I got this bad boy today!

[breezybellows]

Hello Joseph and congratulations on this beautiful new accordion.
In a recent post you compared your accordions and rated your Petosa Artista Proxt as your top accordion. How does the Grand Cathedral compare in regard to keyboard action, responsiveness, etc.

They're very different Accordions. The cathedral has a more powerful sound. There is also a wide variety of sounds. The reeds have a booming resonance. Reed response is comparable. But it's huge and I'm still getting used to the size.

The Artista keyboard feels quieter and the ergonomics are better. But it's like comparing a land cruiser with a 911. I wish there was a converter that had the dimensions of the Artista and also the tone and options available in the cathedral. Unfortunately, Laws of physics get in the way.

 

[C Woj]

I really enjoy the dimensions and weight of my Petosa AM1050. I never knew i was playing the wrong size accordion for the past 40+ years. I just recently found this out. Better late than never...

 

[Pipemajor]

I work in wine

So Heaven does really exist?

 

[Tom]

So Heaven does really exist?

I work in accordions, but don’t make enough to drink “good” wine.

 

[Jaime_Dergut]

This is a problem. The people with the major knowledge are old.

And they are not passing their knowledge at all.

My mentor, Jerry King, is an expert accordion repairman and virtuoso accordionist, but he has not written anything about his experience about accordion repair, and he is around his 80s.

He was kind enough to show me some of his secrets at repairing, however.

I hope to get a masterclass in accordion repair soon. A World of Accordions museum has such a class coming this year, and I heard from Master Debra that Victoria accordions has an academy for accordion repair. Promising possibilities.

 

[Tom]

And they are not passing their knowledge at all.

My mentor, Jerry King, is an expert accordion repairman and virtuoso accordionist, but he has not written anything about his experience about accordion repair, and he is around his 80s.

He was kind enough to show me some of his secrets at repairing, however.

I hope to get a masterclass in accordion repair soon. A World of Accordions museum has such a class coming this year, and I heard from Master Debra that Victoria accordions has an academy for accordion repair. Promising possibilities.

Unfortunately the info is sparse. What have you heard regarding this year’s offerings at WOA? I would consider, say, a week long class. Unfortunately the seminars info on their website is from 2015.

 

[saundersbp]

And they are not passing their knowledge at all.

This is a shame as that knowledge risks being totally lost. Is it the case that there is resistance to passing on knowledge (surely not!)? Or might it be that there isn't an attractive apprenticeship in US to attract young people?

 

[Tom]

This is a shame as that knowledge risks being totally lost. Is it the case that there is resistance to passing on knowledge (surely not!)? Or might it be that there isn't an attractive apprenticeship in US to attract young people?

The only “real” repairer (Jerry S.) that I got to know well was very happy to demonstrate and explain his techniques. I don’t think we can make a blanket statement about “all of them.” I have not heard of any apprenticeship programs, but I think a young person could try to learn by starting entry level at a place like Liberty Bellows or Petosa. I did talk to one person who was learning by working for Dr. Helmi at World of Accordions. Which, incidentally would be the only analog to Accordion Craft Academy assuming her seminars are still ongoing.

 

[Xiane]

The only “real” repairer (Jerry S.) that I got to know well was very happy to demonstrate and explain his techniques. I don’t think we can make a blanket statement about “all of them.” I have not heard of any apprenticeship programs, but I think a young person could try to learn by starting entry level at a place like Liberty Bellows or Petosa. I did talk to one person who was learning by working for Dr. Helmi at World of Accordions. Which, incidentally would be the only analog to Accordion Craft Academy assuming her seminars are still ongoing.

There's a fellow in Portland who was certified in Castelfidardo. I haven't yet had him repair anything, but he did look over the accordion I bought for me. But there's not really a store here.

Maybe there should be a site for pooling accordion repair resources and knowledge? Accordion revival is amazing in its information, and also amazing as sort of web relic circa about 2005.

 

[breezybellows]

The only “real” repairer (Jerry S.) that I got to know well was very happy to demonstrate and explain his techniques. I don’t think we can make a blanket statement about “all of them.” I have not heard of any apprenticeship programs, but I think a young person could try to learn by starting entry level at a place like Liberty Bellows or Petosa. I did talk to one person who was learning by working for Dr. Helmi at World of Accordions. Which, incidentally would be the only analog to Accordion Craft Academy assuming her seminars are still ongoing.

I took an apprenticeship with a local repair shop in San Jose (Valdet Jakubovic). After that I practiced by buying junk student grade accordions and fully restored them (redo Bellows tape, fix corners, replace gasket, replace all red leathers, tune reeds, pull out keys and replace felt under the pallets, disassemble bass machine to replace bass pallet felt, install felt under keyboard).

In the process I destroyed a few Accordions in the beginning. I did completely restore about 3 of them. But it took about 100 hours for each Accordion. I couldn't practice playing the accordion at all.

timelapse Accordion Keyboard repair #shorts

This keyboard was a rattle! Too noisy. So I stopped it down. Found a whole lot of mess collected from over the years. Vacuumed it. Added felt under the keys....

youtube.com

 

[Ffingers]

The concept of apprenticeships seems to have got lost somewhere in the mists of time and the onslaught of popularism in its present day extremes, where being interested in anything other than the 'meme' of the moment is social suicide, have resulted in much inherent talent being ignored in practical trades of all kinds:
It's so much better to be a 'Barista' at a fancy coffee shop or to be an on-line "influencer" than to be someone who actually does practical things.

 

[Xiane]

The concept of apprenticeships seems to have got lost somewhere in the mists of time and the onslaught of popularism in its present day extremes, where being interested in anything other than the 'meme' of the moment is social suicide, have resulted in much inherent talent being ignored in practical trades of all kinds:
It's so much better to be a 'Barista' at a fancy coffee shop or to be an on-line "influencer" than to be someone who actually does practical things.

Welll, a fair few trades in the USA do still have apprenticeships, electricians for instance. Right now in a lot of trades there's such a shortage of young workers that you'll be paid pretty well to train, and then make decent money once you're a journey-person

 

[Zevy]

A World of Accordions museum has such a class coming this year

That’s where I would go - if I had a few weeks to spare!

 

[Ffingers]

Welll, a fair few trades in the USA do still have apprenticeships, electricians for instance. Right now in a lot of trades there's such a shortage of young workers that you'll be paid pretty well to train, and then make decent money once you're a journey-person

Indeed; I was thinking of it as a reluctance by some young folk to do the “hard yards” of unglamorous training as much as the lack of available education.

 

[Tom]

Welll, a fair few trades in the USA do still have apprenticeships, electricians for instance. Right now in a lot of trades there's such a shortage of young workers that you'll be paid pretty well to train, and then make decent money once you're a journey-person

So true. Try to get a plumber to your house (for something you can’t do yourself) for less than $400. It’s way cheaper to hire an accordionist.

 

[dak]

So true. Try to get a plumber to your house (for something you can’t do yourself) for less than $400. It’s way cheaper to hire an accordionist.

Any ideas on the amount of tremolo needed for unclogging pipes?

 

[Tom]

Any ideas on the amount of tremolo needed for unclogging pipes?

50 cent? I believe he could shake it out…..

 

[Xiane]

So true. Try to get a plumber to your house (for something you can’t do yourself) for less than $400. It’s way cheaper to hire an accordionist.

There have been a number of repair situations where you could have hired an attorney for less, as well. Wouldn't have really fixed it, but I'd have known I was in the right.