Taping Off Thirds to Get More Chords From a 12 Bass

[Squeezebox Of Delights]

I made this video in response to another thread, but I thought it deserved its own thread too. I am a massive fan of thirdless chords - they're very light and gentle and are great for accompanying folky stuff where major/minor chords are too restrictive, and you can combine them to get suspended chords, minor seventh chords, so on and so forth. On a 12 bass box it is incredibly useful as they can also stand in for majors or minors, vastly increasing what you can play on the instrument. I have two piano accordions that I have removed thirds from: my 25/32 Excelsior, and this 25/12 Hohner. The Hohner was very easy - it has individual sets of reeds for each chord, like a melodeon, so you just need to tape over the relevant holes. The Excelsior has a standard Stradella bass mech, so it was a bit more complicated, and involved careful use of a dremel and some industrial super glue. Anyway, rambling aside, here's a tutorial on how I converted the Hohner. It's easy, quick, and reversible, and I strongly recommend that you try it yourself!

Also the video is very much geared towards people who are pretty new to the accordion, so there is lots of information that most of the people here will already be familiar with!

 

[saundersbp]

Very cute video and a great easy way to particularly remove a stradella limitation and create an interesting light LH. I also envy your dress sense....more please!

 

[Big Squeezy Accordions]

I always recommend this if someone brings in a 12 bass. I also recommend never buying a 12 bass if you don't already have one, unless you are only planning to use the keyboard side.

 

[John Doe]

-Really nice job on the video.
-The removal of thirds, coupled with a base of musical experience well beyond that probably envisioned by the designers, results in an instrument with a lot of flexibility- as is clearly demonstrated in the video. For most novice players, I figure they would be best served by skipping the 12 bass altogether and going straight into a 48, 60, or 72 if they want to go places beyond <Coming> Around the Mountain Still lightweight, and available in 17 inch and under keyboards if size is a concern.
-As opposed to 12 bass accordions the 48-72 market used has much slimmer pickings and genrally much higher prices for an instrument in good repair. The 41/120's are out there in profusion, and with patience can be had thriftily. They also serve as an exercise proram for the upper body...
-As beaten to death in numerous threads; "good" need not mean perfect, but leaky bellows -especially on smaller instruments- are really a trial. On a two voice instrument a couple of bad valves really stick out. (I personally can't abide the crackly/fluttery sound on any valves but some may overlook it)

There's an obvious charm to the familiar piano keyboard RH in a light small package and though the range is of course limited, with the thirds pulled it might well be great for those many times when the steamer trunk is just too bulky and heavy to haul about. Again, as demonstrated it makes it far more employable on many pieces.

It also leaves it sounding sort of thin for the novice who is merely going to plunk out simple one note right hand familiar melodies, will not utilize the enhanced capabilites, and who will be pleased by the fuller sound of automatic three note major chords to go with them.


PS If someone is pulling the bass blocks with the "L" shaped holds you should realize that they ar basically a wood screw shaft with the top bent at 90 degrees. This means that if you swivel it clockwise to free the bass black it'll screw itself down and may wind up gougint the block end pretty substantially (mainly cosmetic). Turn it to the left and it'll loosen as it goes to the side.

PPS If your a more serious player, you might consider the Club system diatonic boxes. Something of a learning curve and the bass really take a knack but they can be had cheap, are very light, and especially with the 31/33 button models you can handle a wide range of pieces indeed. I have both a Liliput and a Preciosa and they really are both incredibly portable and satisfying.

 

[Squeezebox Of Delights]

PS If someone is pulling the bass blocks with the "L" shaped holds you should realize that they ar basically a wood screw shaft with the top bent at 90 degrees. This means that if you swivel it clockwise to free the bass black it'll screw itself down and may wind up gougint the block end pretty substantially (mainly cosmetic). Turn it to the left and it'll loosen as it goes to the side.

You're right! I should have mentioned that. I was already considering remaking the video at some point, with better filming, and a script so I know what I need to say. If I do, then I'll definitely mention that!

PPS If your a more serious player, you might consider the Club system diatonic boxes. Something of a learning curve and the bass really take a knack but they can be had cheap, are very light, and especially with the 31/33 button models you can handle a wide range of pieces indeed. I have both a Liliput and a Preciosa and they really are both incredibly portable and satisfying.

Funnily enough, I also play diatonic, and the practice of having a thirds stop on the left hand is what inspired me to dethird my accordions in the first place. I have a Hohner Club Modell 2, which isn't as impressive as one of the really big club models, but is still a very nice box. However, it's been declubbed, so the basses are standard diatonic basses - same range as a 12 bass actually - and no gleichtön on the right hand. It's a great instrument and I really enjoy playing it! I'd love to get my hands on a Preciosa though...!

 

[Rosie C]

It also leaves it sounding sort of thin for the novice who is merely going to plunk out simple one note right hand familiar melodies, will not utilize the enhanced capabilites, and who will be pleased by the fuller sound of automatic three note major chords to go with them.

I am that novice who merely picks out simple note right hand melodies But I've never performed accordion solo - only ever in a band, so my single note tunes are just part of the texture. (edit: though recorder is my main instrument, and that is only capable of single notes, so playing a recorder part with some bass/chords thrown in is very natural)

I deserted my 12-bass partly because of lack of availability of quality 12-bass instruments but mainly because it couldn't play an Em chord. This video gives me ideas to customise a 12-bass to have just the chords I need for playing in G and D. Starting to sound like a melodeon!

 

[Ventura]

ideas to customise a 12-bass

but you ARE a Bass player too.. would re-working a 12 bass to give you 12 actual
nice deep bass notes be even more useful/natural ?

 

[John Doe]

am that novice who merely picks out simple note right hand melodies

Actually you appear to be the musician who really wants an enjoyable light instrument for flexible use and who is limited by the twelve bass's capabilities. The novice with no experience , but who would be absolutely proud as punch to play When the Saints Go Marching In for the benefit of their family- and for whom that may be the extent of their interest is the real target audience.

You make music with groups of other musicians, you clearly have a wide ranging appreciation of a number of instruments based upon previous posts, and while the basic 12 bass let you get your toes wet, it- as made- is limiting to you. The thirds removal is just great for somone like you. You can use the wider availabilty of chords but in the end I figure you'll keep it for sentiment and because you can chuck it in the boot of the car, and go anywhere without real concern about bumps and bruises.

In the end, the steamer trunk 5/4 140 bass goliath probably does little to meet your desires- but the lightweight 3/3, perhaps 3/4 with at least a 48 bass is right up what I- who have never met you, probably never will, and who only know you from a few posts on an accordion chat board- figure to be your alley.

A free bass option would really go over the top- and there are a couple of really light two voice C-griff LH free bass models out there. They would really give you options but have a steep learning curve both in the technique and in application of the LH options as you play. That would be why they go pretty cheap in virtually new condition at least here.

"Never met an odd duck instrument I didn't like" but even so I ditched the c-griff LH for the stradella-esque type free bass; bridge to far for this geezer. The Morino VI has the CBA free bass LH built in in addition to the 120 bass normal Stradella(enough buttons on the LH side to sink the Bismarck) but beyond dutifully running scales and blopping oit chords on it I really haven't integrated it into my playing.

May good fortune smile upon you.


ADDENDUM done a bit later; or you might consider a "Weltmeister Perle 48" .
Once again I'm a day late and a dollar short.... (ref: thread "Fitting microphones to my Weltmeister Perle 48")

 

[Rosie C]

but you ARE a Bass player too.. would re-working a 12 bass to give you 12 actual
nice deep bass notes be even more useful/natural ?

Now there's an idea - a free bass 12-bass accordion!

 

[John Doe]

Funnily enough, I also play diatonic, and the practice of having a thirds stop on the left hand is what inspired me to dethird my accordions in the first place. I have a Hohner Club Modell 2, which isn't as impressive as one of the really big club models, but is still a very nice box. However, it's been declubbed, so the basses are standard diatonic basses - same range as a 12 bass actually - and no gleichtön on the right hand. It's a great instrument and I really enjoy playing it! I'd love to get my hands on a Preciosa though...!

The 2 is a good box. Once you get into the big models (I have a sort of a Club club here with an Ouverture, and a Morino in addition to the ultra portable models) size and weight start to offset the advantages that caused me to like them in the first place. Great flexibility in the
rh with the fullly switchable 5 voice set up. The Normas "Deluxe") are lighter and have the 31 key set up with a fuller range of accidentals which really expand options but have less voicing. (not a real drawback for most playing actually, at least to me). They are substantially bulkier than the 2's though.

The Lilliput is bigger than the Preciosa but still really portable and is easy to work on. The Preciosa is neato keeno and truly sounds great for it's size- but it's not that much smaller and is a bit of a bear to work on. The reed blocks are flat reed pans and overlay each other. The draw reeds on the blocks really can not be gotten at without pulling reed plates (replete with multiple tacks) and it's a bit irksome since I'm a wee bit finicky. (This despite my "the perfect is the enemy of the good" mantra for old instruments- do as I say , not as I do...) The internal push button hold/release for the bellows in lieu of straps is really zippy- but requires a careful adjustment to work just so.

Thanks again for the video- I really enjoyed your approach.

 

[OuijaBoard]

I'm used to having a slider for the thirds from playing bisonoric button boxes, in my case 2-row semitone boxes for Irish trad (the semitone boxes are fully chromatic, so technically are not diatonic, though colloquially everybody in the trad world calls any bisonoric a "diatonic.") Some of the nicer Castagnari or Saltarelle models have two bass sliders--one for the thirds, and another for the low bass reed as with some unisonorics.

For me personally, I got sick of the limitations of bisonorics and came to feel a small CBA or PA gave about as much "lift" to folk music as a bisonoric 2-row, with much more harmonic capacity. And a small MM unisonoric is about the weight of many semitone bisonorics. I was at first astonished at the lack of small unisonorics with bass layouts optimized for folk/trad. But I've come to feel this owes to the weirdly blinkered prejudices of the unisonoric world, where bigger is seen as better and smaller is seen as kid stuff. Because they're not thinking of what a market there could be for folk-optimized small unisonorics, they're not coming up with the optimization.

Not really wild about freebasses for folk--is it the timbre that's different, the articulation, the tone, I dunno. But something is different. They sound "classical," and we certainly don't want that for this use. Some extol the "Darwin" bass system, but personally I'd be happy with a 36-bass setup: 12 counter-bass, 12 tonic bass, and either 12 majors with a third slider, or simply 12 third-less. OTOH, 60 bass is available at minimally less weight, and much more can be done with even 48, Horatio, than are dreamt of in our philosophy. One can get adept with the single-note buttons (which are fully chromatic, afterr all), and use them for double-stops when one doesn't want a third.

I have had thirds papered over in semitone button boxes that didn't have sliders. And I've had the octave bass reed papered over in instances where the basses overpower the treble side and there's no slider for that. This is a pet peeve of mine about those $6K two-voice wood-chassis MM Saltarelle 60-bass accordions so yearned-for in the trad world, the Clifden PA and the Chaville CBA. For $6K, I find it offensive not to provide a bass register. That is a good thing about a couple of the small Weltmeister boxes--a couple of the little models have quote-unquote "only" a 3-voice bass setup. That "weak" bass setup works really well in folk/trad genres that are largely melody centered, and those models are light and portable.

Here's a brilliant Scottish trad player on a vintage small Hohner MM whose basses balance very nicely--Also, you don't always hear third in the mix here--not sure if his thirds are taped or he's working those single-note buttons--Sandy Brechin is amazing. Hilarious as well--I recommend the theme-costumed pandemic performances on his YT channel for a pick-me-up.






But sometimes his bass is more than I would want--This is why I get my low bass taped on small boxes I'm using for trad:

 

[tcabot]

Now there's an idea - a free bass 12-bass accordion!

Not quite, but there was a free-bass harmonika that's about the size of a 12-bass box.

Qarmon, Garmoschka | eBay

GARMON,Harmonika Garmoschka.

www.ebay.de

Before you all rush to buy one, be warned: these were pitched in Bb...Yes, in Bb. Playing the white keys would give you Bb maj scale. Wrap your head around that!

 

[John Doe]

Great for reading off the same music when accompanying or backing up clarinets, sax's, trumpets- without the need to transpose on the fly.

 

[Big Squeezy Accordions]

Not quite, but there was a free-bass harmonika that's about the size of a 12-bass box.

Qarmon, Garmoschka | eBay

GARMON,Harmonika Garmoschka.

www.ebay.de

Before you all rush to buy one, be warned: these were pitched in Bb...Yes, in Bb. Playing the white keys would give you Bb maj scale. Wrap your head around that!

Oh man, this is tempting. I love Azeri Mugham, and have almost never seen one of these for sale in the West. From the pictures, it looks like a student-quality Soviet-era garmon, however.

 

[tcabot]

Yep. Entry level indeed and I've got no love for soviet factory products.

Here's an upmarket one.

Professionelle Russisches Akkordeon (Garmon, Garmoschka), Koffer, Extra Handwerk | eBay

2 Grundig Mikrofone,Handgemacht mit Extra Handwerk. Zustand: Gebraucht.

www.ebay.de

I'm pretty sure there was a high-end brand new one on Etsy recently.

 

[tcabot]

@henry d
I know, right. Why haven't piano players figured out that they can get their box in a different pitch. Just play a piece on white keys in C maj on a regular piano, and then grab another one where you can play Bb on the whites!

 

[Rosie C]

Not quite, but there was a free-bass harmonika that's about the size of a 12-bass box.

...

Before you all rush to buy one, be warned: these were pitched in Bb...Yes, in Bb. Playing the white keys would give you Bb maj scale. Wrap your head around that!

Sounds like I could accompany my friend on her clarinet, but beyond that I might struggle! If I acquired such a box I can see me inside re-arranging the reed blocks!

 

[tcabot]

Oh, there's also a quint stop on these apparently. But in the "Kazan" harmonika in the first link it's only on the white keys, not the black ones

I think we have the "weirdest squeezebox of the year" award nominee.