods.

The metal sliders on the front of th keyboard really did- at least for me- materially affect the instrument's playability. Thumb ripping aside- when it caught the little balls on the slides- the mechanism involved literally totaled the clide for the M bank in the chamber.

The slide is made of plastic/bakelite and along with being light and non corroding it is also pretty frail if abused.

Most slides are brass or aluminum and work by an arm engaging a slot in the end of the slide and moving it back an forth. In the VI M there is a raised stub with a vertical slot affixed to the end of the slides (true for the cassotto slides, not sure about the others). The normal register switches work the arm as in a normal accordion. The issue with the front edge sliders is that there is a lot of moving mass associated with the heavy metal rods of the sliders and it's really easy for all the impact associated with stopping the inertial force winding up being absorbed by the stub on the plastic foundation plate slide for the cassotto block in question. That hammering action can - and in my case- did- result in the stub cracking off and ruining the slide. Non standard and no longer available through Hohner- that was a major disaster.

No bassoon only, no bassoon-high. All the M options still available.

I wound up donating it to a gentleman from this chatboard who believed he could repair it.

The plate on the backside of the keyboard is easily removed by loosening a few screws and allows full access to the linkages from the front edge sliders and the mechanism to work the arms that move the slides. It's a simple mechanism with a lot of long easy to get out of adjustment carefully bent rods.

It's worth your time to take it off and ensure that when you move the front slider all the way over its movement is arrested by a stopper on the mechanism there and not fully absorbed by the poor slide stub.

The front register switches are normal and there are no substantial inertial issues associated with them.

Good luck- a very nice sounding instrument- and were you to choose to pull the edge slides altogether you'd be no worse off tha 99% of all piano accordions when it comes to switching convenience.

 

[FrankieFrank]

I just dismantled a Morino VI M. (I mainly kept the reeds and bellows and tossed everything else. The whole thing was really suffering from old age and bad smell and beginning rust on the bass reeds... and I don't have a better purpose for the accordion than keeping the reeds and giving away the bellows.)
Let me see what I remember... the "sliders" are basically the same as on the later Morino VI N. The treble sliders go up and down and each of these activates one treble register. To find out which, push down and see which normal register switch moves. The coupling is purely mechanical from slider to register switch (unlike by newer accordions where such sliders or chin switches only move internal register sliders so nothing happens with the register switches). You can expect something like LM, MMMH, M, maybe MH... I don't remember exactly. The one large chin switch is a master (LMMMH). On the M the M+ and M- reed banks are internally coupled. On later models like the N and S series the M+ and M- have a separate register slide so you can for instance uncouple the M- from the registers that have MMM and create a separate slider switch for that reed bank. On the Morino M series you cannot do this.
On the bass side if I'm not mistaken there are two sliders, one is to select a low or high register (slider up and down) and the other is to cut off the highest bass octave. That makes standard bass sound better (no highest reeds in there) but it also disables that highest octave in the melody bass.
It takes a bit of experimenting to find out what each slider does exactly, but you can find out by just trying them.
Many people have actually removed the sliders because on the Morino M series the treble sliders are on the outside and you will hurt your hand touching them by accident. The later Morino N and S series have these sliders under the keyboard and that is ergonomically better.

thanks for the input - my mistake I have a VI N not M but some similarities appear to exit.

Owned a VI M and really enjoyed the sound, LH and appreciated the healthy workout it afforded my shoulders when playing for extended periods.

The metal sliders on the front of th keyboard really did- at least for me- materially affect the instrument's playability. Thumb ripping aside- when it caught the little balls on the slides- the mechanism involved literally totaled the clide for the M bank in the chamber.

The slide is made of plastic/bakelite and along with being light and non corroding it is also pretty frail if abused.

Most slides are brass or aluminum and work by an arm engaging a slot in the end of the slide and moving it back an forth. In the VI M there is a raised stub with a vertical slot affixed to the end of the slides (true for the cassotto slides, not sure about the others). The normal register switches work the arm as in a normal accordion. The issue with the front edge sliders is that there is a lot of moving mass associated with the heavy metal rods of the sliders and it's really easy for all the impact associated with stopping the inertial force winding up being absorbed by the stub on the plastic foundation plate slide for the cassotto block in question. That hammering action can - and in my case- did- result in the stub cracking off and ruining the slide. Non standard and no longer available through Hohner- that was a major disaster.

No bassoon only, no bassoon-high. All the M options still available.

I wound up donating it to a gentleman from this chatboard who believed he could repair it.

The plate on the backside of the keyboard is easily removed by loosening a few screws and allows full access to the linkages from the front edge sliders and the mechanism to work the arms that move the slides. It's a simple mechanism with a lot of long easy to get out of adjustment carefully bent rods.

It's worth your time to take it off and ensure that when you move the front slider all the way over its movement is arrested by a stopper on the mechanism there and not fully absorbed by the poor slide stub.

The front register switches are normal and there are no substantial inertial issues associated with them.

Good luck- a very nice sounding instrument- and were you to choose to pull the edge slides altogether you'd be no worse off tha 99% of all piano accordions when it comes to switching convenience.

Thank you - I erred in that I have a VI N not an "M" but I take your info to heart - experimenting to come!

 

[FrankieFrank]

I just dismantled a Morino VI M. (I mainly kept the reeds and bellows and tossed everything else. The whole thing was really suffering from old age and bad smell and beginning rust on the bass reeds... and I don't have a better purpose for the accordion than keeping the reeds and giving away the bellows.)
Let me see what I remember... the "sliders" are basically the same as on the later Morino VI N. The treble sliders go up and down and each of these activates one treble register. To find out which, push down and see which normal register switch moves. The coupling is purely mechanical from slider to register switch (unlike by newer accordions where such sliders or chin switches only move internal register sliders so nothing happens with the register switches). You can expect something like LM, MMMH, M, maybe MH... I don't remember exactly. The one large chin switch is a master (LMMMH). On the M the M+ and M- reed banks are internally coupled. On later models like the N and S series the M+ and M- have a separate register slide so you can for instance uncouple the M- from the registers that have MMM and create a separate slider switch for that reed bank. On the Morino M series you cannot do this.
On the bass side if I'm not mistaken there are two sliders, one is to select a low or high register (slider up and down) and the other is to cut off the highest bass octave. That makes standard bass sound better (no highest reeds in there) but it also disables that highest octave in the melody bass.
It takes a bit of experimenting to find out what each slider does exactly, but you can find out by just trying them.
Many people have actually removed the sliders because on the Morino M series the treble sliders are on the outside and you will hurt your hand touching them by accident. The later Morino N and S series have these sliders under the keyboard and that is ergonomically better.

Thanks - I mistakenly said VI M but I actually have a VI N but there are similarities. I find the sliders on the bass side annoying (if not painful) when accessing the bassteti system. Not too crazy about the strap attachments ether - accordion fees too "mobile".

 

[tcabot]

@debra
If you find that you're drowning in good quality reeds I'll be more than happy to help you out
Especially those pesky Taborro or Catraro.

 

[debra]

Thanks - I mistakenly said VI M but I actually have a VI N but there are similarities. I find the sliders on the bass side annoying (if not painful) when accessing the bassteti system. Not too crazy about the strap attachments ether - accordion fees too "mobile".

Well, the large slider on the bass side just selects between two registers and it is thus redundant. You can simply remove it. The small second slider enables/disables the top octave and that function is not available through the regular registers so it is not redundant and you should leave it in place, but it's not really annoying since it's just at the top (in the playing orientation).
The VI N comes in a few different generations (all with the same name). The older ones have narrow black keys and have the register sliders on the side. The newest ones have wider (normal) black keys and the register sliders under (behind) the keyboard.

 

[debra]

@debra
If you find that you're drowning in good quality reeds I'll be more than happy to help you out
Especially those pesky Taborro or Catraro.

Such old good quality reeds will either be used in other accordions I get in for repair, or will go to a new owner when I die.
Should I ever come by a complete set of hand made Taborro reeds someone would need to shoot me to get their hands on them!

 

[tcabot]

Would you prefer .308, .270 or 6.5 Creedmoor?

 

[debra]

Would you prefer .308, .270 or 6.5 Creedmoor?

The chances of me every coming by a complete set of hand made Taborro reeds are so slim that I'm not worried about the caliber used to shoot me... Should I ever get such a set I fortunately know a company close by that sells bulletproof vests.

 

[JerryPH]

Can someone kindly describe/explain the "sliders" on the treble and bass sides and what they are actually supposed to do. The person I bought it from really didn't have a clue. I have a feeling that mine are needing some adjustment or repair.
Thanks for your input.

OK, so to confirm, you have one of these?



Heavy, aren't they?
I love mine, and would never give it away for any price (and as others here know, I also own a Gola).

On the treble side, there are 2 sliders.
-the closer one toggles between bassoon and organ registers depending on if you pull up or down.
-the further one toggles between musette and clarinet registers depending on if you pull up or down.



I near never use these. There are a couple of songs that give me the time to slip the thumb underneath and flick to the desired registration, but even then I could easily do it on the front register buttons just as easily.

There are 3 "controls" on the left hand side.
- the air button
- a singular slider that turns off and on the highest octave reeds
- a longer slide that has 5 protrusions. It controls 2 of the registers for the bass, the master and deeper registers.



I never used any of these sliders and actually the long slider poked me uncomfortably for decades, so I had it removed, though I did keep all parts.

 

[debra]

OK, so to confirm, you have one of these?



...

Jerry, you have one of the later Morino VI N series, with white keys and black keys of "normal width".
The earlier Morino VI N series have slightly beige keys and narrow black keys (narrower than on most accordions).
The earlier ones are more common. Some of the later series are known as the "Klebemorino" with sticky pallet felt+leather. I seem to remember that yours was one of those...

 

[JerryPH]

Jerry, you have one of the later Morino VI N series, with white keys and black keys of "normal width".
The earlier Morino VI N series have slightly beige keys and narrow black keys (narrower than on most accordions).

Now that is a new one for my head... I never knew there were different generations of VI N's. Thanks for pointing that out.

The earlier ones are more common. Some of the later series are known as the "Klebemorino" with sticky pallet felt+leather. I seem to remember that yours was one of those...

Yes, and on mine, that was resolved many years ago... and though it was on the left hand only and on 4-5 notes, I had the pads on the bass side all replaced properly and professionally followed by a complete right and left hand tune and slight increase in right hand tremelo.

 

[debra]

Now that is a new one for my head... I never knew there were different generations of VI N's. Thanks for pointing that out.

Yes, and on mine, that was resolved many years ago... and though it was on the left hand only and on 4-5 notes, I had the pads on the bass side all replaced properly and professionally followed by a complete right and left hand tune and slight increase in right hand tremelo.

Here is a picture of the earlier generation Morino VI N with
1) The treble slider registers still on the edge of the keyboard instead of behind it and
2) Slightly beige "white" keys and register switches and
3) narrow black keys
These three elements are like on the earlier Morino Vi M, so the transition from the M to the newer N you have was "gradual".



This Morino has the register transfer from outside to inside on the ends of the keyboard.



That too is an evolutionary step in the Morino series.
If we go another step back in time we see this:



And yes, this is also a Morino VI N.
You see, there are differences that Hohner made (and Excelsior built) in the design, without changing the name of the accordion model at all.
It is quite common for Morino VI owners to not know that different designs existed, all with the same name.

So for me it is quite normal to ask: "So you have a Morino VI N... but which actual model is it: do you have narrow black keys? do you have the register transfer box in the center or on the side?" and people are baffled that all three designs are called the same.
I even saw one Morino VI N with not the two common register sliders behind the keyboard but three of them... but that supposedly was a custom build.

 

[Ventura]

very interesting seeing the center shift transmission version,
because that means there is a significant difference to the
geometry of the treble reedblocks, though there are the same
number of pads in each row between models.

whether that translates to a noticeable difference or not

 

[debra]

very interesting seeing the center shift transmission version,
because that means there is a significant difference to the
geometry of the treble reedblocks, though there are the same
number of pads in each row between models.

whether that translates to a noticeable difference or not

Well... It does make a difference for this:
See the slider on the grille (that looks like it is a repurposed sordino slider from an Atlantic?



On the inside it looks like this:





You probably guessed it: it is used to turn the M- reed banks on and off.
The Morino VI series only allows the use of a single M or all three MMM, not MM, but you can make the third M reed bank switchable on the Morino VI N and S (but not on the M). On this early generation Morino VI N it is fairly easy with such a slider placed near the center of the grille.
(Note: I did not add this slider/switch. It was already present when I got this Morino in for tuning.)

 

[PhiliGol]

Hi Paul
You must have come across quite a few boxes - such amount of knowledge in one brain.
You're a living accordion encyclopaedia.

 

[debra]

Hi Paul
You must have come across quite a few boxes - such amount of knowledge in one brain.
You're a living accordion encyclopaedia.

Not an accordion encyclopedia. I know a bit about the accordions I have come across, and those include a lot of Morino N series accordions and a few Morino M and S series as well. And I tend to take pictures of the outside and then the interesting bits on the inside of every accordion I get to work on.

 

[FrankieFrank]

OK, so to confirm, you have one of these?



Heavy, aren't they?
I love mine, and would never give it away for any price (and as others here know, I also own a Gola).

On the treble side, there are 2 sliders.
-the closer one toggles between bassoon and organ registers depending on if you pull up or down.
-the further one toggles between musette and clarinet registers depending on if you pull up or down.



I near never use these. There are a couple of songs that give me the time to slip the thumb underneath and flick to the desired registration, but even then I could easily do it on the front register buttons just as easily.

There are 3 "controls" on the left hand side.
- the air button
- a singular slider that turns off and on the highest octave reeds
- a longer slide that has 5 protrusions. It controls 2 of the registers for the bass, the master and deeper registers.



I never used any of these sliders and actually the long slider poked me uncomfortably for decades, so I had it removed, though I did keep all parts.

Hi - been laid up for a bit with a really torn rotator cuff - right shoulder no less.
Thanks for the information and yes, mine is like that.
Not only is it heavy but the feel, etc. needs getting used to - the bass buttons seem smaller, or more densely arranged (to me anyway).
Getting my hand over to the basset bases is a challenge (coming from a Giuliett F4T and Classic T.
Lovely tone and responsiveness - glad I picked it up.

 

[JerryPH]

Hi - been laid up for a bit with a really torn rotator cuff - right shoulder no less.
Thanks for the information and yes, mine is like that.

So you have the later "wider keys" one? The right hand registers are facing back and not the top of the keyboard edge?

Not only is it heavy but the feel, etc. needs getting used to - the bass buttons seem smaller, or more densely arranged (to me anyway).
Getting my hand over to the basset bases is a challenge (coming from a Giuliett F4T and Classic T.

Definitely heavy, it's the heaviest accordion that I have. I am partial to the MIII free bass system for no other reason other than this is what I started on and when I was at the Conservatory in Toronto, that system was the ONLY one they had there.

Lovely tone and responsiveness - glad I picked it up.

It has nice possibilities for sure and great sound. Kind of 80% of the way to a Gola 459. I have one of those with MIII too: