AKKO models

[Morne]

I found this information on most (or all?) of the available AKKO accordions from the official AKKO representative in the Netherlands:
Pricelist: http://oleglysenko.nl/wp-content/uploads/AKKO_English_pricelistBTW-in-Euro_15.01.2016.pdf
Photos: http://oleglysenko.nl/en/instruments/

 

[JIM D.]

Look nice, sound nice and prices aren't bad. No dealers in USA - any in UK ???

 

[Deleted member 48]

The AKKO accordion company from Russia is one of the first to make a Stradella bass accordion of 3 kg, together with the Swiss Untersee Akkordeon Werkstatt.
Someone from Germany told me in one of the YT videos the word AKKO is printed on the bass side arm strap.
(I dont remember which specific video, but the YTvideo is online)


Ветров Геннадий. Частушки 2013.


Ветров баян микро и истории

Im still waiting for the Castelfidardo makers when they will make a Stradella bass accordion under 3 kg.
It looks like the Russians and the Swiss can.

 

[debra]

Thanks to the low Russian currency value prices in Europe have become reasonable indeed. And from some YouTube videos it becomes apparent that AKKO produces really nice sound. But would you buy an instrument "unseen"? That is often the problem as AKKO accordions are not common in Europe (or the US) so far. I have no idea what Oleg Lysenko has sold so far. It would be great advertising for AKKO if he would play AKKO at his concerts. I have seen a video with him playing an AKKO "Musette" but in the videos of his serious work (including a TV performance in "vrije geluiden") he plays a Jupiter. To sell AKKO instruments he should really play an AKKO bayan...

 

[Nuuksu]

Some videos





For me, Jupiter sounds nicer, Jupiter bass is much more deeper. Akko is something between typical italian accordion and Jupiter.

 

[debra]

There are many more videos on YouTube, for instance by Alexander Skliarov. On some YouTube videos you can easily hear how wonderful AKKO bayans sound. But to know how it "feels" to play one you need to be able to handle one. My approach in the past has been to visit the Frankfurter Musikmesse and try lots of instruments in order to decide which one to get. I have also learned the hard way that even a relatively small jump in the dark can be a mistake. My wife and I have played a Bugari 285 for years (5 reeds, cassotto, standard bass) and then made the jump to a Bugari 289/C5 (5 reeds, cassotto, convertor) and we found that it was too large and heavy for my wife to play. You really need to try the exact instrument you are considering before actually buying. With AKKO that may be difficult. Maybe at the Frankfurter Musikmesse... maybe at the World Music Festival in Innsbruck... we'll see.

 

[Deleted member 48]

Some bayans and accordions are said having an extra 32-foot bass reeds set. The reeds are longer and make a deeper bass sound.
Some Jupiter bayans may have these 32 foot bass reeds.
Probably some of the AKKO bayans also have the 32 foot bass reeds.

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bajan
Manche Instrumente wurden und werden mit extrem tiefen, kräftigen Bässen gebaut (32), dies erhöht natürlich das Gewicht nicht unwesentlich.

I dont know this model, but this website mentions 32-foot bass reeds inside a Beltrami Artist Cassotto P26:

http://zzmusic.uk/accordionscatalogue/beltrami-studio-p26/
This last model is equipped with a set of 32 foot reeds as a fifth set. The lowest note on the left hand is a D1!

This is the official Italian Beltrami accordions website
http://www.beltrami-fisarmoniche.it/fisarmoniche.php

A wooden reed block for the 32-foot bass reeds would probably be higher than a 16-foot bass reed block, because of the longer bass reeds and longer reed plates.
But maybe its possible accordion or bayan makers can build in 32-foot basses, at customers demand.

 

[Deleted member 48]

Tried finding a video showing 32-foot bass reeds
Heres one from the Russian Jupiter bayan factory:

Производство баянов Юпитер

If you pause at 100 or 105 he shows a bayan bass reed plate.
If Im not mistaken, these look to be 32-foot bass reeds. Just look at the size/length of these reeds... and the deep sound when he picks the reeds...

 

[debra]

The indications 16' or 32' don't make that much sense. They refer to the length of organ pipes. The lowest reeds on a Bayan or in fact most convertor accordions are all the same, they are a low E. Tuners and tuning programs call the A=440 (or 442) an A4. The low E on a Bayan is an E1. A basson accordion goes down to C1, which I believe is the same note as the lowest note on a double base. (A Cello goes down to C2.) Considering that the A1 = 55Hz the lower E1 is around 40Hz. It makes no sense for any instrument to go yet another octave lower. So whatever the number is that is used to indicate how low the bayan goes (16' or 32'), it goes down to E1.
An accordeon without convertor or MIII may not go as low. Some go down to C2 or A1.

 

[donn]

So whatever the number is that is used to indicate how low the bayan goes (16 or 32), it goes down to E1.

The way I remember it, 16 is equivalent to the 1 suffix - so 16 E would be E1. 8 C is the violoncellos low end, 2 C is middle C, 440Hz is 2 A. But I think not commonly used above 8. Typical double bass low string is E, but extensions to low C are common enough that I suppose some orchestral parts call for it.

 

[Morne]

I don't know if I am imagining things, but I believe that I saw a photo of him with a Jupiter accordion on the background of his website. I thought it was strange that he was selling AKKO accordions with a clearly visible Jupiter in the background. But I think maybe it is the case that Jupiter doesn't do this kind of business relationship, or the top end Jupiters are actually better quality than similar AKKO's. For example, he is selling a more than 10 year old Jupiter for 4000-5000 EUR more than the most expensive AKKO's on his list.

I agree with buying these without trying first. But then I would also imagine that if you have the money to buy one of those top instruments then you probably have the money and time to go to Russia and try them in the factory if you cannot get a hold of a local dealer. I somewhat doubt that Oleg Lysenko keeps much, if any, stock of these instruments. I know language is a big issue in these cases, but if non-native speakers can deal directly with the Italians then I'm sure this can be doable with the Russians.

Stephen, I have not seen any reference to the 32' reeds . Do you have any sources where you read or heard about this? Maybe it is just a marketing-speak reference for the resulting sound based on the combination of the different reed plates and construction, i.e. merely that it results in a lower than usual sound and not that there is an actual mathematical relationship to the organ terminology.

Interestingly, some of you may have noticed in the one video posted by Nuuksu that the one AKKO has a mute or sordina-like switch on the bass side.

I will do more research on the Russian accordion manufacturers as I am interested in what they produce. If I were ever to get to the point where I'd need a proper new instrument, I would most likely be looking in their direction.

 

[debra]

You were not imagining things. He does play a Jupiter. And I would not be surprised if that is the Jupiter he is also trying to sell. But the true commercial value of a Jupiter of that age is less than half of what he is asking. The reality is probably that he got the Jupiter 10 or more years ago and does not have the money to replace it by an AKKO without having a buyer for the Jupiter first. AKKO is growing but started as a small outfit. Companies like Bugari and Pigini produce many thousands of instruments per year, but I believe AKKO is maybe doing a few hundred (maybe more by now) and it would be unlikely to find anyone who has stock of these instruments. What I read is that it at least used to be the type of outfit where they had to get to know you, share some wodka, to decide whether you were worthy of getting one of their instruments. Hard to say what is rumor and what is real. But I realize that getting one of these (I think their "super" model is the most common) would be a real challenge for me, especially because I need a C system instrument. They claim to be able to produce it but I don't even know if they actually ever did make one.

 

[Deleted member 48]

True, the terminology 4, 8, 16 and 32 for indicating differences in accordion reeds comes from organs, but there is a difference in length, mass and pitch of different types of bass reeds.
So it makes sense, but maybe they could have used another more accurate accordion terminology for accordion reeds. And not simply copying the organists terminology.

Photo bottom of this page showing large/long bayan reeds in 1 reed plate:
http://www.harmonikas.cz/en/bayan-1

In the Harmonikas reeds factory assortment section is a pdf with sizes of some reeds (length, width and thickness of the reeds):
http://www.harmonikas.cz/en/assortment#obsah

This is not only the case in Russian bayans and their 32 bass reeds, but also eg in the Steirisch Harmonika so called Helikon bass reeds, who are larger/longer than normal bass reeds. In order to imitate some Tuba sounds:
http://www.accordions.com/index/how/dia/how_dia.shtml
quote:
The Helikon accordion is named after the Helicon Tuba, which evolved from ram horn trumpets, first used thousands of years ago. It is the Helikon bass reeds which give it a distinctive Tuba sound to the bass notes. This is because the bass reeds are much longer and wider than normal bass reeds. They reproduce low pitched tones like a Tuba. Quite often the low Helikon reeds are fitted to a single duraluminium plate. These reeds can be up to 1 inch longer than standard bass reeds. First used in Styrian diatonic accordions, these reeds are now found in piano accordions.

Here is a very good photo of the size of the Helikon bass reeds inside the bass part of a Steirisch Harmonika:
https://shop.michlbauer.com/service/ratgeber/die-steirische-harmonika.html

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helikonstimmplatten
Die Tonhöhe der Grundbasszunge ist meist im Bereich Kontra-G (G1 bis G, 48 Hz bis 98 Hz), in machen Fällen auch tiefer bis zum Kontra-C (C1, 32,7 Hz). Jedoch ist bereits der Ton Kontra-E (E1, 41,2 Hz) problematisch, da er starke Rückwirkungen auf den Diskant hat. Es entsteht eine Lautstärkemodulation (Amplitudenmodulation) des gleichzeitig gespielten Tons auf der Diskantseite.

 

[Deleted member 48]

http://freethereed.co.uk/shop/pre-squeezed-button-accordions/bugari-free-bass-converter-accordion/
In the left hand, the two lowest octaves of notes use Italian made russian bayan style reeds where the reed tongues are mounted on a large single metal frame giving a very different timbre and increased depth and power to the bass

(click on the photo of the opened bass part of this Bugari bayan to see the bass reed block with the long bass reeds)

The accordion weighs 15.55kg when fully laden with straps

 

[debra]

That Bugari is an interesting rare find. Bayan style large reed plates are very rare in Italian accordions, even in models that are called Bayan. And notice that these reeds are also on a raised block to make the shaft through which the sound travels longer.
The Italians do sometimes use reed plates with a few reeds. My Pigini basson has reed plates with 6 notes each for the lowest 3 octaves. (Lowest note is C1.) I had a Bugari 289/ARS/C5 before and it had some reed plates with 4 or 5 notes (I forget exactly) but strangely enough these were not for the very lowest notes. So it had a few separate reeds for the lowest notes, then a reed plate with 4 or 5 notes, then separate reeds again. Very strange but I must say I never noticed a sound timbre difference between the single reeds and the reeds on a larger plate.
Here is a picture from the Pigini basson. The large reed plates are really easy to work on (easy to remove for access to the inner reeds) but I cant say that I hear a sudden difference in sound when going from notes on the large plates to the individual reeds.
You cant see it in the picture but the lowest reeds have a U-shaped sound channel inside the reed block.
http://wwwis.win.tue.nl/~debra/photos/divers2014/slides/P1250121.jpg>

 

[Deleted member 48]

Thanks for the photo of your Pigini bass part.
Interesting to compare how the bass reedblocks and bass reed plates are made and mounted in different accordions and bayans.

Here is another model Pigini Sirius :
http://www.mon-accordeon.com/occasion/c0366-pigini-sirius
among other photos, are 2 interesting bass reed plates photos inside this Pigini Sirius model:

1) Voix 16′ main gauche, montage sur plaque
La musique est montée sur plaque avec double rivetage. La première octave est montée sur un châssis de 8 cm de hauteur doù une puissance et une musicalité remarquables.

2) Caisse main gauche, voix 16′

 

[donn]

Very strange but I must say I never noticed a sound timbre difference between the single reeds and the reeds on a larger plate.

Is it supposed to sound different? I was guessing its just more compact. But I lean towards atheism on reed plates.

 

[Deleted member 48]

In a pdf in the first table some dimensions of reed plates parameters in mm for descant and bass

For Stimmplatten Sammler / reed plate afficionados or collectors only


http://www.pigini.homepage.t-online.de/Downloads/Stimmplattensaetze-PID.PDF

 

[superbayanist]

Great that I came across this thread on google!
I have just ordered my Akko Classic bayan and am due to take delivery of it in November.
I haven't tried an Akko instrument but have heard a few live and seen many on the web being performed. I also have it on good authority that they are very well built and don't suffer the same headaches as some Russian made instruments.
This instrument is a standard bayan, apart from the 9 chin switches on the right hand, and the left hand which has 63 free bass notes taking the range all the way down to organ low C rather than the standard E as found on bayans and going up to the D.
I'm very excited!!

 

[JerryPH]

So what did this Bayan cost you? Wild you also please post pics and even perhaps a video of how it sounds once you receive yours?

Thanks!