Bugari Evo - A review by me

[breezybellows]

I've been watching this thread and I think it's about time that I need to weigh in.....
There are as many opinions an accordion makes as there are accordionists. I looked at both before buying the Evo. In fact I could have bought a very slightly used Roland for 1/2 of what I paid for the Evo from a good friend of mine, here in FLorida, so I know it was in excellent condition. I didn't care at all for the Roland, 8x. First there is no bellows action; it's like pushing on a brick. Second the keyboard really sucks. Otherwise its nice. Yes you can edit programs on your computer that you cannot do on the Evo. ,you don't have to split the accordion to replace the battery and the USB is more accessible. For me, I don't need the off line editor. I use my Evo more like an Acoustic with an electronic bass. I don't have the desire to play a synthesizer. I know that Jerry, Pesaturo and people like Richard Noel take full advantage of the synthesizer aspect of the Roland, so the Roland is better for that and also better if you like to edit on your computer. I've had no need offline edit or to access the USB. Splitting an accordion is not a big deal and replacing a battery in one of these is a once every, I don't know 4-5 years ? So I don't see that as a deal killer. BTW, to split a Roland it is set with screws. The Bugari is set with conventional bellows pins.

Now the Evo has ports into the bellows cavity under the pads of the treble keys so playing the Evo mimics the bellows actions of an acoustic far better than the Roland, as air escapes when you play. Secondly, the keyboard on an Evo, again, beats the Roland hands down. Much smoother and more shallow actions. Try a glissando on a Roland keyboard.....good luck. As far as comparing Pesaturo to any of us...well that's like comparing bananas and apples. Not quite the same thing.

Jerry says that Petosa has no parts for the Evos. I have no information on that so I can't take issue with it.

I do think the Evo is better looking, but I wouldn't buy it for that reason.

In short, I'm glad I purchased the Evo and not the Roland. I've had it about 3 years or so and do play out with all the time. There are, tho, still unknowns, much like anything else. I do think that there are many aspects of the Roland, as I have mentioned above, have little or no value to me but may have great value to others. You know the vanilla and chocolate thing.

I fully agree with your comments about the keyboard on the Evo. It feels very close to an accordion keyboard. I liked it much more than the FR-4X keyboard. I haven't played the fr-8x, so I can't comment on that keyboard.


But IMO the the bellows on the Evo don't feel anything like a real accordion. I didn't find a big difference between the bellows of FR-4x and the Evo.

Just like you, to me, the keyboard action on the Evo adds much more value than the expanded digital capabilities of the Roland. The Evo serves me very well as a practice machine.

 

[JerryPH]

@JerryPH do you adjust this setting in your fr-8x at all? Did that make it any similar to real accordion bellows?

The factory settings do it for me there for one simple fact... a bus will never feel like a race car, a dog will never look like a cat, a harp will never sound like a guitar... and a DIGITAL accordion will never be exactly like an acoustic accordion, and my opinion on that is that I don't waste time trying, it never even crosses my mind to be honest!

I drive my Impala like a granny, I drive my Corvette like it was stolen. I play and enjoy my acoustic AS an acoustic and I play my digital the way it was designed to... as a digital accordion and enjoy it... all the good, bad and everything in between.

But let me be clear, that is me and of course, everyone else is free to do as they wish. I like the fact that the bellows on an 8X are not like an acoustic, note length is MUCH longer when needed, less bellows movement is required and for people like Tom who hurt his shoulder, he could set it to play without even pulling his accordion, not ideal, but still better than nothing, right?

There is no perfect solution and I've said it in the past... people who expect a digital to be 100% like an acoustic will never be satisfied.

 

[Pbraido]

I'm interested to know more about this. With the default settings on the Evo, the airflow on the bellows does not vary based on the number of keys/buttons pressed or the registers selected. The when to adjust bellows resistance and the bellows curve parameter are three only ways that I know that can advise bellows resistance. I wonder if the 'amount of air per key' adjustment is available in the Evo.


@JerryPH do you adjust this setting in your fr-8x at all? Did that make it any similar to real accordion bellows?

I guess it’s best described here from the manual
Newly developed for the FR-8x, Dynamics Bellows Behavior technology represents a real breakthrough for digital accordionists. In an acoustic accordion, sounds are produced by reeds that vibrate with airflow generated by the movement of the bellows; the resistance of the bellows constantly varies, depending on how many reeds are selected and how many notes are played at once. In the FR-8x, Dynamic Bellows Behavior automatically adjusts the air transfer in the bellows in real time based on the selected register and the number of notes played, accurately replicating the familiar and comfortable bellows feel of an acoustic accordion. Dynamic Bellows Behavior can be easily disabled for players that prefer the bellows feel of previous V-Accordions.

And the amount of air that is released when a note is played is fully adjustable depending on the player’s preference