Canarino Reedless

[TW]

Having played CBA (mostly digital) for some years I still do not find the keyboard as intuitive as a piano keyboard.

I changed from PA because of discomfort while playing - this was eliminated using the button keyboard - however I have wanted to try a PA again (for longer than is possible in a showroom) and bought an FR3X PA - unfortunately this proved heavier than I expected and was returned.

I have noticed a Chinese accordion, a Canarino Reedless, that is inexpensive and, if used to drive a V3 desktop, would produce the same sounds as any other driver with that expander. The accordion is advertised as weighing less than 6kg and might be well worth a punt for me.

I wonder whether anyone has experience of this particular accordion?

 

[TomBR]

£799 in the UK.

There are questions about Chinese-made accordions but who thinks twice about buying Chinese-made electronics?

Some Roland and Yamaha kit is made in China so its all about the thing itself.

The 60 bass acoustic accordions listed by Accordions Scotland all look the same as the reedless, but vary in price between £249 and £799 depending on colour!

http://scotlandaccordions.co.uk/index.php?route=product/manufacturer/info&manufacturer_id=19[/url]

I put a query through their website saying it would be great if theyd drop by and tell us some more,
Tom

 

[TW]

I emailed them with a specific query about the MIDI accordion.... but no response to date.
I hope a forum query might produce a more timely result!

 

[TomBR]

Here's what Accordions Scotland replied this morning
"Many thanks for your email and interest in our products. The Canarino reedless model you enquire about is based around our own UK manufactured MIDI system. You can read more about our MIDI system on our website, or also in Accordion Anthology (Rob Howard's latest book). We are also very happy to answer any questions you have about it.

We designed this system for people who want extremely lightweight instruments - often for physical reasons. Also cost can be kept down by using cheaper accordion bodies. Frequently we get custom requests for similar setups.

The Basic MIDI system costs £699, the soundcard option £200 and the speaker amplifier £199. The Canarino model about which you enquire includes all of these options but unfortunately the production run has just sold out. As you will see this means that the accordion body in this case is essentially free.

We currently have a good lineup of reedless accordions and can supply the above system in any format of accordion to order. As we have now run out of these new Canarino bodies new orders will be slightly different.

Perhaps you could advise of the size and format of interest to you and we can send a quotation.

Thanks for pointing us to the accordion forum post. We note that one person said they did not get a reply, but we don't have their email in our system, but would be pleased to reply to any other questions."

 

[TW]

Your ISP is obviously better quality than mine!

I've tried Scotland Accordions again, directly in the light of your latest posting, for an answer to my questions.

If the keyboard is any good, and the MIDI reasonable, it may be the answer to my posting of 'Reedless Accordions' in August 2015.

Thank you for querying, and obtaining a valuable response, from the vendor.

 

[TW]

Colin, at Scotland Accordions, replied immediately to my further email and outlined options relating to my specific soundcardless requirements for the Canarino line.
He could not have been more helpful and I am considering his suggestions.

Colin also mentioned the virtually weightless (6Kg) full sized reedless accordions that are available; once the built in speaker/amplifier is eliminated the weight falls rapidly - soundless accordions are not everyone's cup of tea of course.

I see accordions as essentially input systems to sound converters: in an acoustic this combination is necessarily weighty because the output quality is defined by the keys, reeds, body - ie by construction - and these are not separable.
The reedless is not so reliant upon manufacturers specifics, the output being technical rather than craft and infinitely more versatile. The weight of the sound converter, being separate, results in a very manageable instrument.

Having defined that as my view, I repeat 'Not everyone's cup of tea of course'.

 

[acordiansam]

I would take the amp and speakers out of my 3X if I thought I could without damaging anything. For live playing there useless. Not even as loud my acoustic boxes. The only thing I like about the speakers is an acoustic jam with guitars. When I use my acoustic box I have to concentrate on not playing loud and makes it not as fun.

Just wanted to tell you you're not the only one out there.