Dallapé... it's tempting!
- Thread starter oldbayan
- Start date
Dingo40
Been here for ages!
Just a word of caution:
Our member Ffingers bought a similar model (by a different maker), also a 6-row B-griff, only to find it almost impossibly heavy to play for any length of time and has been forced into supplementing his collection with a lighter instrument.
In the words of an old adage, you can have too much of a good thing, excellent though it may be of itself.
Just saying!
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First of all, it's Dallapè, not Dallapé. (Nitpicking here.) Then, the 6 row B-griff is a "flat" B-griff, not a stepped keyboard. It takes a bit of getting used to.
Heavy accordions are becoming more and more a hard sell. The move is towards lighter accordions. So no wonder the seller is having trouble finding a buyer. And then there is the issue that there are accordions labeled Dallapè or Guerrini that were not only made for Balkan countries but also in Balkan countries, with or without permission from Dallapè ie Guerrini. And since this accordion is a Balkan model (that's what the 6-row flat B-system is for) it is always a little bit suspect.
Heavy accordions are becoming more and more a hard sell. The move is towards lighter accordions. So no wonder the seller is having trouble finding a buyer. And then there is the issue that there are accordions labeled Dallapè or Guerrini that were not only made for Balkan countries but also in Balkan countries, with or without permission from Dallapè ie Guerrini. And since this accordion is a Balkan model (that's what the 6-row flat B-system is for) it is always a little bit suspect.
The highly marketable and "respected" name of Dallape seems to have been pasted on many many instruments over scores of years- it doesn't surprise me at all that many are unauthorised uses. The makers of the suspect instuments, if pressed, would probably assert they really meant "in the spirit of Dallape."
Not overly conversant with how to summon up assorted pronunciation markings on my dinosaur desktop you may note that I sidestepped the accent issue by skipping it. (Same thing I do on overly ornate/complex turns and grace notes on classical flute pieces when sight reading...!) I note that - while I surely believe you to be correct- that https://www.dallape-accordions.com/history.htm has it both ways! The incorrect tilt outnumbers the correct one three to one!
Another caveat emptor moment for internet information accuracy.
(To oldbayan; your back may well be stronger than mine but once accordions hit over thirty pounds without straps I get a bit leery. As to the Dallape/not Dallape aspect- after at least a half century what counts is how it feels and sounds at this point rather than what it has on it for branding. This assumes it's for playing, not for reselling/investing)
Not overly conversant with how to summon up assorted pronunciation markings on my dinosaur desktop you may note that I sidestepped the accent issue by skipping it. (Same thing I do on overly ornate/complex turns and grace notes on classical flute pieces when sight reading...!) I note that - while I surely believe you to be correct- that https://www.dallape-accordions.com/history.htm has it both ways! The incorrect tilt outnumbers the correct one three to one!
Another caveat emptor moment for internet information accuracy.
(To oldbayan; your back may well be stronger than mine but once accordions hit over thirty pounds without straps I get a bit leery. As to the Dallape/not Dallape aspect- after at least a half century what counts is how it feels and sounds at this point rather than what it has on it for branding. This assumes it's for playing, not for reselling/investing)
Thanks all for your feedback! We all know the old joke about famous guitars: "Gibson only made 300 Les Pauls in 1957, and today only 500 survived". Some Japanese copies of American guitars were better than the originals. But that's another story.
Was "Super-Maxima" a legitimate model? We do not see it listed in the defunct web site https://www.dallape-accordions.com. The section on Balkan models only lists Supermaestro and Organtone.
I never heard of a "Super-Maxima" model before. When we look it up we have references to a few YouTube videos playing them, or links to the Liberty Bellows store, but are they "real" Dallapè instruments? This one that I found for sale is lavishly decorated, unlike all Dallapè instruments I have seen, which use a conventional black body. Also the "Special Model" inscription and the blue bird look very suspicious!
Was "Super-Maxima" a legitimate model? We do not see it listed in the defunct web site https://www.dallape-accordions.com. The section on Balkan models only lists Supermaestro and Organtone.
I never heard of a "Super-Maxima" model before. When we look it up we have references to a few YouTube videos playing them, or links to the Liberty Bellows store, but are they "real" Dallapè instruments? This one that I found for sale is lavishly decorated, unlike all Dallapè instruments I have seen, which use a conventional black body. Also the "Special Model" inscription and the blue bird look very suspicious!
That site is created by "Accordions Worldwide", not by Dallapè. The name should at least be spelled correctly in the lettering of any real Dallapè accordion. (I have noticed that Italians themselves pay little attention to the direction of accents in their writing, unlike the French.)
Dingo40
Been here for ages!
Paul, your assertion has truly surprised me, as I can't remember ever seeing the accent sloped this way regarding this name.
I spent some time searching the D- instruments for sale online to see what the logos bore on them and didn't see any support for your suggestions .
I did come across this (amongst others).
Mariano Dallapé and the fascinating journey of his fisarmonica | L'Italo-Americano – Italian American bilingual news source
“In Italy the most important person who, thanks to his genial intuition, managed to change the archaic organetto into the more powerful and complex accordion instrument, the fisarmonica…
italoamericano.org
It's a mystery to me !?
Just in case we ever find out what it's supposed to be (from the web):
"(I’m just gonna do all the accents so that this can be useful to more people)
The é (accent aigu) is only ever found on the letter e, and turns it into an “ey” sound in places you wouldn’t otherwise expect it to be an “ey” sound.
The accent grave can be found on the letters à, è and ù. It has two functions- on the e, it turns an e into an “eh” sound in places you wouldn’t otherwise expect it to be an “eh” sound. On a and u, it distinguished homographs (words that are otherwise spelled the same). For example, consider “a” (has) and à (to/at), or “la” (the [feminine]) and là (there). On the u, it is only found in one word in the entire French language, and that’s “où” (where). This is to distinguish it from “ou” (or)."
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Dingo40
Been here for ages!
But then there's this which suggests a Scottish connection ?
Perhaps our member, Walker, can enlighten us?
www.houseofnames.com
Perhaps our member, Walker, can enlighten us?
Dallape Name Meaning, Family History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
View the Dallape surname, family crest and coat of arms. Discover the Dallape family history for the Scottish Origin. What is the origin of the name Dallape?
www.houseofnames.com
Do a Google image search for "accordion dallape" and you will see how Dallapè is written on each accordion.
Here are just a few:
Here are just a few:
And here is a long video about the Dallapè accordion factory:
Dingo40
Been here for ages!
Amazing!
I somehow managed to miss it!
Thanks!
I somehow managed to miss it!
Thanks!
Walker
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Thank you for sharing such an impressive Dallapè. The grey pearloid celluloid is striking... I really like it! I think it's a custom order produced by the great Dallapè factory of Stradella. This looks like a high quality instrument to me and it has certain finishings that, I would say, look like consistent signature features on many Dallapè accordions of this era... Notice the style of feet, the style of writing the treble coupler instrument names and importantly with their corresponding glyphs on continuous lines - in the style of a long music staff. Notice the correct Dallapè badge and the appropriate metal bass couplers and model name where it would correctly appear. I can see nothing in these photo's that would suggest the instrument in anything other than genuine. It would be awesome to see inside the accordion too... but really perhaps the best way to know that this is the real deal is to actually play the accordion. If it sounds totally gorgeous... it's a Dallapè.
BTW: it would be interesting to find out the name that's written on the grille in Swarovski crystal beneath the Balkan eagle. Could this be the name of its original owner?
BTW: it would be interesting to find out the name that's written on the grille in Swarovski crystal beneath the Balkan eagle. Could this be the name of its original owner?
It would be awesome to see inside the accordion too... but really perhaps the best way to know that this is the real deal is to actually play the accordion. If it sounds totally gorgeous... it's a Dallapè.
Attachments
Walker
🪗
The treble reed blocks are clearly stamped Dallapè and appear to be crafted from very nice wood. The reeds are waxed and nailed in place, which suggests to me the treble reed blocks are made of a hardwood like maple or maybe alder, rather than red spruce. Beautiful piece of mahogany for the cassotto. Again, in the treble picture, the way the light is falling on the reeds suggests they might be "bombata". I think some reeds might even be stamped with a makers name...
The accordion appears to have a five voice treble and six voice bass, which is nice... I guess that's why it's a Supermaxima. It's not a great bass photo, so it's difficult to gather as much info. Appears to have leather valves throughout, including a few curly ones... but hey you can't have everything.
Beautiful accordion.
The accordion appears to have a five voice treble and six voice bass, which is nice... I guess that's why it's a Supermaxima. It's not a great bass photo, so it's difficult to gather as much info. Appears to have leather valves throughout, including a few curly ones... but hey you can't have everything.
Beautiful accordion.
The seller says it's SLAVONKA which is the place where the original owner comes from. The accordion was custom made.
Not according to its webpage.
I don't think that's their official page?
Having checked out more dallape photos, all their reeds seem to have flat tops - this style of hand-riveting is a lot more common to German & Eastern European school. Italians usually like to dome their rivets. I wonder if their reedmaking tradition is rooted in the east, which might explain why their dry timbre is so sweet.
Having checked out more dallape photos, all their reeds seem to have flat tops - this style of hand-riveting is a lot more common to German & Eastern European school. Italians usually like to dome their rivets. I wonder if their reedmaking tradition is rooted in the east, which might explain why their dry timbre is so sweet.
Dingo40
Been here for ages!