Bugari Bayan Spectrum

[TheBugariFish]

Hello my Friends,
I'm very confused about the Bugari Bayan Spectrum because there are models with 47 keys and those with 45 keys (piano accordion), both from official Bugari websites (bugari.de and bugariarmano.com)
I'm also wondering what the differences are between the Spectrums with 16"16"8" or 16"8"4" and which one is better.
I hope someone can help me
Thank you
TheFish

 

[Dingo40]

Hi BF, and welcome!
Purely as another interested amateur, the difference between 16', 16', 8' (Low, Low, Medium) and 16', 8', 4' (Low, Medium, High) reed configurations is in in the sound of the instrument and the conventions of the particular genre.
The LLM arrangement is favoured by some types of jazz players ( think Art van Damme*).
The LMH is more universal. However, most kinds of music can be played on either and it really depends on what you yourself find appealing and what works best for you.
If you're finding it hard to decide, I suggest you really need to postpone your decision and work at acquiring more real world experience.
Experiment with whatever comes readily to hand.
When the time comes, I'm sure you won't need to ask.
Happy playing!

*Art van Damme:

art van damme - Google Search

 

[debra]

Hi BF, and welcome!
Purely as another interested amateur, the difference between 16', 16', 8' (Low, Low, Medium) and 16', 8', 4' (Low, Medium, High) reed configurations is in in the sound of the instrument and the conventions of the particular genre.
The LLM arrangement is favoured by some types of jazz players ( think Art van Damme*).
The LMH is more universal. However, most kinds of music can be played on either and it really depends on what you yourself find appealing and what works best for you.
If you're finding it hard to decide, I suggest you really need to postpone your decision and work at acquiring more real world experience.
...

The 16-16-8 or 16-8-4 configuration refers to the bass side, not the treble (and the treble is most important to jazz players).

 

[debra]

Hello my Friends,
I'm very confused about the Bugari Bayan Spectrum because there are models with 47 keys and those with 45 keys (piano accordion), both from official Bugari websites (bugari.de and bugariarmano.com)
I'm also wondering what the differences are between the Spectrums with 16"16"8" or 16"8"4" and which one is better.
I hope someone can help me
Thank you
TheFish

The catalog I have lists the Bugari Bayan Spectrum PA only with 47 keys, which makes sense because the two extra keys over a 45 key keyboard make no difference in size (and negligible difference in weight).
For the bass there are four options: 16-8-4, 16-16-4, 16-8 and 16-16. There is no 16-16-8 option afaik.
Whether 16-16-4 or 16-8-4 is better is mostly a matter of taste, but it is also a matter of possible octave combinations. Personally, considering what is played on the bass side I find that a simple 16-8 setup is really sufficient. If you want to be fancy you can get 16-8-4. The options with 16-16 in it make tuning very hard and any small imperfection causes a nasal sound and side-effects when notes start. Italian accordion makers only started making accordions with 16-16 in the bass when they were copying the Russian bayan design.

 

[TheBugariFish]

The catalog I have lists the Bugari Bayan Spectrum PA only with 47 keys, which makes sense because the two extra keys over a 45 key keyboard make no difference in size (and negligible difference in weight).
For the bass there are four options: 16-8-4, 16-16-4, 16-8 and 16-16. There is no 16-16-8 option afaik.
Whether 16-16-4 or 16-8-4 is better is mostly a matter of taste, but it is also a matter of possible octave combinations. Personally, considering what is played on the bass side I find that a simple 16-8 setup is really sufficient. If you want to be fancy you can get 16-8-4. The options with 16-16 in it make tuning very hard and any small imperfection causes a nasal sound and side-effects when notes start. Italian accordion makers only started making accordions with 16-16 in the bass when they were copying the Russian bayan design.

Thank you for your advice!
I think the 16+8+4 fits best for me.
If I would want to buy It, should I go to Castelfidardo to customise It, or ist it possible to do this in Germany?

 

[petch]

Personally I like the 16-16 sound in the bass so if I were spending that amount of money I would arrange to go to the factory and try out both options to see for yourself

 

[debra]

Thank you for your advice!
I think the 16+8+4 fits best for me.
If I would want to buy It, should I go to Castelfidardo to customise It, or ist it possible to do this in Germany?

It is unlikely that you would find any place where you can try out all different bass options on a Spectrum... although Castelfidardo may be your best bet. However, to know what the different bass options sound like it's not necessary to try them on a Spectrum. You can probably find other players who have accordions with 16-8-4 and 16-16-4 bass configurations so you can compare. My own accordions are just 16-16 and 16-8 and personally (but that is very personal) I prefer an accordion with 16-8 over one with 16-16, especially if you do not only play melody bass but want the standard (Stradella) bass to sound nice too. I have recently worked on a Pigini Sirius with 16-16-4 and didn't like that one bit. (I also don't like the older Sirius with just 16-16.)
You should probably talk to whoever will be your dealer and also repairer, because when you deal with the factory directly getting maintenance and repairs done may be a bit more of a challenge.

 

[TheBugariFish]

Thank you all very much.
Your advices were really helpful