improve sound

[the boxman]

Hi all

I guess what Marje's instrument would benefit from is a Sordino like the Gola or Excelsior Symphony Gold.
Inspired by what I've seen in a Hohner Atlantic I added a kind of 2nd cassotto to one of my accordions.
Honestly it already is a high-end instrument with 2 chorusses in cassotto - so it wouldn't necessarily have needed any upgrade.
To make it sounding even more mellow I added this "cassotto" made from cardboard.
It opens up to the higher tones to not damp them too much - especially to let the 4" tones pass w/o attenuation - but still enough to make the tremolo (which already is a dry tuning) even more mellow as it softens a bit the 2nd 8" a cassotto chorus.
I don't dare to say it's like a Gola with closed Sordino but some other accordionists like it very much when they here it.
"This is no longer sound - this is warmth radiation what comes out of your instrument"

It perfectly fits under the treble cover - you won't notice it from outside - and doesn't need any modification of the instrument - no screws, holes etc.
If you take it out the instrument is in its original condition.

Looks really good, what thickness of card did you use. Did you put the cardboard into the groove where the grill sits into or does it sit on top of the soundboard.
Did you varnish the cardboard as mentioned in a previous post about using tape
Thanks

 

[PhiliGol]

Thank you boxmann

I did use a 1mm card which is very stable for that purpose.
Together with the grill (also ca. 1mm if I remember correctly) it perfectly fits into the groove.
I did not use any lacquer or tape to put a finish onto the card - I only made sure all dust is removed.

 

[Walker]

That looks neat, but in the meantime I found the ultimate way to make my accordion sound a lot better

What? Learn a whole new instrument....

Surely you could just wear ear defenders while playing... less hassle than the bando.

Might even find a matching hat.

 

[tcabot]

After a lot of experimenting, I found that the easiest way to improve the accordion sound was to stop pressing the buttons.

On a serious note, the two instruments complement each other very well, but they are not substitutes. Since I only have time for one at the moment, I think my heart's asking for a switch to the bando.

Since my interest is mostly free bass, the bando has an interesting feature: while the accordion is very heavily biased towards right hand freedom, the bando hands are equally restricted free. Either hand can be temporarily relieved from its bellows duty, so you don't get a severely restricted left, like you do on the accordion. The LHS Kusserow manual is the next best thing to the Moschino, and the RHS manual is actually very smart and quite efficient (considering that your hand is strapped to the box and you can only use 4 fingers).

It is also a lot easier to pick up lassies in the pub when you have a bandonion* rather than accordion.

*It helps a lot if the bandonion is attached to a good looking bandonionist. YMMV.