Just noticed this Antonoi Ranco 4 voice Musette for sale on Gumtree in Cornwall. Asking £295 which doesn't sound a bad price. Nothing to do with me as I'm in France, but I know there's at least one Ranco afficeonado (?) here :ch
Antonio Ranco in Cornwall
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rancoman
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I SAW THAT!Thanks for thinking of me, Pm, but I should be selling them, not buying more!
If that box is still in decent or saveable condition (i.e. with original Ranco reeds, still VARNISHED in *growl*) it would be a real bargain for a Ranco lover - according to John Crawford's valuation of mine, the restored value should be five or six times that if it's a good one.
donn
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Is Antonio Ranco related to Ranco Guglielmo? 4 row CBA? Reeds aren't nailed?
Geoff de Limousin
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Antonio Ranco is either a brother of, or the father of, Guglielmo.... another brother was called Luigi. The brothers Guglielmo and Luigi split with their father and started their own workshops (in the 1920's) whilst Antonio junior stayed with dad.
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rancoman
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Donn - most of the Rancos I have seen and handled are 120/41 PA, with the reeds pinned on originally to some kind of very hard varnish as the airseal.
I have seen 4 (or possibly 5?) row Ranco CBA in Clinkscale's shop, and the decoration was a little different - more like small flowers all over the grille rather than the bright aluminium dots on the ones I have, but I can't remember now if they were by Antonio or one of the others.
By the time I handled them, they had been refurbished and the reeds waxed in, so they no longer had what I would call the Ranco sound - they had a nice but fairly soft Italian sound by then.
In a conversation with someone around that time (1980!) I remember being told that the 4/5 row CBA, even in original state, didn't sound as powerful as the piano version, and that was because of the different arrangement of the pallets on a CBA, which didn't open as wide as those on a PA. Someone in here may know more about this?
I have seen 4 (or possibly 5?) row Ranco CBA in Clinkscale's shop, and the decoration was a little different - more like small flowers all over the grille rather than the bright aluminium dots on the ones I have, but I can't remember now if they were by Antonio or one of the others.
By the time I handled them, they had been refurbished and the reeds waxed in, so they no longer had what I would call the Ranco sound - they had a nice but fairly soft Italian sound by then.
In a conversation with someone around that time (1980!) I remember being told that the 4/5 row CBA, even in original state, didn't sound as powerful as the piano version, and that was because of the different arrangement of the pallets on a CBA, which didn't open as wide as those on a PA. Someone in here may know more about this?
donn
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rancoman pid=49165 dateline=1501664878 said:
I know them only by online ad pictures from Portugal, where theyre CBAs in the French style, with fungo bass buttons etc. The looks varies, but often very old fashioned, and ornate. Usually Ranco Guglielmo, Vercelli -- or Super Bernard. Judging from the offering prices, they think highly of them, though I may be thrown off a little by the old fashioned look, as I tend to think of really old accordions as kind of worthless as a practical matter.
The pallet opening story is interesting. It sure could have an effect on tone - much more likely than the reed block fastening method. I expect the Rancos shipped to Portugal were most or all nailed, but I bet you could pull some of the nails and wax the reed blocks back in, and you couldnt tell the difference to save your life. Its only my theory, but its the reed that makes the sound, not the block - and I imagine they had different reeds available, to suit different tonal preferences in particular markets etc.
I looked this morning and lo, a Ranco Antonio
I had a Guglielmo CBA...paid 400 for it, Alan young made retune, revalve etc at cost of 600....recouped total grand as trade in against Brandoni with Emilio Allodi.....gorgeous machine...just weighed a ton....If Ranco had been new id not have parted with it...A Young suggested it was probably a custom made for a great player back in the day
donn
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While Im posting accordion loveliness, a Ranco Guglielmo
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rancoman
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*DROOL.....*
BTW, I'm not in the least swayed by all these arguments on pinned vs. waxed not having much effect on tone.
I was at the dentist yesterday having two central front crowns replaced, and this is the intermediate stage where I have two temporary crowns, but identical (-ish) to my original crowns. Just made of plastic, not porcelain.
They have changed my whistle! I'm a compulsive whistler of accordion tunes, so I do it a lot - and the new crowns have taken some of the high frequency harmonics from the tone of my whistling - enough that I can hear it clearly with my old ears.
Maybe I should ask to have the permanent crowns pinned in with little nails? :b
BTW, I'm not in the least swayed by all these arguments on pinned vs. waxed not having much effect on tone.
I was at the dentist yesterday having two central front crowns replaced, and this is the intermediate stage where I have two temporary crowns, but identical (-ish) to my original crowns. Just made of plastic, not porcelain.
They have changed my whistle! I'm a compulsive whistler of accordion tunes, so I do it a lot - and the new crowns have taken some of the high frequency harmonics from the tone of my whistling - enough that I can hear it clearly with my old ears.
Maybe I should ask to have the permanent crowns pinned in with little nails? :b
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