New accordion - buying advice

[neilson]

I fully second Ventura's message: take a vacation near Castelfidardo and make appointments to visit several factories and try instruments. Hotel Parco is indeed a good place to stay. It's in the spot where the Crucianelli factory used to be (burned down in the early 70's).
Good quality new accordions (full size 4 voice, cassotto, 41/120, no melody bass) will set you back roughly anywhere between about 7.000 and 12.000. Accordions have become more and more expensive at a rate that exceeds inflation. A good place to compare accordions closer to you was the Frankfurter Musikmesse, but alas this has not survived the Covid shutdown period.
You won't find an Excelsior factory as this company was absorbed by Pigini. (That also brought down the Hohner Morino line as the N and S series were made by Excelsior. Newer Morino's were made by Pigini and just were not the same.) You will see that Bugari and Zero Sette are in fact the same factory. There are other factories that make several brands that were at some point in term independent. Victoria is worth a look, bang in the center of the town. And you must visit Beltuna as this is undoubtedly the most innovative accordion maker. They are also possibly the most expensive.
There are several more small accordion builders which you can find just by following sign posts you find along the streets.
The museum is nice to see many very old instruments, but you cannot try any of them. (They just have two recent accordions to try.)
If you want to find something for less than 5.000 you will only be disappointed when you look at new instruments. You can get good used accordions for under 5.000 but to find them Castelfidardo is not the place to be any more than anywhere else...

Jerry askes the right question, because it comes down to getting the best new accordion for YOUR budget.

But, really, it doesn't matter because the most important thing is to have the right hat for the style of music you intend to play....

beautiful!!! I can see you have visited some great places in Brazil, Tom
I have a Cangaceiro hat as well back at my parents home in Sao Paulo. If you are ever there btw, don't forget to visit "Canto da Ema" (https://www.cantodaema.com.br/pt-br/). Mestrinho plays live forró with his Giulietti there at least once a month.

 

[Tom]

beautiful!!! I can see you have visited some great places in Brazil, Tom
I have a Cangaceiro hat as well back at my parents home in Sao Paulo. If you are ever there btw, don't forget to visit "Canto da Ema" (https://www.cantodaema.com.br/pt-br/). Mestrinho plays live forró with his Giulietti there at least once a month.

Obrigado, Neilson! Yes I am familiar with Canto da Ema, (although visiting Brazil is a dream, not a memory.) Janayna Pereira has several concerts from there on youtube (which I believe I have posted).

I got the cangaceiro from a friend with a Brazilan girlfriend.

I wish you the best of luck with your accordion search! Boa sorte, tchau!

 

[JerryPH]

I was chuckling here... if I went to Italy or Germany, I'd be thinking "accordions".
My first thoughts about Brazil would be going to Rio and spending some time at the Gracie Humaita BJJ school and getting some serious insight from the source for a month or so... LOL

 

[Tom]

I was chuckling here... if I went to Italy or Germany, I'd be thinking "accordions".
My first thoughts about Brazil would be going to Rio and spending some time at the Gracie Humaita BJJ school and getting some serious insight from the source for a month or so... LOL

I understand where you're coming from Jerry, but from my humble opinion, while Germany is big on oktoberfest, and Italy on Castelfidardo, Brazil is huge on contemporary accordion PLAYING, as Neilson could surely attest....

 

[JerryPH]

I understand where you're coming from Jerry, but from my humble opinion, while Germany is big on oktoberfest, and Italy on Castelfidardo, Brazil is huge on contemporary accordion PLAYING, as Neilson could surely attest....

I am sure it is!

 

[neilson]

I understand where you're coming from Jerry, but from my humble opinion, while Germany is big on oktoberfest, and Italy on Castelfidardo, Brazil is huge on contemporary accordion PLAYING, as Neilson could surely attest....

Indeed.

Accordions are so popular in Brazil these days that they’ve been heavily used in those 4-chord-songs (some of them have only two chords) loved by teenagers and young adults (no offense to anyone intended).
However, they have always been popular in several of our regional rhythms like:
Choro or chorinho

,

Forró



and in the south, where the Italian and German immigrants went (Gauchos please feel free to chip in).

Sertanejo, another regional style that became mainstream, has always used it as well.

Jorge e Matteus – (these guys are really popular all over the country) –



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFWKrXxJEdM

Gusttavo Lima

(probably his most famous song)



https://www.youtube.com/shorts/7TAJFNyV7hc

And the kind of stuff university students like:

Tarcisio do Acordeon (he even has the word “acordeon” in his artistic name)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iR1sue7aIRs&t=247s

João Gomes

https://youtu.be/deVm70yarNw?t=223

I guess most of the popularity of the accordion came from another regional rhythm called “piseiro”, which is usually played with an arranger keyboard with a background track and someone using the accordion voice of the instrument to play along. As these artists start to make money, they hire an accordionist to play the real thing in the band. And btw, I'm judging the quality of these songs, as I like playing them as well and it's kind of cool to play them in parties and barbecues, as people love them. And it's also great for beginners, as you can play a popular song everyone will sing and use only 4-chords
And of course, I guess it helps the fact that you can get a cheap accordion in most of the Brazilian retail stores and pay it in installments. The economic factor plays always a role.

 

[Tom]

Indeed.

Accordions are so popular in Brazil these days that they’ve been heavily used in those 4-chord-songs (some of them have only two chords) loved by teenagers and young adults (no offense to anyone intended).
However, they have always been popular in several of our regional rhythms like:
Choro or chorinho

,

Forró



and in the south, where the Italian and German immigrants went (Gauchos please feel free to chip in).

Sertanejo, another regional style that became mainstream, has always used it as well.

Jorge e Matteus – (these guys are really popular all over the country) –



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFWKrXxJEdM

Gusttavo Lima

(probably his most famous song)



https://www.youtube.com/shorts/7TAJFNyV7hc

And the kind of stuff university students like:

Tarcisio do Acordeon (he even has the word “acordeon” in his artistic name)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iR1sue7aIRs&t=247s

João Gomes

https://youtu.be/deVm70yarNw?t=223

I guess most of the popularity of the accordion came from another regional rhythm called “piseiro”, which is usually played with an arranger keyboard with a background track and someone using the accordion voice of the instrument to play along. As these artists start to make money, they hire an accordionist to play the real thing in the band. And btw, I'm judging the quality of these songs, as I like playing them as well and it's kind of cool to play them in parties and barbecues, as people love them. And it's also great for beginners, as you can play a popular song everyone will sing and use only 4-chords
And of course, I guess it helps the fact that you can get a cheap accordion in most of the Brazilian retail stores and pay it in installments. The economic factor plays always a role.

Thanks for this cool overview Neilson!

I'm particularly drawn to the trio style of Pé de Serra Forró, maybe because of the sophisticated rhythm of a seemingly simple arramgement of drum and triangle.

Here, for example is Trio Nordestino at Canta de Ema:

Trio Nordestino no Canto da Ema 2022

m.youtube.com

 

[pitzelberger]

I also would advise you on considering buying an used accordion. I assume all those Brazilians playing Scandallis from the 60s, Giuliettis and the likes also bought them used, since they have not been produced since many centuries. A new accordion of similar quality won’t be sold for 4000€, not even in Castelfidardo.

I however would not advice you on buying from the above mentioned Musik Center. I have not heard much good about their accordions. Akkordeon Centrum Brusch seems to have a local close to Munich and a much better reputation. Another interesting shop in Munich seems to be Akkordeonmania. Have you been to them?

 

[neilson]

I also would advise you on considering buying an used accordion. I assume all those Brazilians playing Scandallis from the 60s, Giuliettis and the likes also bought them used, since they have not been produced since many centuries. A new accordion of similar quality won’t be sold for 4000€, not even in Castelfidardo.

I however would not advice you on buying from the above mentioned Musik Center. I have not heard much good about their accordions. Akkordeon Centrum Brusch seems to have a local close to Munich and a much better reputation. Another interesting shop in Munich seems to be Akkordeonmania. Have you been to them?

I didn’t know about these places. Thanks a lot for the recommendation!
Yeah, after learning a bit more about the topic and the advice you guys gave me here, I’m already considering buying a secondhand instrument.
Thank you all for the comments and help!
Cheers

 

[Walker]

Bia Socek's Piatanesi Super IV S sure is classy @Tom... but when it comes to the accordion & hat combo I think you're the boss! That gem of a Piatanesi is so versatile. Who would have known it - blue goes with everything.

Jerry askes the right question, because it comes down to getting the best new accordion for YOUR budget.

But, really, it doesn't matter because the most important thing is to have the right hat for the style of music you intend to play....

I need to get my hat game up to par... I think the "Newsboy" style is alright, but I might branch out into something more classic... a trilby or fedora. I'll probably need to get an extra Scandalli though - y'know, just to mix and match.

 

[Tom]

Bia Socek's Piatanesi Super IV S sure is classy @Tom... but when it comes to the accordion & hat combo I think you're the boss! That gem of a Piatanesi is so versatile. Who would have known it - blue goes with everything.



I need to get my hat game up to par... I think the "Newsboy" style is alright, but I might branch out into something more classic... a trilby or fedora. I'll probably need to get an extra Scandalli though - y'know, just to mix and match.

I think the newsboy fits you Walker…. But I imagine you’ll buy that next Scandalli anyway! Really, I’m so focused on repertoire improvement that I don’t think about my accordions or the sound of them that much, even though I “should.”

 

[Walker]

I think the newsboy fits you Walker…. But I imagine you’ll buy that next Scandalli anyway! Really, I’m so focused on repertoire improvement that I don’t think about my accordions or the sound of them that much, even though I “should.”

Oh sure, repertoire... that's super important Tom. Hmm... I need to get my repertoire game up to par too. Well for starters I'm gonna need a new hat for that - was thinking about a Harris tweed flat cap and maybe a brown pearloid accordion for that vintage vibe - musette tuned and ivory colour keys. Thanks Tom that was really helpful. ​

 

[Tom]

Oh sure, repertoire... that's super important Tom. Hmm... I need to get my repertoire game up to par too. Well for starters I'm gonna need a new hat for that - was thinking about a Harris tweed flat cap and maybe a brown pearloid accordion for that vintage vibe - musette tuned and ivory colour keys. Thanks Tom that was really helpful. ​

“Harris Tweed (Scottish Gaelic: Clò Mór or Clò Hearach) is a tweed cloth that is handwoven by islanders at their homes in the Outer Hebridesof Scotland, finished in the Outer Hebrides, and made from pure virgin wool dyed and spun in the Outer Hebrides.”

Yeah, you should definitely get one!!!! Handwoven in the Outer Hebrides? Man, I want one of those! I’ve got a few wool flat caps (“Coppolas” sic “Coppole” for us Italian wannabes.) but probably not Harris Tweed. I gotta do another video pretty soon of an Irish tune, so I should break one out. You don’t see too many brown pearloid accordions around here. I think I restored one, but it might have been a concertina (“melodeon” on your side of the big pond).

 

[Walker]

Hey @Tom, you're gonna need a tweed hat for your Irish and Scottish music. How big is your head @Tom? Send me a message. There's lots of tweed in my neck of the woods - Harris, Highland Estate tweed, Borders etc. I'm going to send you a cap for Christmas.

 

[danp76]

When I visited the Castelfidardo area a few years ago, many manufacturers were reluctant to sell directly and suggested I contact the dealer back in the U.S.

 

[Ventura]

well i found a way to get past that reluctance by basically
hitting town BiG and playing music pretty much constantly
for everyone and anyone everywhere and visiting factories the
same way (acting like i am not there to buy at all just to see
and play and share the fun) and i usually walk out of the
showroom with their accordion on my shoulders and stroll
the factory floor playing the whole time

mix old and new.. go from San Remo winners to Calabrisella Mia
and back.. when dancing happens don't stop till they drop..

(hint: very few accordionists in CastleFi.. so play your ass off and they will
worship you in no time and the word spreads faster than you can drive)

and next thing you know different people WANT you to have
one of their accordions and start making hints and leaving sample
models at your Hotel to try out and inviting you to Lunch etc. etc. etc.

oh yeah, have a money belt with CASH to pull out at the critical moment

 

[saundersbp]

When I visited the Castelfidardo area a few years ago, many manufacturers were reluctant to sell directly and suggested I contact the dealer back in the U.S.

I've found they will all sell directly if you are making a significant purchase i.e. a set for an accordion school. I can sympathise with factories with a sole dithering enthusiast as it represents a lot of their time (i.e. people's salary costs) for no guaranteed reward. The big factories will be engaged in supplying 1000+ accordions for an asian order and that's where they need to give priority if they are to survive.