N697DT
Newbie
My mother had two accordions that she probably purchased in the early 1950's. They are both in excellent condition, but I don't know much about them. Can anybody tell anything by the attached pictures? They both have a case as well.
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Inherited 2 Accordions
- Thread starter N697DT
- Start date
Ventura
Been here for ages!
yes the Roselli is early 50's and is simply too old to still be in
excellent condition. It has waterfall keys which i advise people to avoid
like the plague
it's value is totally dependent upon an internal inspection to find the
reed configuration, and condition of the reeds and valves
however
the cream and blue aluminum model is one of the nice, lightweight and
bold sounding Scandalli's from the 1960's. This one is in LMM reed configuration,
and on these, typically means a sweet sounding Meusette tuning as
well as a strong Deep voice and full sounding master registration.
the condition of these is often dependent on how the rubbers aged..
if they have dried and cracked off (in the Bass section most evident)
if you turn one of these upside down so the buttons point down and
give a gentle shake, if a few become "distended" then some of the
rubbers are gone. tedious to fix, but not difficult to do
sometimes the bellows catch (in the back, you twist it to free or lock)
gets bent out of shape, and the gasket can leak there more easily than
the rest of the bellows edges
these models are a delight to own and play, with nice sound that carries
well and easy key-action and a palm master switch on most of them.
They came in 2 sizes, so measure the width of the piano keyboard
edge to edge and report that on your sale advertisement. The 3/4 size
model is ideal for outdoor strolling, Nursing home gigs, busking..
experienced Accordionists likely know this model has the Scandalli
individual pivot Treble and full drop-out Bass innovations of the time,
which makes them easy to work on and repair. in addition, the Treble
keypads introduced a self-leveling component to accordion-building,
so this nice looking box offered several technological breakthroughs.
many of these were made, they offered a lot of accordion for a better
price at the time, but now would mostly be useful as the handy accordion
you grab and go with for everything you do NOT want to take your
big, heavy Professional accordion out for
excellent condition. It has waterfall keys which i advise people to avoid
like the plague
it's value is totally dependent upon an internal inspection to find the
reed configuration, and condition of the reeds and valves
however
the cream and blue aluminum model is one of the nice, lightweight and
bold sounding Scandalli's from the 1960's. This one is in LMM reed configuration,
and on these, typically means a sweet sounding Meusette tuning as
well as a strong Deep voice and full sounding master registration.
the condition of these is often dependent on how the rubbers aged..
if they have dried and cracked off (in the Bass section most evident)
if you turn one of these upside down so the buttons point down and
give a gentle shake, if a few become "distended" then some of the
rubbers are gone. tedious to fix, but not difficult to do
sometimes the bellows catch (in the back, you twist it to free or lock)
gets bent out of shape, and the gasket can leak there more easily than
the rest of the bellows edges
these models are a delight to own and play, with nice sound that carries
well and easy key-action and a palm master switch on most of them.
They came in 2 sizes, so measure the width of the piano keyboard
edge to edge and report that on your sale advertisement. The 3/4 size
model is ideal for outdoor strolling, Nursing home gigs, busking..
experienced Accordionists likely know this model has the Scandalli
individual pivot Treble and full drop-out Bass innovations of the time,
which makes them easy to work on and repair. in addition, the Treble
keypads introduced a self-leveling component to accordion-building,
so this nice looking box offered several technological breakthroughs.
many of these were made, they offered a lot of accordion for a better
price at the time, but now would mostly be useful as the handy accordion
you grab and go with for everything you do NOT want to take your
big, heavy Professional accordion out for
N697DT
Newbie
Wow. That's all over my head. My extent of music is the radio, besides the time I played a Coronet in 5th grade band at school. lol. Does anybody have any recommendations on how to get rid of them? I'm trying to make space for retirement and pay bills. Thank you for all of your help and information!
Dingo40
Been here for ages!
Surely it's not all bad?
At least, with waterfall keys you're unlikely to ever snag under a key with a finger or shoulder strap (when lifting the accordion out of its case) and thereby bending a key rod out of shape: not like with the keys that came after them?
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Ventura
Been here for ages!
this specific box, you can see the sideways warpage of the keys in general,
and this is indicative of post WW2 waterfall keys (more top, less wood)
and while there are one or two people on here who could actually replace
a broken waterfall keytop successfully, and perhaps even more or less
match the coloration, the labor cost alone for the one keytop would
likely exceed the value of the accordion
overall, a broken waterfall key is the kiss of death, especially as many
plastics from this period are crumbling, having no UV resistance.
pre WW2 as Debra has pointed out, the style was made using Cellulose
thickly cut and allowed to droop, but post WW2 are plastics.
most old accordions need some work, whether major or incrementally,
and as you play one it grows on you. After getting to that point,
then one cracked key and the box is a total loss.. better to avoid these
and grow fond of one you have a prayer of keeping in repair.
and this is indicative of post WW2 waterfall keys (more top, less wood)
and while there are one or two people on here who could actually replace
a broken waterfall keytop successfully, and perhaps even more or less
match the coloration, the labor cost alone for the one keytop would
likely exceed the value of the accordion
overall, a broken waterfall key is the kiss of death, especially as many
plastics from this period are crumbling, having no UV resistance.
pre WW2 as Debra has pointed out, the style was made using Cellulose
thickly cut and allowed to droop, but post WW2 are plastics.
most old accordions need some work, whether major or incrementally,
and as you play one it grows on you. After getting to that point,
then one cracked key and the box is a total loss.. better to avoid these
and grow fond of one you have a prayer of keeping in repair.
I have one accordion with waterfall keys, and see nothing wrong with it and it is indeed a fairly old accordion, but it works!
Mine was made somewhere between 1953-1957 as that is the complete time they were in production. I'd not want to replace any key(s) though!
Mine was made somewhere between 1953-1957 as that is the complete time they were in production. I'd not want to replace any key(s) though!
Thomas N
Well-known member
Jerry, do you own any accordions that don't look meticulously well-cared for and restored?I have one accordion with waterfall keys, and see nothing wrong with it and it is indeed a fairly old accordion, but it works!
Mine was made somewhere between 1953-1957 as that is the complete time they were in production. I'd not want to replace any key(s) though!
Haha... YES! The Paolo Soprani Italia is misssing reed blocks and reeds!
But it will look better and work one day soon.
Dingo40
Been here for ages!
Enrico Roselli appears to have been quite a productive manufacturer:
Here is a similar one of their products:
Here is a similar one of their products:
N697DT
Newbie
So, it sounds like they are not unique and worth much money, especially if I had to ship them. Anybody have any idea what I could do with them?
Dingo40
Been here for ages!
You could advertise in your local paper, newsletter, Facebook, eBay, Gumtree, community notice board, here, or simply go to your local pawnbroker.
From what I've read here, try advertising in your local Latino/Mexican community.
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Ventura
Been here for ages!
craigslist ask a couple hundred for both then
Salvation Army or Goodwill if no-one buys 'em
Salvation Army or Goodwill if no-one buys 'em
Play them!
Ikesaccordions
Active member
It looks too recent to have the grommets in the bass go bad, but it all comes out in one piece, so if they are brittle, I would break them off and cut little rings of electronic heat-shrink tubing.
Ikesaccordions
Active member
Technically 3/4 is not a size but refers to 3 sets of treble and 4 sets of bass reeds.
Ikesaccordions
Active member
I'm not convinced that "Enrico Roselli" whoever he was, was alive when so many of his accordions were made. It's an importers mark, probably.
foxcorner
Newbie
That looks like my first accordion - a Hohner Arietta 1M! I gave it to my daughter last year. I bought it used on the day after she was born, so it seemed fitting she should get it.I have one accordion with waterfall keys, and see nothing wrong with it and it is indeed a fairly old accordion, but it works!
Mine was made somewhere between 1953-1957 as that is the complete time they were in production. I'd not want to replace any key(s) though!
What a joyful instrument to play - a simple, light student accordion, but with such a lively sound!
It's close to but not an Arietta and both of ours are made around the same time. Mine is a C-system free bass and has dry tuning, the Arietta had a nice wet sound. They definitely are cousins, though!.
