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Re: Re: wet zydeco myth - yes can we put this myth to rest once and for all???

David, didn't you, or someone similarly knowledgable, comment some time back that you thought the 'wet' zydeco sound (on a single row) might come about because there was more tendancy among them to mic internally, and it produced a wetter sound?
I'm sure someone offered that explanation.

BJ

Re: Re: Re: wet zydeco myth - yes can we put this myth to rest once and for all???

Yes, I mentioned the use of internal mics as a possible reason for the perception of zydeco as using wet tuned single row accordions.

The internal mics definitely make a big difference in the sound, and perhaps to some people it might lead to the conclusion that a wet tuning is in use when it is not. I don't know that this is the case, but it seems plausable explanation for this wide spread myth, or at least part of an explanation.

Another thing I hypothesized is what Larry mentioned, which is the common use in zydeco of three row diatonics and piano accordions. These type of accordions are always imported, and the standard factory tuning for them is wetter than is typically the case for single row accordions. If you combine that with the observation that many people have a hard time distinguishing between different accordions just by listening to them, you can see another factor contributing to this myth.

There is another factor, which is that there is a very well known accordion builder who also perpetuates this myth. I have spoken with any number of people who said "Well, I got a wet tuned accordion because I want to play zydeco and Mr. said that it needs to be wet tuned". I spoke to one of his customers who was all in a dither because he wanted to play zydeco and Cajun, but didn't want to have to buy separate accordions, and he also did not like the idea of getting a wet tuned accordion and just turning one of the stops on or off depending on whether he was playing zydeco or cajun (as was suggested by the builder). He told me that he actually preferred the sound of dry accordions for zydeco, but was misled by this particular builder into thinking that would be a mistake! I told him that it was all a matter of his own personal preference, and to ignore any advice to the contrary.

-David

the resonant frequency of the bellows chamber

internal mics may fool some people about
wet or dry but they don;t really make
it any wetter or drier

i think what it does is mostly add a lot
of fatness and a slight phaserish effect
as the bellows are opened and closed..

the resonant frequency of the bellows chamber
changes as the size changes, and it does
not sound like external mikes, but that;s not
really what wet/dry means..


wle.

Re: the resonant frequency of the bellows chamber

Please help your poor local accordion builder. Buy one accordion tuned dry and one wet. These guys don't make a lot of money.

wet, dry, wet, dry, wet, dry, wet, dry, etc.

Braves,

One additional wet/dry thought ..

The first bands "from LA" that I had ever heard, eons
back were:

Buckwheat Zydeco, L'il Brian & the Zydeco Travelers,
Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Cha's, Clifton Chenier, CJ
Chenier, etc.

(I know now they aren't necessarily from LA.)

These guys all played wet-tuned & Zydeco .. (but not
on a 10-button).

I'm not trying to formulate a wet/dry rule, but don't
forget the piano accordion guys in the W/D discussion

Keep squeezin wet or dry!

--Big

Re: wet, dry, wet, dry, wet, dry, wet, dry, etc.

Hi Big Nick,

I believe that we are all in agreement that the choice of wet or dry comes down to personal preference of the player, and that is as it should be.

And you are right that we should consider the piano accordion folks as well. However, the question in the original post on this thread had to do with single row diatonics.

It was mentioned in the current and past threads that piano accordion and triple row accordions typically have a wet sound. That is the case because these accordions are all imported and there usually isn't any choice in tuning - the standard factory tuning is usually very wet when compared to the typical Cajun accordion.

I know that if there was a choice on my triple row, I would definitely have preferred something drier, but this was not an option. It is *way* wet. The Mussette setting in particular sets my teeth on edge.

What I am trying to do is confront the idea that ALL accordions used in zydeco are likely to be wet, and that is simply not the case when we are talking about Cajun accordions. This is the myth that I would like to see dispelled.

-David



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