What is a tone chamber?
A tone chamber (a.k.a. “cassotto”) is a cavity designed into the internal structure of some (generally top of the line) piano and chromatic accordions through which the sound from selected sets of reeds must pass before reaching the listener. The main purpose of the tone chamber is to give those reeds a more mellow sound. It also makes some improvement in the response time of the lower notes. The most common arrangement is for the bassoon reeds and the clarinet reeds to be “in the chamber” (this terminology is often used even though the reeds themselves are not actually in the chamber). There are some accordions having only the bassoon reeds in the chamber. Even less common is an accordion having all the reeds in the chamber. Also not very common, but occasionally can be found accordions that use chambers on the bass notes. Most polka players do not use accordions with tone chambers. They’re more likely to be found in classical, Italian or jazz music. Disclaimer: I make no guarantees r
