Excelsior Symphony Grand

[Alan Polivka]

I have taken some additional photos of the chamber and interior of the treble side.

If you don't mind, please take a photo of the other side of the foundation plate, where all the key valve pallets sit, so we can see if the foundation plate is wood or metal. Since this side of the foundation plate is covered with leather, I can't tell what it's made of. Thank you, Alan

 

[danp76]

If you don't mind, please take a photo of the other side of the foundation plate, where all the key valve pallets sit, so we can see if the foundation plate is wood or metal. Since this side of the foundation plate is covered with leather, I can't tell what it's made of. Thank you, Alan

It appears to be wood. This accordion will need restoration.

 

[JerryPH]

Fascinating, beautiful workmanship for a piece that needs a bit of work.

 

[debra]

Very interesting to see how they did this construction eons ago. I wonder how easy the register mechanism still works.
The sound board does appear to be wood. That should make for a nice sound (less sharp). I have seen only one wooden soundboard before, and that was in an old Ballone Burini bass accordion. That also had a completely wooden grille (and a nice sound).

 

[danp76]

Very interesting to see how they did this construction eons ago. I wonder how easy the register mechanism still works.
The sound board does appear to be wood. That should make for a nice sound (less sharp). I have seen only one wooden soundboard before, and that was in an old Ballone Burini bass accordion. That also had a completely wooden grille (and a nice sound).

It does have a fairly mellow tone, it doesn’t seem to project and not as loud as my other accordions.

 

[danp76]

It does have a fairly mellow tone, it doesn’t seem to project and not as loud as my other accordions.

I’m wondering how rare it is and if it’s a valuable accordion.

 

[Ventura]

of course it's a valuable accordion

it's a vintage Excelsior

 

[danp76]

of course it's a valuable accordion

it's a vintage Excelsior

I’m wondering how rare and how valuable.

 

[Ventura]

how valuable is still just a matter of condition

all Vintage accordions are somewhat rare compared to, say, old Corvettes or Porsches
of which there were many and well documented..
it's not like there were records kept except in general for most accordions
and even most of those records have been lost

i just don't see where the degree of rareness is a qualtifiable point
as the market is so small since most of us who still play big accordions
and who can afford old classics is constantly shrinking as we age beyond
physical ability or just die off.. how much more than "a lot" would any of us
pay for a nice, obviously rare old Symphony Grand ?

how many would even still pay "a lot"

seems to me most often the unusual/odd ones are mostly considered "rare"
by the musician who owns it and feels lucky to have stumbled into it
once upon a time

how rare does something NEED to be beyond that most of us say
"hey i havn't seen one/many like that before"

 

[debra]

of course it's a valuable accordion

it's a vintage Excelsior

It will be a valuable accordion after considerable effort is put into restoration. It will require new leathers, new felt+leather pallets (a pain on an accordion with cassotto), all new wax, thorough cleaning of everything...

 

[Alan Polivka]

I’m wondering how rare and how valuable.

By far, the best way to determine the value of a used accordion these days is to simply go to Ebay and see what others like it have actually sold for (not their asking price). Ebay brings together the largest number of buyers and sellers in the world in an auction setting, making it the ultimate determiner of market price for a used accordion. The accordion model being discussed here (American-made Excelsior Symphony Grand) is considered by some people (especially in the USA) to be the best accordion ever made. Of course, there are other people with different opinions of the best accordion, such as, Scandalli Super VI and some of the American-made PANcordions.
Even though the Excelsior Symphony Grand is so highly regarded, it typically only brings a couple thousand dollars these days, if in good condition. That is the strange thing about the accordion market these days ... people pay $10,000 - $25,000 for a new accordion of comparable or lesser quality but only a couple thousand for an American-made SG or PAN. Used Super VI accordions tend to bring a bit more, probably due to being more internationally recognized and their history (being design collaboratively just after WWII by some top accordion designers from around the world).
As for its degree of rarity, you won't find many SGs laying around in somebody's attic or in a pawn shop. But, at any one time, you can find a few for sale if you look. I've seen several on Ebay over the years.
From a personal opinion standpoint, I have an Excelsior Symphony Grand, a Symphony model, and several other Excelsiors built in NY back in the "golden age". They are all top quality and I like them all very much. However, I find some others in my collection to be every bit as good, such as: Melodiana Symphony (made by Zero-Sette, with double tone chamber and incredible reeds), Bell (I forget the model number, but it was designed by one of the same people who designed the Super VI and built in the same factory), PANjet (built by Crucianelli with incredible double-riveted reeds), LA Tosca Eldorado, and a few others.

 

[Alan Polivka]

Very interesting to see how they did this construction eons ago. I wonder how easy the register mechanism still works.
The sound board does appear to be wood. That should make for a nice sound (less sharp). I have seen only one wooden soundboard before, and that was in an old Ballone Burini bass accordion. That also had a completely wooden grille (and a nice sound).

It's interesting that you asked about the register mechanism because that particular model was designed to have silent shift action. I'm sure this was very important to Charles Magnante, who used this model accordion for several years on numerous recordings, radio and TV. It is indeed a silent mechanism, with no clicking sound when used. However, it does tend to get gummed up more easily than other more common designs, and requires cleaning when that happens.

 

[danp76]

Some excellent information here guys! I was more or less curious how many were made with the wooden tone chamber, probably hard to know for sure. I see many without a chamber, and with a mute/sardina, or with a metal capped tone chamber. I haven't seen any with all wood construction. Did Excelsior make their own reeds for these accordions? The interior finish certainly isn't as nice as my older Titano's or Pancordions.

 

[Alan Polivka]

Some excellent information here guys! I was more or less curious how many were made with the wooden tone chamber, probably hard to know for sure. I see many without a chamber, and with a mute/sardina, or with a metal capped tone chamber. I haven't seen any with all wood construction. Did Excelsior make their own reeds for these accordions? The interior finish certainly isn't as nice as my older Titano's or Pancordions.

Originally (since the inception of Excelsior in 1924), they made their own reeds for their accordions. However, at some time in the 1950s they might have begun importing reeds from their (then new) facility in Italy. Unfortunately, I don't know if or when they might have shifted to Italian reeds in their US-built accordions. So, your SG (being a 1953 model) might have reeds from Italy or from their US operation. Maybe somebody else on this forum could give you a more definitive answer on that.

 

[danp76]

Originally (since the inception of Excelsior in 1924), they made their own reeds for their accordions. However, at some time in the 1950s they might have begun importing reeds from their (then new) facility in Italy. Unfortunately, I don't know if or when they might have shifted to Italian reeds in their US-built accordions. So, your SG (being a 1953 model) might have reeds from Italy or from their US operation. Maybe somebody else on this forum could give you a more definitive answer on that.

Thank you for the information, I was just curious, I suppose it doesn’t matter, to me it’s interesting knowing the history of them. There’s probably no way to determine how many of these Excelsior’s were equipped with a wooden tone chamber.

 

[debra]

It's interesting that you asked about the register mechanism because that particular model was designed to have silent shift action. I'm sure this was very important to Charles Magnante, who used this model accordion for several years on numerous recordings, radio and TV. It is indeed a silent mechanism, with no clicking sound when used. However, it does tend to get gummed up more easily than other more common designs, and requires cleaning when that happens.

The register mechanism may have been designed to have silent shift action. But I wonder how well it still works after many decades. I wouldn't be surprised if indeed it requires a good cleaning by now.

 

[Walker]

If I were looking to purchase an Excelsior I would want to see two signs:

1. The lightning bolt sign below the Excelsior badge
2. A small coin shaped badge above the bass section saying Citation

 

[danp76]

If I were looking to purchase an Excelsior I would want to see two signs:

1. The lightning bolt sign below the Excelsior badge
2. A small coin shaped badge above the bass section saying Citation

What do those two items indicate, it terms of mechanical differences on the accordion?

 

[Walker]

Well danp76, from a musical perspective, Jack Emblow's old Excelsior Symphony Grand Citation sounded amazing. I've seen a photo, it had the lightning bolt and Citation badge. I guess that's why I like those details . He also had a very nice Art Van Damme mod. 930 with G to C keyboard. Both were marvellous accordions. I've seen Jack Emblow pictured with a Gola too, so he had great taste in boxes!

Is there any significant mechanical difference with yours? Well Dan, I don't know as I'm not a technician (I'd rather practice the accordion than spend time repairing them). On the other hand, as a musician I know a great sounding accordion when I hear one. Have you made any sound clips of your Excelsior accordion so we can hear it's tone quality?​

I don't know how the Excelsior compares with your Titano's or AM1100... What do you say Dan? I think it would be marvellous to get hands on with a vintage 41 key Titano Royal converter. That would be pretty awesome, and about as close as anyone is ever likely to get to Galliano's 1960s Victoria. That said, there are still some good new accordions, I have recently been listening to a Zero Sette (160 bass) concert accordion. What a tone! I don't know how they distribute the melody bass reeds on those accordions, but the result is so rich and consistent across the range of notes.

 

[danp76]

Well danp76, from a musical perspective, Jack Emblow's old Excelsior Symphony Grand Citation sounded amazing. I've seen a photo, it had the lightning bolt and Citation badge. I guess that's why I like those details . He also had a very nice Art Van Damme mod. 930 with G to C keyboard. Both were marvellous accordions. I've seen Jack Emblow pictured with a Gola too, so he had great taste in boxes!

Is there any significant mechanical difference with yours? Well Dan, I don't know as I'm not a technician (I'd rather practice the accordion than spend time repairing them). On the other hand, as a musician I know a great sounding accordion when I hear one. Have you made any sound clips of your Excelsior accordion so we can hear it's tone quality?​

I don't know how the Excelsior compares with your Titano's or AM1100... What do you say Dan? I think it would be marvellous to get hands on with a vintage 41 key Titano Royal converter. That would be pretty awesome, and about as close as anyone is ever likely to get to Galliano's 1960s Victoria. That said, there are still some good new accordions, I have recently been listening to a Zero Sette (160 bass) concert accordion. What a tone! I don't know how they distribute the melody bass reeds on those accordions, but the result is so rich and consistent across the range of notes.

I believe the lightning bolt indicates that it’s equipped with amplification and the citation emblem I think had something to do with an award Excelsior received, but I’m not positive. My new accordions sound good too, just different. This Excelsior will need attention and overhauling/tuning before a fair assessment in tone quality can be established.