Chiff and Fipple Forums

I'll be on the waiting list for a Gaillard by tomorrow!!

I can't figure out what's the most common C on the basses
for a C#D system. My C and C# are both on the pull.
I'd like to stick to only 8 basses.

Is there anyone with any C's or C#'s in their basses ?

The lack of a C bass is a major drawback in a C#/D box because it's pretty well essential for coherent basses on tunes in G, not to mention all those great D mixolydian tunes.

But to put a C bass on an 8-bass layout would probably mean sacrificing your F#/B basses. I wouldn't do it, because losing those chords would compromise basses for tunes in A, Em, Bm and even D. They are too valuable IMO.

If you must have a C (and we all ought to have one), I'd go for 12 basses and make one of them F/C (push/pull).

The 6th pair is bit of a luxury really and there's no obvious answer what to do with it. You could put a pull C# on it, and an E on the push. That's what Jackie Daly has.

Consider this: the standard 8-bass layout is actually borrowed from A/D layouts. On which of course you cannot really play in G.

Thanks Steve,

If i give over my C#, it won't be as heavy as a 12 bass accordion.
Please let me know what you'd recommend along with the C.
I've got C on the Pull, need something on the push.
I'm kinda used to the rest of this setup now.
My lay out is: A/E A/E ?/C ?/C
F#/B F#/B D/G D/G
Bertrand Gaillard believes Benny McCarthy's set up is the most common.
D row: F#/B A/C# D/E F#/G A/B D/C# F#/E A/G D/B F#/C#
C# ROW:F/G G#/C C#/Eb F/F# G#/Bb C#/C F/Eb G#/F# C#/Bb F/C G#/E


the other option is to go for 12, i'll think about it.

Sorry to be slow in replying, have been too busy to check in here.

You seem to have sacrificed the pull A to make room for your C, which is another thing I wouldn't do. I would think that push D, pull A and pull G were the chords you need more frequently than anything else, that is if you play in the key of D frequently.

If you don't want to go to 12 basses, you might consider (if Bertrand G can do it) having bass notes only on a couple of choices (i.e. no chords).

For example (push/pull, chin end at top, looking at the box from a listener's viewpoint)

F/C bass A/E chord
F#/B bass A/E bass

G/G chord D/A chord
G/G bass D/A bass

Or some other such permutation. I suspect Bertrand G will tell you he can't (or possibly won't) do it.

My current main squeeze is a Hohner black dot converted to C#/D and customized for me by Mike Rowbotham in St Ives, Cornwall.

Among the customized mods is the addition of a 9th bass button, immediately below the G/G bass note. On this button is a F/C bass note pair. So I don't have a C chord but just using the bass note goes a long way towards eliminating the drawback of not having C at all, while keeping to a smaller-format box.

On the other hand, BG's bass ends are pretty light, esp. if you specify no thirds in any of the chords. I don't think they would make much difference to the weight and handling, honestly. That was not an issue at all in the one I had.

Sorry, I didn't answer your question. The obvious chord to pair with a pull C would be a push F (but I still wouldn't sacrifice the pull A for the sake of the C).

Other possibilities: push E (in case you like to play B/C style on your C#/D, in which case you could use the push E against your push G# on the melody side).

Or push B (I have occasionally yearned for a push Bm in Bm tunes).

But neither makes a logical pairing with C and you'd probably only use either once in a blue moon.

F is nice to have in Dm tunes...

But I would really urge you to go the 12-bass route. Plus, you never know, you might one day have to sell your Gaillard, as I had to sell mine, and having a strange bass setup won't help you do that.

Many thanks Steve!