I am not saying that he is famous becuase he is sponsored, I am saying that his accordion is not any kind of accordion you can purchase in any store in China, BECAUSE he is supported by the local government. It would not surprise me at all to find out that the money invested in his Parrot is more than a new Gola.
But I don't buy them by the dozen... lol
Originally Polverini was really manufactured in Italy as far as I know. These new accordions have a distinctive Chinese look if you ask me. But of course I could be mistaken...
Welcome Gayle!
). They call the 30treble/60bass a Cub II on Liberty Bellows. It's very expensive for its size $3,799Welcome Gayle!
Ottavianelli is an ongoing reputable Italian brand. I am not familiar with the Cub II model, but I suspect it is a "decent little accordion" if not a fake (unfortunately this caveat applies to every accordion these days
Good luck!!!
You can order direct. I bought my Piatanesi next door, both full size and 36/72 for less than what you are quoted for the Cub. (Ottavianelli and Piatanesi share the same building and probably most parts). Probably you can save 50%. How's your Italian?
What I find on different sites and on facebook is rather confusing. Some sites have a description typical for Chinese accordions (talking about "like Italian" but never claim that anything comes from Italy, and other sites claim the accordions are Italian. Then some sites say the accordions have no bass reeds installed ("because most players don't use them"). And then prices are all over the place from around 800 to around 3200...
www.reddit.com
Thanks!Kimric Smythe has posted about the Alacran, and I trust his report: They make no claims to be made entirely in Italy, but their higher end models have Italian mechanics and internals, in a Chinese case. Their lower end models are made in China but have decent quality control.
Reddit - Dive into anything
I believe that "Chinese is bad" is a trick and a reason to sell old accordions. But yes old ones sound better.
There are certainly quality differences between accordions made in China. Hohner has move their equipment from Germany to China so that the Chinese workers can produce accordions for them using good (German) tools. They have trained Chinese workers, and they perform their own quality control. But... at least for many parts that go into the accordion they use Chinese suppliers who use Chinese steel, aluminium, etc. As a result, they produce somewhat decent instruments at a very reasonable production cost (to which they can add a considerable markup and make a good profit), but after using such an instrument for a while it may develop issues. A friend of mine bought an Amica IV forte about half a year ago. It has a sharp (thin) sound you can like or dislike. After half a year it is already quite noticeably out of tune... and I dread the moment when springs are going to break... (Hohner sells German springs as replacements.)I want to add something that almost every other product is made in China and shipped to world anyways. The difference must be the quality and of course the price/quality balance of a product, not that where it is manufactured. I own two brand new Hohners, Bravo and Amica (Chinese). I can explain at least about Hohner. Everyone knows many other brands listed here are bad in many ways. Hohner purchase the accordions from China and get them to Germany, later they quality control and do the tuning there. Then they put to sale... That difference people argue is not German good, Chinese bad argument. Its a light - heavy instrument argument actually. If you use lets say a 5 kg steel frame and wood reedblocks on a 60's instrument, you get a deeper and louder sound. If you use a 3 kg aluminum mixed etc. frame and quality plastic reedblock for example, you get a thinner sound. But what people miss here is you will have a lighter instrument. Maybe that benefits the tariffs and shipments first but you will get a longer practice and carry advantage. You know what I mean if you ever owned a 120 bass old accordion. Yes new one sound is not that great but people calls vertical electronic keyboard (Roland) an accordion in these days.
Yes, true but a light mechanism means generally low durable. It also depends usage (harsh amateur player) and chance like every other product I guess. I also had some problems with my brand new Hohners. (I bought directly from Turkey general distributor). Bravo came with a stuck bass button, later got released itself but had problems about a year came and gone. I realized I push too much of a same button back to back while practicing (like 180 times a minute), it got heated. Later never happened. Amica snapped a spring about a year later, they all were too tight the repair guy said. I made changed all 12 something. Never had problems both since 5-6 years including intonation. Its a budget and choice problem for sure but can we say a 60 year old accordion will not break? A Ferrari does not go to service? If you change completely the inside while servicing, does it makes a vintage accordion later? Melodeon players mostly play something like a tin can but they are happy.
Sound can differ a lot, depending on acoustics of the room, I work in a 40 m2 saloon without a decent carpet. I m very satisfied with the sound of (my) Amica 4 /120 which I m sensitive to this either. Thats why I bought absolutely new. I ve thought a lot of small details. For example, old Bravo's had a closed grill with tin foil like material. That was thought as a disadvantage for sound but Bravo owners are mostly beginners and they practice scales etc. When this grill is completely removed, it sounded like V8 engine. We are in the back of the sound scope while playing, I was playing in a cocktail hall, people said you play very loud, I even didnt hear what I m playing. Best places are stairs of an apartment or sitting in front of windows without curtains. Satisfaction is a very relative thing though. I realized even your brand (patent differences) is important on what genre of music you are playing. I find my Hohners very elegant and attention to details compared to an old Weltmeister. Balkan regions never use a Hohner, they always prefer Cassotto because that sound suits their music. Amica have shallow keyboard than Bravo, so its very agile to an experienced player, while beginners must be sure what key they are pushing.
