Re: If you like it, it's right! .... That's right David S.
I think what you say Dave, is an absolute.
Eventually sound is something that evolves in some fashion of thought.... it does for me any how.
One of the posts here indicated the bending of reeds on an accordion... I never heard an accordion bending reeds, harps Yes... as I also play harp and bending is a rudimentary part of harmonica dynamics mostly on the draw.
As for wet tuning and semi:
It dawned on me one day listening to Harry Trahan messing around (not really messing around but playing in the porch like fashion). There was a ringing sound (on his single row) that I could not fully comprehend, so I asked Ed Poullard who I was chatting with about it.. Ed told me it sounded about 5 cents on the wet side. Hummmmm I like it.
I had also heard this particular sound on Eddie LeJeune's accordion (back a ways).. but back then, I did not inquire about it, only that it was a great sound coming out of that Point Noir box of Eddies. Like it was special and magical, oh it was magical alright in that it was Eddies accordion, case closed. At first, I thought perhaps it was a specific brand of reeds for what caused that sound... I also thought it was (in effect)created by a specifc builder... Nope, it is the magic of the tuning, through the hands of a builder (perhaps any reputable builder)that understands these contraptions far more than the likes of me. I don't know how much they shave off or rather have to score on the reed tounge ... and I don't know what that means to specific brands of reeds (the loss of tensil strength due to metalurgy), but Jude did tell me that my Antonelli's would hold up to the hardest playing with that specific tuning... though I dont bare down hard on any of my accordions (perhaps I should eh?).
On a final note:
Now I have some hard hearing loss in my right ear (posses a timeing issue like a weird dig. delay thing and more), sometimes a certain sound will capture my attention more than others because of this..
But, Dave Sousa has it right, it is a matter of personal choice... I can tell ya that when Dave hit's the stage and fronts accordion, it does'nt matter wet or dry, he is a fine performer and it is a pleasure to hear his accordion(s) period.. wet, dry or semi, it's good stuff.
Hey Joanie,
I had the pleasure of working with Joel ( sound tech).
his accordions are all dry tuned. He gets the sound that you like, by blending an external mic and an internal mic at the same time. In other words, he uses two seperate channels on the mixing board, one for the internal mic, and one for the external mic. Then they are blended together in the main mix.
That's how we did it for a live show. He told me that in the recording, it's all done with effects in the studio. .
Jude
I recently had Jr Martin "wetten" my Bb box.
Since there are few people I know here in NY that can give me examples of the sound to expect I talked w/ Jr and he convinced me to go with 7 cents.
Apparetnly one method is to only do this to one of the middle range reed blocks. Pushing that one in later you can play on a dry box w/ the 3 dry.
I came back sounding pretty good. The odd part is that when I try to figure out what one block he worked on its hard to figure cause alone they both sound dry. With both up I can hear the wet effect for sure.
Would this be cause he actually would tune each M block slightly in equal opposite directions?
He mentioned that most of the zydeco players go with 15 cents wet. Im considering having a D box worked on cause I like the wetter sound, not sure if I should go all that way to 15 though. Most likely I'll be playing along with some folkie and irish acoustic guitar and fiddle players but I will also be playing it with an electric band on some New Riders of the Purple Sage type stuff or other more "rocking" type music.
What are the "normal" ranges that folks are aware of.
Is there a big difference in the wetness of an irish one or two row and of one you would play Canadian or American folk tunes on ?
I am dry on 3 boxes (C, D & Bb), and semi wet on one other.
Jude Moreau tells me I am at about 5 cents on my black/blonde C box which he placed his magic on for me back a ways.
5 cents wet, yep... I like it and it suits the Antonelli reeds dandy with a good responsive ring that is just right for my ole goaty ears!
Fact of the matter is: I would not mind and would like to explore having my D and Bb tapped into this 5 cent thing as well... to me, it is a great sound.
The alternative perhaps, would be to purchase new accordions off the bench tuned to this semi wet thing from the get go. That in itself, is a hard sell to Ms. Linda in these costly accordion times. Anyone have a handle on the winning loto numbers here on the left side, by chance?? Eh?
Wet or dry tuning aside, when you play a C or a G chord on a one row C accordion, there are no pulses between the notes. That means if you compare the E note and the B note to a piano, those notes would be about 15 cents flatter than the piano (there are 100 cents between semitones).
There are many, many types of tunings, and all of them are a comprosise of some sort, because of the nature of frequencies and how they respond to each other.
Steve
It is both, at least that is how it has been explained to me. The two components of Cajun Standard tuning are:
1) Use of the "just" tempered scale intervals.
2) Relatively dry tuned (~5 cents sharp) on the second set of middle reeds.
I am sure that different builders have different opinions on this subject, but this is what I have been told by several of them. They don't all use the same terminology, but that is what it boils down to.