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MMD > Archives > July 2005 > 2005.07.24 > 09Prev  Next


Building a Self-Playing Accordion
By Dale Gunnar

I have made up two player accordions which, while rather crude,
were fun for me and were also enjoyed by the public when displayed 
and playing.  One played from Wurlitzer 125 rolls and the other
from Wurlitzer 165 rolls.  I suggest to avoid use of a lady's size
accordion as the reeds are too small to put out a good sound.

Band organ music sounds much more rich on an accordion instead of the
piano rolls usually used.  The 165 scale will just fit the man-sized
piano accordion range.  I connected the trumpet section to the lower
keyboard and the melody to the upper range of the key board, the bass
and accompaniment sections to the button back side reed pallets.
I also tubed the melody section to strike a cheap set of bar bells,
the bass drum to beat a cymbal, the snare drum to shake a tambourine.

To make the job easy I used the combination valve/pneumatics sold by
Ragtime Automated Music in California.  I connected the pneumatics
directly to the pallet levers.  These valves lasted about 20 years
but will not play any more.

Dale Gunnar, Corpus Christi, Texas


(Message sent Sun 24 Jul 2005, 21:39:17 GMT, from time zone GMT-0700.)

Key Words in Subject:  Accordion, Building, Self-Playing

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