New Pads, but adjustment???

[Keelbolt]

What is the adjustment screw at the base of each key designed to adjust, please? (See picture of screws in base of keys - far left of image)
I've fitted new pads to my Hohner Virtuola iii and fixed the reed valves that were curled out. It's 'almost' cured the notes that were sounding when the bellows were moved and from an unplayable instrument, it's gone to one that sounds damn good. I'm pretty delighted with the outcome, but need to make small adjustments to the pads to get rid of the last little bit of wheeze (top C# and D# leaking just a little). I'd really like to know what the adjustment screws are designed to achieve.... could someone please advise?
Thank you in advance
Richard

 

[Ventura]

someone with more experience on this model will soon advise,
but meanwhile please resist the urge to mess with those set screws

the angle of the arm and pad would be changed or improved
by renewing the pad itself, R&R the soft-holding system
(which allows for a tiny bit of self-leveling of the pad)
or careful re-bending of the arm

before you do that, simply press down with your fingers on the pad
while you pressure the bellows to make absolutely certain it is the
PAD SEATING that is the issue (not something on the reed-side
that you may have missed)

if the note stops sounding with the added pressure of your fingers
to the pad, then try the cigarette paper idea Debra often mentions
(sort of like Dentists do) to find what is off angle, doublecheck that
the spring return is as strong as the rest of the keys (by feel/flicking)
and you can always pop the reedblock and use a strong light

 

[Keelbolt]

someone with more experience on this model will soon advise,
but meanwhile please resist the urge to mess with those set screws

the angle of the arm and pad would be changed or improved
by renewing the pad itself, R&R the soft-holding system
(which allows for a tiny bit of self-leveling of the pad)
or careful re-bending of the arm

before you do that, simply press down with your fingers on the pad
while you pressure the bellows to make absolutely certain it is the
PAD SEATING that is the issue (not something on the reed-side
that you may have missed)

if the note stops sounding with the added pressure of your fingers
to the pad, then try the cigarette paper idea Debra often mentions
(sort of like Dentists do) to find what is off angle, doublecheck that
the spring return is as strong as the rest of the keys (by feel/flicking)
and you can always pop the reedblock and use a strong light

Hi Ventura
Thanks - that's very helpful.

someone with more experience on this model will soon advise,
but meanwhile please resist the urge to mess with those set screws

the angle of the arm and pad would be changed or improved
by renewing the pad itself, R&R the soft-holding system
(which allows for a tiny bit of self-leveling of the pad)
or careful re-bending of the arm

before you do that, simply press down with your fingers on the pad
while you pressure the bellows to make absolutely certain it is the
PAD SEATING that is the issue (not something on the reed-side
that you may have missed)

if the note stops sounding with the added pressure of your fingers
to the pad, then try the cigarette paper idea Debra often mentions
(sort of like Dentists do) to find what is off angle, doublecheck that
the spring return is as strong as the rest of the keys (by feel/flicking)
and you can always pop the reedblock and use a strong light

Thanks, it is the seating of my new pad on this one note. Trying to get it right. It MAY be the spring, but as all the others are good, I'm inclined to think its seating.

 

[TimeSwan]

Those screws are the locking mechanism for the key. Turn the screw 90 degrees and you'll be able to remove the key. Hohner used this method on a few models, including the Atlantic and the Morino if I remember correctly. Someone fact check me on that.

Personally, I don't like this mechanism because the locking apparatus was made of plastic, they wear quickly and allow the keys to have too much side play, in turn causing the pads to never want to seat correctly.

 

[debra]

What is the adjustment screw at the base of each key designed to adjust, please? (See picture of screws in base of keys - far left of image)
I've fitted new pads to my Hohner Virtuola iii and fixed the reed valves that were curled out. It's 'almost' cured the notes that were sounding when the bellows were moved and from an unplayable instrument, it's gone to one that sounds damn good. I'm pretty delighted with the outcome, but need to make small adjustments to the pads to get rid of the last little bit of wheeze (top C# and D# leaking just a little). I'd really like to know what the adjustment screws are designed to achieve.... could someone please advise?
Thank you in advance
Richard

These are not adjustment screws. You turn the screw (actually a bolt) 90 degrees to release the key. On this keyboard each key can be removed individually, in any order.
To adjust the pallet or level the keys you have to bend the levers (or "arms"). You have to do this without putting any force on the key itself because these plastic keys will break where the lever is glued to the key. There are special tools for bending the key levers, called "torciferri" (which translates roughly to "bend metal").

 

[Paul vdV]

You can make one yourself ....

 

[Keelbolt]

You can make one yourself ....

Thanks, Paul. I think I'd also need a little instruction on how to use it! A quick youtube search doesn't show anything related to torciferri.

 

[Ventura]

you remember those old glass cutter tools with a little
wheel and a couple different notches in the handle ?

something like that, the notches just fitting the key arm
nicely and giving you a way to exert leverage, but you use
two of them so you essentially "stop" the leverage at the
one closer to the key/setscrew by pressuring back while the
one you have hooked near the pad is the one you use to slightly
bend the aluminum arm

you can also use a small Vise-grip to strongly hold the lower part
of the arm and stop any force reaching the key pivot

heck same principle as using one pipe wrench to keep from twisting a
solder joint loose when you thread on a new fitting or faucet

 

[kimric]

Often the little rubber "Wrist" that connects the arm to the pallet has taken a set. Sometimes a pallet can be set flat by turning the pad around, or scooting the rubber back and forth a bit to get the pad to sit flat. Depending on what the wrist is made of a hair dryer can be used to relax the rubber a bit to get the pallet to flatten.
You can use the tip of a screwdriver to push the front or back (sometimes the pallet is rotated a bit on the arm too) to see where the leak is to make the correct adjustment.
Bending the arm won't really help unless you can bend it near the tip.

 

[Paul vdV]

Thanks, Paul. I think I'd also need a little instruction on how to use it! A quick youtube search doesn't show anything related to torciferri.

It is called 'regulating' the keyboard ...

 

[tcabot]

Same keyboard on first gen Hohner Atlantic. But it's all metal to metal.

I think it's quite neat & very handy for servicing.

 

[debra]

Thanks, Paul. I think I'd also need a little instruction on how to use it! A quick youtube search doesn't show anything related to torciferri.

You need a pair of them. (PaulvdV showed a home-made one, and you need two.) The "slot" goes over the arm and when you have placed two of them vertically over the arm then if you pull the end together (a tiny slap at a time) the pallet moves up and if you pull the ends apart a bit the pallet moves down.
PaulvdV also showed a video of a key/pallet adjustment without torciferri. IGNORE that video. It works fine, until the connection between the key and the arm breaks.

 

[John Doe]

IGNORE that video. It works fine, until the connection between the key and the arm breaks.

...at which point it becomes a true pain for an amateur.

Strike that. Fixable, but a true pain to remedy for anyone.

You might get away with it for a small key levelling correction- but in the end you'll surely come to bitterly regret it.

 

[boxplayer4000]

The video above demonstrates exactly how NOT to make the repair; as Paul states above.
The bending rods should always be used in pairs; one to make the bend and the other to provide the equal and opposite force so that that force is not transferred to (for example) a relatively weak plastic key.
Using the 'two-key' principle is common in other situations, outwith accordions, in plumbing, car maintenance etc.

 

[Keelbolt]

Thanks, guys. All helpful... particularly the warning re the video. YouTube is not necessarily your friend! Discrimination is.