careful with Rossini

[debra]

Just got a Rossini in for tuning. Nice shiny black instrument, but as soon as I opened it up I saw it could not be Italian.
The bass reed blocks are plastic. The reed blocks are held on in a strange way (with bolts and nuts and washers. The way the straps-bracket is bolted in I would not trust carrying the instrument by all the time (washers on the inside are too small to spread the load enough. After a few minutes the black front bit of one of the white keys broke off (the glue let go, nothing really damaged).
I checked on accordionlinks and sure enough Rossini stopped being a real accordion maker and the cheaper models are supposedly made in the Chech republic (though I would not be surprised if in reality it is now from China). Supposedly the pro models are still made by some factory in Italy.
In any case a bit of a disappointment as I was still hopeful that Rossini was all Italian made, but alas.
Luckily the reeds and valves are all in good shape so tuning should not be too difficult if at least the reeds want to hold their frequency for some time.

 

[Soulsaver]

Useful info. Rossini is in our accordions made in China list.

 

[debra]

Useful info. Rossini is in our accordions made in China list.

Well, it looks like made in China, but Im pretty sure that for the most expensive Rossini accordions that is not true.
This one isnt one of those expensive ones. Its has a label Marsala and an addition Special.

Accordionlinks says: Rossini (in Dutch) was a manufacturer that started in Ancona in the 1930s; around the 1950s the production moved to the S.I.L.A. factory in Camerano. By the 1970s the factory produced accordions under the Super Rossini brand name, but at the end of the 1980s the production stopped. In the 1990s the brand was bought by Kees van Willigen & Zn, and now the pro line is produced in Castelfidardo, and the standard line in the Czech Republic.

Here are some pictures of the instrument I just tuned (tuning isnt really harder on expensive or cheaper instruments as long as the reeds are on blocks that can be removed).

Bass side with plastic blocks. Note the aluminum bracket that holds the largest reed plates in place for some time in the future when the wax becomes too brittle to hold them.
http://wwwis.win.tue.nl/~debra/photos/accordion/P4278277.jpg>

The bolts and brackets that hold reed blocks in place.
Also note that unlike on most other accordions many reed plates are upside down. (Most accordions have that only for the very highest notes.)
http://wwwis.win.tue.nl/~debra/photos/accordion/P4278278.jpg>

Bolts with small washers, holding the full weight of the accordion when you carry it.
http://wwwis.win.tue.nl/~debra/photos/accordion/P4278279.jpg>

Black front of a key where the glue let loose:
http://wwwis.win.tue.nl/~debra/photos/accordion/P4278280.jpg>

 

[JIM D.]

Yes, Rossini is the Italian word for "An accident waiting to happen" :lol:

Some China boxes have shown up with the "Rossini" name but this one is Czech.

 

[Soulsaver]

Good pics, Paul, thanks. Note the couplers: the Chinese ones we've seen usually have the Parrot type couplers.

 

[debra]

Good pics, Paul, thanks. Note the couplers: the Chinese ones weve seen usually have the Parrot type couplers.

Good point. The Rossini Im working in has fake Hohner style couplers (white, oval). The one you show has fake italian style (a bit similar to coupler on many recent Italian accordions) and indeed Chinese manufacturers use these.

 

[Soulsaver]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rossini-JH...1461773533&sr=1-1&keywords=rossini+accordionS - nice to see this advertiser shows made in china in the product details.

 

[debra]

Just also did a quick fix (top of black key came off) on a Hohner 48 bass that has the fake Hohner style couplers, exactly like the Czech Rossini. So maybe this Hohner was made in the Czech republic and maybe even in the same factory because other things (like the use of the same plastic, the same keys, the same way the valves are connected to the key mechanism, etc...) are also so much the same the origin cannot be very different.
I thought Hohner moved the "student" production from Germany to China, but this small accordion looks so suspiciously like the Rossini (except much smaller) I really think it can be a Hohner made in the Czech republic. Do Hohners of Czech origin really exist?