Bluestar reeds

[Wheezer]

Would any of you that have first hand experience with bluestar reeds be willing to share your thoughts?

Are they as responsive and rich sounding as traditional high end hand made reeds? Do they have comparable presence and projection?

I’ve read a lot of speculative comments, but am interested in hearing from those that have played them.

 

[Thomas N]

See if you can reach out to BreezyBellows on this site. I know he has a Petosa or two and one of the newer ones most certainly has the Bluestar reeds. I haven't followed too closely but last I saw is that he really loved that accordion. Artista Pro, I believe. He also has an extensive accordion collection to provide his thoughts and is extremely helpful with his comparisons.

 

[SteveBox]

A few years ago, there was this discussion on Bluestar reeds. Also see this discussion.

 

[Wheezer]

A few years ago, there was this discussion on Bluestar reeds. Also see this discussion.

Thanks - I read those before posting. They are mostly speculation. I’m looking for opinions and observations from hands on experience of those that have played or heard them.

I have watched a lot of videos on line, but those don’t relate the thoughts of those that are playing them. I have heard from breezy bellows (thanks), but would like a few additional opinions.

 

[mselic]

Last year I ordered a set of Voci Armoniche's diatonic BlueStar reeds for an instrument I had, replacing the Voci Armoniche A-Mano reeds that were previously in there. As a result, I had an opportunity to compare the new BlueStar reeds with a matching set of their A-Mano reeds (same key, same tuning) in the very same instrument. In terms of reed dimensions, profile, etc, the BlueStar reeds and the A-Manos are identical, the big difference being that the BlueStar reeds are, well, blue due to the additional hardening process. Both sets of reeds were played-in for several months of daily use before I drew any observations/conclusions about them. Here is what I found:

The BlueStar reeds have a very rich tone, deeper and more full than their A-Mano counterparts. They're also what I would describe as being quite 'stretchy' or 'elastic', meaning that they have a lot of dynamic range. They are, however, noticeably quieter and felt somewhat 'stiffer' as compared to the A-Manos, which meant it felt like more work for me playing this box (push-pull, diatonic accordion). Some of the higher pitched reeds were a little 'breathy' in speaking, even after careful adjusting and setting of reed gaps. I ultimately put the original A-Mano reeds back into the instrument and the difference was night-and-day: the A-Manos just spoke and played with less effort and more volume, but some of the rich, tonal qualities of the BlueStar reeds were no longer there. I ended up selling the set of BlueStar reeds and stuck with the original A-Manos.

I spoke with a box builder in Ireland who has used Voci Armoniche reeds for many years, and he echoed some of the same observations. He mentioned some of these observations to Lorenzo Antonelli (creator of the BlueStar reed) at Voci Armoniche, who suggested that adapting reed chambers to these reeds would yield the best results. Whilst I agree with that suggestion, I still think some of my observations are just inherent to the reed itself. The additional hardening process that these reeds undergo makes for, as far as I can tell, a stiffer reed tongue which may account for why they felt the way they did when being played in that particular accordion. My box-building acquaintance was also told in no uncertain terms that the A-Mano reeds had been replaced by BlueStar and would not be brought back.

My observations were made from just one set of BlueStar reeds, used in a diatonic accordion, so your mileage may vary, etc. Personally, while they had a wonderful, rich tone, I did not like care for the lower volume and 'harder' feel of them (not to mention the price!), and prefer the old A-Manos. I think it's a shame they've been discontinued in favour of the BlueStar reeds.

 

[Ventura]

of interest to me

do you recall if the blueing of the blu-star reeds is
evident along the entire edge and tip of the reed as
well as on the flat ?

thank you

 

[SteveBox]

My box-building acquaintance was also told in no uncertain terms that the A-Mano reeds had been replaced by BlueStar and would not be brought back.

and prefer the old A-Manos. I think it's a shame they've been discontinued in favour of the BlueStar reeds.

Thanks for your post. This is the first time I have ever read such a detailed comparison of how reed types actually sound and play.

It would appear that Voci Armoniche is still offering A-Mano reeds. See THIS POST and THIS POST. However, they have changed the way the A-Manos are made. It appears to me that now the only difference between the TAM and AM reeds is the shape. Of course, VA says they have improved them.

I presume you were comparing the Bluestar to the old-style A-Mano.

Which reeds are the best for YOU probably depends on your accordion and the type of music you play. Bluestars may be preferred by jazz or classical, perhaps. But for playing fast folk music on a diatonic with push-pull action, the TAM or AM type may be best.

 

[Ventura]

V

Post in thread 'About reed quality'

Mar 15, 2025

a second wrinkle, which has to do with the relative
difference in quality between reed-makers

is the machine technology of physically making a reed
a fully realized/matured discipline at this point in time ?

because

if there is in fact a minimal difference between tooling
in use today for the cutting/forming of the DuraLuminum
frame and slot and the cutting/basic fitting of the steel tongue
and the type of rivet and the setting thereof, then it stands to reason
the QUALITY of the steel is the more critical/variable factor

but

there are precious few Steel Mills left that even MAKE...

• Ventura

• 

 

[Ventura]

L the old A-Manos. I think it's a shame they've been discontinued in favour of the BlueStar reeds.

and now that they have stopped using coils for any reedmaking, as recently reported
in another thread (and their documentation) any high-end reedlines made the old way
cannot be reproduced at all even if they wanted to

 

[SteveBox]

and now that they have stopped using coils for any reedmaking

Is this only Voci Armoniche? I presume Binci is still making the classic A-Mano reed, and maybe there are others.

 

[Ventura]

yes it was Voci Armoniche specifically

it is difficult in some ways to imagine a major reedmaker
eschewing the material that has been traditionally considered
best for reedmaking.. meaning spring steel in narrow coils and
varying thickness

so one does wonder if the coils are getting to be so expensive
as well as no longer finding the ideal thickness to be available
reliably to be the factor, and so will they all move away from coils ?

Faithe, at times, contracted directly with a Swedish Steel Mill/Rolling Mill
for coils of the correct specification, and provided them to the
reedmakers who supplied her Accordion builders.. she was somewhat
obsessed with quality control.. would it even be possible in this year
of our Lord to duplicate her efforts ? even if the accordion industry
still had the buying power to compete for high quality special materials ?

i mean we can't even seem to compete for Leather affordably much
less spring steel.. who in the steel industry will listen to us and
make products that suit us in particular ?

 

[mselic]

of interest to me

do you recall if the blueing of the blu-star reeds is
evident along the entire edge and tip of the reed as
well as on the flat ?

thank you

I'm not sure, sorry!

Thanks for your post. This is the first time I have ever read such a detailed comparison of how reed types actually sound and play.

It would appear that Voci Armoniche is still offering A-Mano reeds. See THIS POST and THIS POST. However, they have changed the way the A-Manos are made. It appears to me that now the only difference between the TAM and AM reeds is the shape. Of course, VA says they have improved them.

I presume you were comparing the Bluestar to the old-style A-Mano.

Which reeds are the best for YOU probably depends on your accordion and the type of music you play. Bluestars may be preferred by jazz or classical, perhaps. But for playing fast folk music on a diatonic with push-pull action, the TAM or AM type may be best.

Funnily enough, the day after I posted my message I received an email from Lorenzo Antonelli informing me that their "A-Mano (Nastro)" line of reeds was available (I had emailed asking for clarification given that they still had these reeds listed on their website). I didn't realize that these were actually different from their old A-Manos, so thank you for the info. The A-Manos that I had would have been ordered back in 2022, and they were identical to the BlueStar reeds in terms of dimensions, shape, scale-length, etc for any specific reedplate. I wonder if the new A-Manos are different in timbre, volume, response than the old ones. You certainly can't rely on reedmakers to give any kind of meaningful description or feedback about their reeds. So much of it comes down to personal preference in the end.

 

[SteveBox]

the day after I posted my message I received an email from Lorenzo Antonelli informing me that their "A-Mano (Nastro)" line of reeds was available

The A-Manos that I had would have been ordered back in 2022

Just for my own curiosity, did you order your reeds directly from Voci Armoniche? Do they sell to individuals? Or are you perhaps an accordion builder with an account?

I am asking because many months ago on this forum, someone was inquiring where he, as an individual, could buy a complete new set of piano accordion reeds for a restoration. It seemed like he didn't have any success finding a source.

 

[kimric]

of interest to me

do you recall if the blueing of the blu-star reeds is
evident along the entire edge and tip of the reed as
well as on the flat ?

thank you

The reeds I saw in a box that came in were blue all over. These did not say Blue Star anywhere on them though.

 

[mselic]

Just for my own curiosity, did you order your reeds directly from Voci Armoniche? Do they sell to individuals? Or are you perhaps an accordion builder with an account?

I am asking because many months ago on this forum, someone was inquiring where he, as an individual, could buy a complete new set of piano accordion reeds for a restoration. It seemed like he didn't have any success finding a source.

Typically, you would buy Voci Armoniche reeds through one of their dealers. Where are you located? Last time I checked there were no dealers in North America, so I had to buy through their UK dealer, who was Robert Rolston of Manfrini Accordions at the time. He’s since passed along the sale of VA reeds to George Lambie in Scotland, so you should be able to order reeds through him. If you email VA they’ll let you know who you can order from based on your location.

I actually inquired with VA about becoming a dealer in North America but I’d have to be doing some serious business and ordering a large number of reeds annually for that to work. I repair and rebuild accordions but don’t build, so it doesn’t make sense for me to do that at the moment.

 

[mselic]

See THIS POST and THIS POST. However, they have changed the way the A-Manos are made. It appears to me that now the only difference between the TAM and AM reeds is the shape. Of course, VA says they have improved them.

I presume you were comparing the Bluestar to the old-style A-Mano.

I read up a little more on the posts you shared regarding the changes made to VA's A-Mano reeds. Do you know *when* these changes were made, because I'm not sure that their current line of A-Mano reeds is any different from what I had acquired three years ago. Your post linked to some copy on their website which says that their current line of A-Mano is different from their previous line, but it doesn't say when that change was made, or if by 'previous' they're actually just referring to the old Antonelli A-Mano reeds (which they mention in the same text). Link here:

A mano Reed

High range professional, classic, concert standard reed with excellent acoustic potential: the original reed of Italian artisan tradition

www.vociarmoniche.it

 

[SteveBox]

From the web archive "wayback machine", the January 2022 comparative reed table shows that the A-Mano reeds were still being made from the narrow steel strip (nastrino). The September 2024 table also shows they were still using the narrow nastrino strips. So it would appear that this change was very recent.

My understanding is that the nastrino steel is the same width as the reed. So the usual way to tell if you have traditional A-Mano reeds is to look at the edge of the reed near the rivet. If it is blue, that tells you it was not punched out of a wider steel strip.

 

[Ventura]

The reeds I saw in a box that came in were blue all over. These did not say Blue Star anywhere on them though.

if the edge all the way around the reed is blue, then
howinnahell did they "re-temper" the steel without
screwing up the hold of the rivet or the aluminum reedplate ?

because once the reed was punched out/cut from the sheet
of steel, it would not be blue along the sides/edges

it takes 2 controlled cycles of heat, cool, and time in stages
to adjust the temper, and it has to be uniform, so also how
would you go about arranging hundreds even thousands of
varying sizes of finished reeds in some kind of oven without
having lots of too hot or too cool spots?

maybe Tom, with his pottery kiln knowledge, could give me a clue

the only other way to blue steel is by chemical treatment, which has
no affect on temper

 

[kimric]

Having done a lot of metal work , the process leaves me with a LOT of questions. Retempering the reeds after tuning would change the tuning. I suspect that what is being done is a vapor bluing process where the reeds, after grinding and cutting are subjected to a chemical bluing process like that done to gun parts. This involves a temp under 300F. I am not clear how you would do a final tuning unless they toss the ones that don't meet spec. The pretuning grinding I saw in Russia can bring a reed very close to being in tune when stamped, but what they do after is not clear.
There could be a jig that checks the reeds before riveting to select the ones that are in tune before riveting.

 

[Tom]

maybe Tom, with his pottery kiln knowledge, could give me a clue

Sorry, Ventura, I have no clue about this. The metals I use in pottery get melted at 2000F.