Re: [Harp-L] re melodica tall paul sabel

[Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>]

Cajun accordion will actually have as many as 4 reeds going at once on any particular note:

-- Main note

-- Detuned note for musette/tremolo (more on that below)

-- Octave lower (bassoon reed)

-- Octave higher (piccolo reed)

Creating tremolo by tuning to a fixed offset, such as A445 (or 20 cents sharp of A440) has a problem. Let's say the reed that sounds A440 has a tremolo reed that sounds A445. You'll hear the difference as 5 beats (pulsations) per second. Which is fine. But if you stayed with that 20-cent difference an octave lower you'll have 220 and 222.5, which is very slow and might not sound like enough tremolo. An octave higher tha A440, you'll have 880 and 890, or 10 beats a second, which is butting up against uncomfortably fast, while an octave above that you'll have 1760 and 1780 - or 20 beats/second, which is guaranteed painful.

Accordion tuners have several schemes for tempering tremolo reeds so that they don't beat too slow on the low end or too fast on the high end. A feature that tunes by a fixed offset won't give you that tempering and you may not like the results, unless you tune for a specific range and then play within it.
 
Winslow Yerxa
Producer, the Harmonica Collective
Author, Harmonica For Dummies, Second Edition: ISBN 978-1-118-88076-0
            Harmonica Basics For Dummies, ASIN B005KIYPFS
            Blues Harmonica For Dummies, ISBN 978-1-1182-5269-7
Resident Expert, bluesharmonica.com
Instructor, Jazzschool Community Music School
President emeritus, SPAH, the Society for the Preservation and Advancement of the Harmonica




________________________________
From: paul oscher <poblues2@xxxxxxxxx>
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx 
Sent: Wednesday, December 16, 2015 9:10 PM
Subject: [Harp-L] re melodica tall paul sabel


Paul thanks for the kind words.
I've been aware of the mini vent pedal for some time they say its the best
leslie simulator. They come in two types one for guitar and one for organ.
i need to AB those pedals to see which one responds best to the melodica
mic signal. i haven't done that because the local stores in Austin tx don't
carry them. But maybe when i get to L.A. in Jan i might get one but that
wasn't type of pedal i was discussing in my post.

I'm looking for a pedal ,which to my knowledge has not yet been made, that
would simulate the sound of a double reed cajun accordion. it woulds be
tuned to musette tuning . i think that means one reed is 445 tuned and the
other is 440. The technology to do that is out there i.e. octave pedals
harmonizers etc in my pedal it would be just doubling the note and second
note would be at 445. That way you could play a melodica and sound like
Clifton Chenier or other great Cajun players. Could also be used for gypsy
jazz on melodica and for accordion.

I've had that idea for a number of years but never got anybody to build it,

Paul