Business Insider Documentary: Why Pigini Accordions Are So Expensive

[Walker]

Interesting accordion documentary...

 

[debra]

Interesting yes. The focus on Pigini however suggests that Pigini does some good things others do not. But also the other high-end accordion makers in Castelfidardo (or elsewhere) put in all possible effort to make the best high-end accordions. (The compromises made for lower-end accordions are not considered at all in the video.)
The one thing that gets quite a bit of attention is the "mother of pearl" buttons that are glued on. This is actually one of the main reasons I never want to buy a Pigini because when buttons are glued on it makes repairs to the keyboard almost impossible. (You have to pry off all buttons in order to remove the plate that's underneath. With screw-in buttons this is a lot easier.) And yeah, I do have a Pigini: the bass accordion, because it is the only that's currently available with registers.
There are "only" two major parts that are really important for any accordion maker: the wood for the case and reed blocks and the craftsmanship of the workers in the factory. Almost everything else is outsourced to other factories that make the same components for everyone. Think of all keyboard components, reeds, valves, bellows, parts for the bass mechanism, etc., etc... Essentially everything that is not made of wood is made elsewhere.

 

[godgi]

Paul i think Maugein make their own bellows from scratch. Not sure!

 

[Walker]

Very interesting points guys.

I don't know, I suppose there will always be few different makes and models jostling for the top position in the classical scene. I wonder what the most expensive accordion is... I am not sure. I think the Gola is one of them as was the limited production Pigini Mythos.

I didn't know Pigini were only making 20 Nova models a year... that might keep their secondary value high.

I really like the real mother of pearl buttons on the big chromatic accordions. Shame you can't get them on a piano accordion keyboard. That said, the white keys like on Ludovica Borsatti's instrument in the video looks nice - maybe in the classical scene it is considered good to replicate the looks of the piano, with simple black and white keys.

What was it Ludovica believes again? The accordionist is only as good as the instrument they play! Oh well that's me put in my place... musings over, I'd better get back to playing my humdrum Bugari and Pigini instruments.​

 

[saundersbp]

What was it Ludovica believes again? The accordionist is only as good as the instrument they play!

Yes this stood out like a sore thumb to me as well. I think she is talking total nonsense, or at least pure undiluted marketing speak! It's like saying the best drivers are those with the most expensive cars.

I've found its often the exact opposite with musicianship beyond a certain reasonable point of instrument quality. i.e. best to put the lion's share of your effort and time into making music than hours acquiring 'stuff'. And in danger of making me sound like an off the scale leftie, I'd say that we are victims of the psychology of capitalism: that acquisition makes us better and happier. I don't know enough accordionists but certainly with the snazziest Steinway etc. pianos they are often owned by people least able to make music on them. Socialist rant over!

 

[AccordionJustice]

It's nice and refreshing to see a new accordion documentary out. I don't think one single accordion can claim to be the best sounding one out of all of them, Gola, Scandalli Air, Pigini Nova, each offers a different component to the table. As long as companies continue to strive for true quality and craftsmanship instead of cutting corners for profit, I'm more than happy.

 

[AccordionJustice]

I really like the real mother of pearl buttons on the big chromatic accordions. Shame you can't get them on a piano accordion keyboard. That said, the white keys like on Ludovica Borsatti's instrument in the video looks nice - maybe in the classical scene it is considered good to replicate the looks of the piano, with simple black and white keys.​

I agree Walker. I too love the traditional sleek look of the mother of pearl keys. Personally, I think it would pair well with a black or white tie concert ensemble.

 

[debra]

Yes this stood out like a sore thumb to me as well. I think she is talking total nonsense, or at least pure undiluted marketing speak! It's like saying the best drivers are those with the most expensive cars.
...

The "reverse" (not "opposite") is true: "An accordion can only sound as good as the person playing it."
Buying an expensive accordion does not make you a better player, but if you are already a really good player your performance will sound even better on a better accordion. But every accordion sounds rubbish in the hands of a rubbish player.

 

[jozz]

thanks for sharing

I loved seeing the "tuning robot" in action!

 

[Ventura]

Almost everything else is outsourced to other factories that make the same components for everyone. Think of all keyboard components, reeds, valves, bellows, parts for the bass mechanism, etc., etc... Essentially everything that is not made of wood is made elsewhere.

this is the most important point for customers to realize and understand

"sameness" is now a given.. so you must analyze their skill and fit and finish

and as far as the wood goes.. most boutique shops also source the Bodies
(bare bones) from outside as well.. some from Asia

 

[Alan Sharkis]

What does it cost to produce slick videos like this one and the last one that Pigini did with a sound track that’s about one-fourth klezmer (it takes a fan to recognize the tune, although that tune has been arranged to sound like it isn’t klezmer) and the beautiful shots of the town and the surrounding countryside? (Do I sound the least bit cynical?) Everything about the two videos says, “Buy me, because I’m a class act.” The trouble is, neither of the two Pigini videos is necessary for those who desire a high-end accordion and prefer Pigini’s high end models. As for those who prefer accordions from other makers, I doubt that they will be swayed by a video. Accordions are not cars.

 

[Walker]

Interesting...

I am not sure the video is really about selling accordions. I think this Business Insiders channel is more about exploring extravagant lifestyle or luxury products for a certain type of person to enjoy watching and chat about for 15 minutes.. I think they do other videos about all sorts of things. I can imagine someone making a video about the most expensive growers of saffron, or the most expensive concert piano (I made these examples up, but you know what I mean).

Regarding all accordions being the same nowadays - well perhaps a great many components are similar in a lot instruments, but I can't honestly say I think the final products ever really sound the same. Who thinks a Pigini Sirius sounds the same as a Bugari Prime? Also, Pigini have found a niche in classical music alongside Bugari and a few others. However, I don't think these brands are the most desired for other types of music. Many Jazz or folk players go for completely different names - that must at least have something to do with the sound of the instruments. Just a thought.​

 

[debra]

...

Regarding all accordions being the same nowadays - well perhaps a great many components are similar in a lot instruments, but I can't honestly say I think the final products ever really sound the same. Who thinks a Pigini Sirius sounds the same as a Bugari Prime? Also, Pigini have found a niche in classical music alongside Bugari and a few others. However, I don't think these brands are the most desired for other types of music. Many Jazz or folk players go for completely different names - that must at least have something to do with the sound of the instruments. Just a thought.​

Some accordions are becoming very much the same. An example: There is the Bugari 540/ARS/C (https://www.bugariarmando.com/en/fisarmonica/540-ars-c-2/) and the Pigini Super Compact (https://www.pigini.com/fisarmoniche/convertor/super-compact/) which are essentially the same instrument. Bugari opted to give this the range C# to E and Pigini E to G but the body is exactly the same and I tried the Pigini years ago at the Frankfurter Musikmesse and I have the Bugari 540. Really, they are the same...
But do very similar accordions also sound the same? Often they do not, and most of what causes this is the exact shape of the reed blocks (and the wood used to make them). When the blocks are closer to rectangular you get a different sound from when they are more trapezoidal.
While most Italian accordion makers do not try to make identical accordions, there is one exception: the full size bayan. Russian bayans, whether from one Jupiter or the other Jupiter company, Zonta, AKKO... they all look identical and have a different sound. Then Pigini literally copied the Jupiter design when they made the Sirius bayan (and then put Russian reed plates in them for the Mythos) and the Pigini does not sound the same at all. Likewise the bayans from other Italian makers all look more or less identical and they all sound differently... What makes them sound differently is what's on the inside, and it's mostly the reed blocks, but other details also matter, like how the sound can "exit" from the cassotto, possibly obstructed by the register mechanism and/or grille.

 

[AccordionUprising]

I think the accordion, as a mechanical sound-producing device, may have more influence on the results than some other instruments. This may be wildly wrong, but the fiddle and bagpipe players were pissed when anybody could pick up an accordion and produce a note in tune. There seems to be more subtle control of the sound when playing a saxophone for another example. So, maybe (maybe!) the quality of the accordion has more to do with the sound than some other instruments?

Similarly, the tuning of accordions can quickly tell you what styles it might be designed for. An instrument tuned for vallenato doesn't sound like one for Cajun music. So those kind of sound choices are baked into the machine, which is different from say a violin that is greater or lesser quality, and played by better or less skilled players, but the same instrument could be in an orchestra or a folk dance? I'm making this up as I go here.

That said, the quality of the music depends on the player. And a given amount of skill will bring out more from whatever the instrument is. I think it can be a skill to bring that human quality back into the accordion. That's one of the requirements of great players. But, I better practice a lot more before I know for sure.

 

[Alan Sharkis]

I think the accordion, as a mechanical sound-producing device, may have more influence on the results than some other instruments. This may be wildly wrong, but the fiddle and bagpipe players were pissed when anybody could pick up an accordion and produce a note in tune. There seems to be more subtle control of the sound when playing a saxophone for another example. So, maybe (maybe!) the quality of the accordion has more to do with the sound than some other instruments?

Similarly, the tuning of accordions can quickly tell you what styles it might be designed for. An instrument tuned for vallenato doesn't sound like one for Cajun music. So those kind of sound choices are baked into the machine, which is different from say a violin that is greater or lesser quality, and played by better or less skilled players, but the same instrument could be in an orchestra or a folk dance? I'm making this up as I go here.

That said, the quality of the music depends on the player. And a given amount of skill will bring out more from whatever the instrument is. I think it can be a skill to bring that human quality back into the accordion. That's one of the requirements of great players. But, I better practice a lot more before I know for sure.

You just reminded me of the following joke:

Musician 1: Can you give me an example of a minor second?

Musician 2: Sure! Two pipers trying to play in unison.

 

[Neoscan]

Interesting yes. The focus on Pigini however suggests that Pigini does some good things others do not. But also the other high-end accordion makers in Castelfidardo (or elsewhere) put in all possible effort to make the best high-end accordions. (The compromises made for lower-end accordions are not considered at all in the video.)
The one thing that gets quite a bit of attention is the "mother of pearl" buttons that are glued on. This is actually one of the main reasons I never want to buy a Pigini because when buttons are glued on it makes repairs to the keyboard almost impossible. (You have to pry off all buttons in order to remove the plate that's underneath. With screw-in buttons this is a lot easier.) And yeah, I do have a Pigini: the bass accordion, because it is the only that's currently available with registers.
There are "only" two major parts that are really important for any accordion maker: the wood for the case and reed blocks and the craftsmanship of the workers in the factory. Almost everything else is outsourced to other factories that make the same components for everyone. Think of all keyboard components, reeds, valves, bellows, parts for the bass mechanism, etc., etc... Essentially everything that is not made of wood is made elsewhere.

True to an extent although many manufacturers make the metal parts, bellows, etc themselves and Pigini for example make their own reeds. But yeah, keys, buttons, and other parts etc do tend to be outsourced these days.

 

[debra]

True to an extent although many manufacturers make the metal parts, bellows, etc themselves and Pigini for example make their own reeds. But yeah, keys, buttons, and other parts etc do tend to be outsourced these days.

I have yet to encounter the first Pigini that has reeds made by Pigini. People want good reeds made by Voci Armoniche, Artigiani Voci, Cagnoni, and perhaps others... Very few accordion manufacturers make their own bellows. What Pigini does make that's metal is their convertor mechanism, at least for some accordions. Almost all Italian accordion makers use a "standard" convertor mechanism they buy (in parts of course) but Pigini designed a convertor that's different from the others.

 

[Ventura]

i do recall an earlier video from Pigini showing their in house bellows operation

also remember that they designed and created an action for a special Pan that Faithe Deffner
had ordered up then added to the line (decades ago)

also recall that Pigini moved the tech dept. in total from the Cemex facility
including the Managment

but also recall that the Excelsior Kiln, the last company owned and operated
Kiln in the accordion industry, was abandoned as even Pigini could not afford
to absorb those costs (nor was anyone else large or profitable enough to do so)

and which is why i maintain the era of truly independent accordion manufacturing died
when CEMEX-Excelsior ceased to exist as an entity... there is no other and never again will
be a company that can build an accordion from soup to nuts on premises from scratch
and completely raw materials

 

[debra]

i do recall an earlier video from Pigini showing their in house bellows operation

...

There was the "Una Storia d'Amore" video in which Pigini showed how accordions are built. They show how the bellows are made, but the video never claimed that this was in house at Pigini. Likewise with the reed production. Again this was not claimed as an in-house process. I have visited the Galassi bellows factory. Considering how fast they can churn out bellows it's clear that any bellows factory can produce many more bellows than any accordion factory can churn out accordions. So an in-house bellows production would be inactive for quite a large fraction of the time, making it not cost-effective to do this in-house.

 

[Ventura]

ok.. i never realized that video was not Pigini specific

one of these days i need to order a bellows or 2 from Galassi