I finally figured out how to make my Martin accordion's bellows move a little slower while playing.
It is a given that Martin accordions are probably the loudest of the Cajun box family. I know now that that's why my Martin uses more air than other accordions I own. This always put me off and confused me.
A simple remedy was to push down the stops a little less than half way. It's still very loud and no reeds go wet.
I know that when I push my Acadian stops down a very slight bit, it will sound wet. But, I don't have to do that with my Acadians because there is not alot of air rushing through the holes.
If you look at more recent Acadians, the "stop slides" are not entirely carved in the holes. I think that may have to do with less air consumption.
BUT, if you play the accordion too hard a few reeds will bend out of tune.
The same is true if you lower the stops on the Martin. If the Martin stops are not lowered you have ample air space to play as loud as you want without the notes bending, also it will be much louder.... But you have to sacrifice smooth bellow movement!
I don't know if I'm explaining this as good as I can, but I try
Anyway, I've finally fallen in love with the Martin I've had for 3 years, with a simple exterior stop adjustment
I'm glad I got a Martin accordion now, cause I can morph it into an extremely loud accordion by pulling the stops all the way up.....
but I can also lower the stops and make the bellows work smoother (in real jam sessions with people who know what they're doing with instruments) by pushing 'em down almost half way. It's still very loud and the bellows move easier.
"overplaying" can "splay" out the leathers much more quickly. And this will lead to more overplaying, because you will need to push harder to get a not to sound properly once the leathers are splayed out.
By pushing the stops part way down, you are increasing the "backpressure". This will cause badly splayed leathers to close faster, hence the better response.
You are correct, if the leathers were is better condition, you would get smooth action at lower volumes when not playing so hard.
I was amazed at the improvement it made on one of my accordions after I replaced all of the leathers. I thought the accordion played well, but after I replaced the leathers, it was a breeze! So much more responsive.
The more the leathers are splayed out the more air you loose before they close when you change direction of the bellows. Playing the accordion to its full potential volumn is playing too hard no matter which you say it. So you get what you got, an accordion with the leathers blown out.
I can replace the leathers no problem, very simple task. I wasn't complaining about the leathers just stating a fact that an extremely loud accordion wants to be played loud in certain jam situations.
With other accordions I have I don't have to worry because the notes will bend when I'm playing too loudly and I know when to ease off the bellows