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Scale of 28-note Tanzbaer Player Accordion
By Nicholas Simons

The scale of the 28-note Tanzbär is as follows:

  D F G A C G A A# B C C# D E F F# G G# A A# B C C# D E F F# G A

The two bottom notes on the scale, D and F, actually play one octave
above what would be implied by their position on the scale.  The bottom
[lowest pitch] playing note is therefore the G.  I presume this was
done to get the reeds to fit into the restrictive space.

28-note Tanzbärs actually contain 112 reeds.  There are two reeds,
pitched an octave apart, for each note, but you need two sets, one each
for blowing and sucking.  Light leather flaps are positioned over the
backs of each reed to prevent air loss through a non-playing reed,
since both the blowing and sucking reeds are opened by the pallet
simultaneously.

The pallets are held closed by the strength of the music roll (actually
a thin manilla card) so it is essential that the machine is correctly
restored and set up before playing.  The roll is invisible to the
player when playing so any damaged roll becomes a write-off before the
player realises.

Other roll data are

Width: 105.2 mm
Tracker bar pitch: 3.6 mm
Edge margin: 4.0 mm
Slot width: 2.5 mm
Thickness: 0.23 mm (0.009 inch)  180 gsm manilla is ideal.
Maximum length of roll: 3.5 meters approx.

This scale, and many others, can be found in Kevin McElhone's excellent
'The Organette Book'.  This book has over 400 pages and contains
details of over 500 organettes, and includes a section on restoration.
It is highly recommended for anyone interested in this particular area
of our hobby.  I believe that Kevin still has some copies available.

With best wishes from the UK, Nicholas Simons


(Message sent Fri 7 Jul 2006, 09:27:54 GMT, from time zone GMT+0100.)

Key Words in Subject:  28-note, Accordion, Player, Scale, Tanzbaer

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