Modifying my buttonbox

When you press down on the buttons of a Hohner Corona II, the action causes a pad to lift up from a hole allowing air to access that reed, sounding a note. Underneath the buttons, there are three rows of thin felt glued to the back of the button board. On my box, the felt had worn in many places, causing the buttons to click as I play. There is also what some consider to be a design flaw on these instruments. The buttons on Hohner boxes go all the way down, actually below the surface of the button board. This is OK, but compared to some instruments, the action is a little slow, something you might notice only when playing fast pieces. I decided to fix the felt problem and at the same time do a modification that would keep the buttons above the button board.

I did a little on-line research - enough to help me decide to replace the felt with thicker felt padding. The whole operation was very delicate, especially for a guy like me, with hands like canned hams. The button mechanism is spring-operated, making it a challenge to safely pull the mechanism out and especially to put it back in. Once I had everything apart, I was able to replace the felt without much trouble. I used a felt padding designed for doorways that Tuffy P had lying around the house.

The result is that I only depress the buttons a short way when I play. The action is definitely better. The trade-off may be a modest reduction in volume...hard to say. I'm very happy to have successfully done the modification without wrecking anything.