Flying on Italian Airways with full size accordion

[Thomas N]

That sounds like a rather extreme amount of money for a tuning job, unless the "other small repairs" are substantial.
Taking accordion repair courses is a very good idea, but don't expect that you can do an expert tuning job after Tier 1 and 2. There is still more to learn about tuning, especially dealing with the very high notes (although your 960 does not have the highest notes). And setting up a repair workshop is also a significant undertaking. You need to stock up on tools and parts because most stuff is not readily available at hardware stores.

I agree with you Paul. I was told it's $1000 because it's a 5/5 configuration and it takes a massive amount of time to perform the tuning. I have no idea if that's fair or not, but with 22 years passing without a tune I thought it might have merit.

I'm not good with household projects. I can build a computer from scratch and love messing with all the software and settings but mechanical things and me do not get along well. I think if I meticulously follow class examples and learn I could become - mediocre at best.

But I'm at an age where undertaking something like this seems worthwhile, and dare I say it - fun. Being able to fix small annoying things on my accordion, or tuning an obviously out of tune reed block would be a bonus.

The price of the actual classes does not seem prohibitive, and I looked at hotels and AirBnB's in the area and they are, of course, nothing like Venice, Florence or Rome prices. And my wife really wants to enjoy a different, slower part of Italy.

The Excelsiola 930 I would bring is apparently very tricky to tune with two reeds that must be perfectly synced in order to not provide a tremolo effect. And it has a host of small niggling problems. I see the trip as a win, win, win.

 

[debra]

I agree with you Paul. I was told it's $1000 because it's a 5/5 configuration and it takes a massive amount of time to perform the tuning. I have no idea if that's fair or not, but with 22 years passing without a tune I thought it might have merit.
...

Any accordion that has gone over 20 years without being tuned is a lot of work to tune. Personally I don't mind tuning 5/5 accordions and don't find that it takes a massive amount of time, but I have had a lot of practice tuning accordions by now. And I am not really keeping track of how much time it takes because I'm retired and took the courses and perform repairs and tuning mostly for fun. (Of course I try do do a perfect job, but it helps that I don't have to earn a living doing accordion repairs.)

 

[Siegmund]

The class director said we'd be stopping at a supplier called Carini on one of the days, it's a place I've heard and read about on this site in the past but I don't know what it actually is. For someone who has absolutely no tools whatsoever, any suggestions on what to bring home? I'm thinking: wax, leathers, bellow gasket line, some kinda tools....?

Carini is like a big hardware store, but instead of general-purpose hardware, there are bins with every kind of screw and clamp and rod you use to build an accordion. Replacement register-switch tops and key tops and button tops in a dozen different sizes and shapes and colors. Pre-cut leathers and springs in all the standard sizes.

In your class you will be given a few basic tools, and given suggestions for a few more you should buy at first chance.

There are a few hazards:
There are no price tags. You have to take it to the counter and have it scanned.
There are no signs to help you find things, and the labels on the items are Italian only.
If you buy in-person you will pay the european VAT (22% sales tax); if you mail order from Carini you won't pay the VAT but you will pay very high shipping cost - so this might be close to a wash.
Everything at Carini is (very) expensive. For instance you might want a set of small rasps, for tuning and for shaping other small parts. These are $6.99 at Harbor Freight, $10 or $15 at your local Ace Hardware, $25 at a European hardware store, and over $50 at Carini. I suggest anything you can buy at home (wax, screwdrivers, torsion springs, sheets of felt), buy at home. If you see a book you like in their display case, write down its name and order it from a book dealer. At Carini concentrate on things you know you need but cannot get anywhere else, like bellows gaskets, sets of leathers and springs, or a particular spare part you need if you have something broken on an instrument you own.

Here's a peek inside the store from when I was there last year.
This is one half of the sales floor (and most of the people in the pic are my classmates from Tier I):



Here's a look at a few of the shelves:
Need to replace your grille? Here you go.




You really don't want to ever have to bend the shaft of a new key to make it fit your piano keyboard, but if you're a glutton for punishment, here is a bagful of tasti=keys:


New celluloid by the square meter (you only want tiny scraps for repairs, this is if you are buying enough to cover a brand new accordion, the factories have big tubs of acetone to soften the whole sheet so they can bend it around the case)


Serramantici = bellows clasps. Know whether you want leather or metal, what diameter the buttons on the clasp are, and how far apart the two sides are.

 

[Siegmund]

The price of the actual classes does not seem prohibitive, and I looked at hotels and AirBnB's in the area and they are, of course, nothing like Venice, Florence or Rome prices. And my wife really wants to enjoy a different, slower part of Italy.

Non-tourist-trap Italy is shockingly affordable. I spent about half as much per day visiting Italy as I would on a trip across the United States. The rental car was a price I hadn't seen since the 1990s. This has been a big factor in my deciding to go back for Tiers 3 and 4 next year, and staying longer before and after to sightsee.

She may be hard pressed to amuse herself for two weeks in and around Castelfidardo/Ancona, but there is certainly history and scenery everywhere.

 

[Thomas N]

Non-tourist-trap Italy is shockingly affordable. I spent about half as much per day visiting Italy as I would on a trip across the United States. The rental car was a price I hadn't seen since the 1990s. This has been a big factor in my deciding to go back for Tiers 3 and 4 next year, and staying longer before and after to sightsee.

She may be hard pressed to amuse herself for two weeks in and around Castelfidardo/Ancona, but there is certainly history and scenery everywhere.

Thank you for this information. My wife can spend two full days in any European grocery store! She loves seeing new things. Good to know about renting a car as well. I had no idea it was relatively cheap.

 

[PeterF]

Thanks for the input everyone. I've decided to not bring an accordion along to avoid potential airline hassle, checked baggage and lugging extra gear. I did find that a short scale (16") box would fit within the airline requirements, however my plan is to go light and have room in my bags to bring back accordion repair items. The class director said we'd be stopping at a supplier called Carini on one of the days, it's a place I've heard and read about on this site in the past but I don't know what it actually is. For someone who has absolutely no tools whatsoever, any suggestions on what to bring home? I'm thinking: wax, leathers, bellow gasket line, some kinda tools....?

Carini is an accordion parts/tools store. I was there with an accordion tour group earlier this month in their fairly new building. It's large (though not endless) and has a vast supply of parts and tools. Definitely worth a visit and a budding repair person could go pretty nuts in there. Certainly there's no place in the US I know of that you can walk into with the same selection. Prices are fair, if not cheap. I believe you can shop there in person and then have them ship everything home if you don't want to carry it all. They had enough English to conduct transactions.

The founder chatted with me in Italian for a good 10 minutes, blithely ignoring the fact that my Italian is non-existent and I was only getting about 1 word in 10. Still he was a charming character and we communicated on some level.

 

[maddogdom]

I'm taking the Accordion Craft Academy's Tier 1 class, I'm flying out to Castelfidardo next week from Minnesota, USA. I'm bringing a full size 41/120 perhaps 1940's-ish Excelsior NY accordion along to work on. I talked to Joey Petosa who said most artists he knows of use soft bags when flying, so I bought one. Looking online it appears there might be some leniency being that it's a musical instrument, but also that Italian Airways are strict with weights and measures. Has anyone flown with this airline, and what was your experience? Also, when taking Tier 1 class, is it worth it to stay and take Tier 2 as it starts shortly after? Thanks

I regard my accordion as my baby.ive 6 kids and would never have travelled with them in overhead lockers,nor leave them to the mercy of baggage"handlers"best of luck.if I travel with my hohner verdi V,it will be getting its own seat(probably in first class.lol.ill sir up the back with the commoners.stay safe and lucky.dominic.west cork,ireland

 

[Whasanike]

I had to work on a new accordion someone bought in Castelfidardo, that customs had pried into the bass section looking for contraband.
As for flying, if it goes through baggage it will get fractured.
What I tell people, and what I would do, is take the treble keyboard casing off and carefully save any bellows frame pins. Wrap both halves in heavy bubble wrap and put it in a big box. It can be shipped separately or maybe handled in baggage, if the container is allowed in baggage.
If you are worried about it being searched in customs, disassemble it further.

 

[Siegmund]

I'm taking the Accordion Craft Academy's Tier 1 class, I'm flying out to Castelfidardo next week...

...and Elke has just posted his graduation photo. Congratulations!

 

[debra]

Carini is great for very specific accordion parts and tools. They also have more generic parts you would expect to find in a hardware store, but at least around it is quite disappointing how little a general hardware store has to offer that looks generic but in fact isn't. (The scratchers for instance that Carini sells i have not found anywhere else, and this is a problem as they are sometimes not in stock for a long time at Carini.)
Be careful with what you buy: when flying, check what is allowed on the plane in general and make sure you do not put any sharp objects (like files and scratchers) in your carry-on. (Some stuff I bought in Castelfidardo would be completely illegal, like bottles of acetone, and some would be illegal in carry-on, like scratchers. Luckily I was just driving and could carry everything without any problems.)

 

[Ryan C Cihlar]

This is from the thread starter: The trip was great, a couple days in Rome up top, a week in Castelfidardo and then Rome and home again. Not bringing the accordion was a good idea for me as I like to travel light because I enjoy walking through Rome and boppin' out of planes easy breezy. Having an instrument to carry would've been extra work for what Tier 1 really requires. However some students did benefit from bringing theirs so it's not at all a bad idea. I think it would've been alright to bring the instrument as I didn't experience any strict baggage controls, although I have experienced persnickety gate workers in the past in Italy. I flew a combo of Delta and Italian Airways. The Tier 1 class was fun for my beginner self and I learned a lot. Making new friends was easy to do and we had some nice time to hang. Carini was closed as they experiened a power outage so I guess I'll be looking at buying some wax and tools at Deffner or having to order it online and have it shipped from Carini. I've wanted to be in Europe for reasons other than being the sightseeing tourist consumer type, and this class gave a sense of that. I'm planning on going back for Tier 2 in March and I'm looking forward to it. Castelfidardo in November is quiet, which I love. Not many places were open for dinner during the week but they can be found with the power of the internet. I appreciate what Elke (the instructor and founder of the organization) is doing, who else in the world is doing this? It's important this class exists as the few guys that I've hired to work on my instruments in the midwest USA have mentioned wanting to get out eventually. Thanks to you guys for the input in this thread!

 

[Tom]

This is from the thread starter: The trip was great, a couple days in Rome up top, a week in Castelfidardo and then Rome and home again. Not bringing the accordion was a good idea for me as I like to travel light because I enjoy walking through Rome and boppin' out of planes easy breezy. Having an instrument to carry would've been extra work for what Tier 1 really requires. However some students did benefit from bringing theirs so it's not at all a bad idea. I think it would've been alright to bring the instrument as I didn't experience any strict baggage controls, although I have experienced persnickety gate workers in the past in Italy. I flew a combo of Delta and Italian Airways. The Tier 1 class was fun for my beginner self and I learned a lot. Making new friends was easy to do and we had some nice time to hang. Carini was closed as they experiened a power outage so I guess I'll be looking at buying some wax and tools at Deffner or having to order it online and have it shipped from Carini. I've wanted to be in Europe for reasons other than being the sightseeing tourist consumer type, and this class gave a sense of that. I'm planning on going back for Tier 2 in March and I'm looking forward to it. Castelfidardo in November is quiet, which I love. Not many places were open for dinner during the week but they can be found with the power of the internet. I appreciate what Elke (the instructor and founder of the organization) is doing, who else in the world is doing this? It's important this class exists as the few guys that I've hired to work on my instruments in the midwest USA have mentioned wanting to get out eventually. Thanks to you guys for the input in this thread!

That’s great to hear Ryan. I hope it goes well for you and you’re able to start a much needed repair spot in the Cities. When and if my accordions go south I’ll have another option, thanks. You can always ask Henry for advice too.

 

[Thomas N]

This is from the thread starter: The trip was great, a couple days in Rome up top, a week in Castelfidardo and then Rome and home again. Not bringing the accordion was a good idea for me as I like to travel light because I enjoy walking through Rome and boppin' out of planes easy breezy. Having an instrument to carry would've been extra work for what Tier 1 really requires. However some students did benefit from bringing theirs so it's not at all a bad idea. I think it would've been alright to bring the instrument as I didn't experience any strict baggage controls, although I have experienced persnickety gate workers in the past in Italy. I flew a combo of Delta and Italian Airways. The Tier 1 class was fun for my beginner self and I learned a lot. Making new friends was easy to do and we had some nice time to hang. Carini was closed as they experiened a power outage so I guess I'll be looking at buying some wax and tools at Deffner or having to order it online and have it shipped from Carini. I've wanted to be in Europe for reasons other than being the sightseeing tourist consumer type, and this class gave a sense of that. I'm planning on going back for Tier 2 in March and I'm looking forward to it. Castelfidardo in November is quiet, which I love. Not many places were open for dinner during the week but they can be found with the power of the internet. I appreciate what Elke (the instructor and founder of the organization) is doing, who else in the world is doing this? It's important this class exists as the few guys that I've hired to work on my instruments in the midwest USA have mentioned wanting to get out eventually. Thanks to you guys for the input in this thread!

Ryan - Thank you for this report! I am seriously planning to do Tier 1 and then Tier 2 in March of 2025. I will bring along my 1980's Excelsior 930 Van Damme which is in need of many repairs. I'll have my wife with me and she's quite self-sufficient at keeping busy when I'm not with her.

I am very concerned about bringing along the accordion. I guess my only option is to buy one of those split-cases and put it in the overhead. The trip over doesn't concern me because the accordion is in poor shape, but after repairs and tuning I sure would hate for Customs to tear through it. I personally have had a bad experience with Italian Customs, as somebody mentioned earlier in the thread. Last April, while departing Naples we bought some candy in the airport gift shop, around $15 Euros, and it was in the airport gift shop bag. We had Global Entry and went into the very short line. The older guy at the checkpoint asked me if there was anything we bought and needed to declare and I told him no. I was thinking expensive leather goods, watches, fine china, etc. He asked "What's that in that bag there?". I told him we bought some candy at the gift shop. He said "Why didn't you tell me that? I could have your Global Entry revoked for that." Then he called another agent over and they separated my wife and me and took me to the back and went through everything in my backpack. After they found nothing they berated me for not declaring the candy and again told me I was fortunate not to have my Global Entry revoked. The ordeal took about 20 minutes and when I was walking out of the secured back area there was a woman from New York there and I asked her what she did wrong. She said she had a banana in her carry-on she had bought and she didn't declare that she had purchased food. Lesson learned. We'll never buy something in an Italian airport again and declare a Tic-Tac if we have one!

So I could definitely see them tearing through my accordion.

I may reach out to you for any advice you can offer to make the trip or class easier. I really appreciate you posting your thoughts.

 

[Random Johnny]

How convenient do you thing that softbag is?

The only ones I know are being sold by Petosa and Liberty bellows:

Petosa bag

Liberty Bellows bag

They are kind of expensive, but certainly not as expensive as a second seat, or a broken accordion.

Soundwear: for Keyboard & Accordion

www.soundwear.com

premium quality bag