New accordion questions

[Mike t.]

My new accordion arrives this afternoon after traveling about 2800 miles across the states. I ordered it from Liberty Bellows, I would imagine that they will have instructions on removing the cardboard from the bass side? Is there any other concerns or procedures to watch for? Do you have to “break-in” a new accordion? It has been just above freezing most of its travels so while unpacking it and checking for shipping damage it should warm up to house temperature. Exciting times!

 

[Tom]

My new accordion arrives this afternoon after traveling about 2800 miles across the states. I ordered it from Liberty Bellows, I would imagine that they will have instructions on removing the cardboard from the bass side? Is there any other concerns or procedures to watch for? Do you have to “break-in” a new accordion? It has been just above freezing most of its travels so while unpacking it and checking for shipping damage it should warm up to house temperature. Exciting times!

Congrats! Remove the bass plate at the bottom of the accordion. Be aware of how the air release button extends through the plate because you will have to replace it the same way. Look for the cardboard at the “bottom” of the bass mech. Depending on the bass mech there could be 2 (or more) places where the cardboard is used. If you can’t grab and remove it with your fingers, use needle nosed pliers. To break it in, play joyous music repeatedly and joyously for the rest of your life. Just sayin’. Have fun!!!!!

 

[tcabot]

Lift with your legs, not your back when you're taking it out of it's box.

 

[Walker]

Congratulations! What did you go for @Mike t.? Have you got a photograph of the new accordion you could show us?

 

[Mike t.]

Congratulations! What did you go for @Mike t.? Have you got a photograph of the new accordion you could show us?

I’m still pacing away! It’s do in about 3 to 6 hours. I’ll post some pics, I ordered a Saltarelle Cleggan, my first new accordion. I hope it has survived shipping.

 

[John M]

I’m still pacing away! It’s do in about 3 to 6 hours. I’ll post some pics, I ordered a Saltarelle Cleggan, my first new accordion. I hope it has survived shipping.

It should. Liberty Bellows packs very well. Any accordion I bought from them arrived in perfect condition.

 

[Dingo40]

so while unpacking it and checking for shipping damage it should warm up to house temperature.

Being cold from outside, on coming into a warm, relatively moist room it will immediately create condensation.
Assuming it is packed in airtight packaging, perhaps you should allow the whole package (accordion and all) to reach room temperature before exposing the accordion to the air in the room?
Just saying.

 

[Walker]

I’m still pacing away! It’s do in about 3 to 6 hours. I’ll post some pics, I ordered a Saltarelle Cleggan, my first new accordion. I hope it has survived shipping.

That's a fine choice of accordion @Mike t. I think the Saltarelle Cleggan will be ideal for your folk music! The models Cleggan and Clifden are piano accordions designed for Irish traditional music and other similar Celtic, folk or North American folk music. For those wondering about the names; Cleggan is a small village on the West Coast of Ireland, in the County Galway. Clifden is also a nearby coastal town in the same county. I've been to Ireland many times, including these parts of Galway.

Here's a quick view of the place your accordion was named after:



There's lots of good traditional music in the West of Ireland. One of my favourite songs is The Galway Shawl. I think it would sound ace on your Cleggan! Here's a nice version sung by the Irish singer Johnny Mcevoy.​

Best of luck with your new accordion. ​

 

[Mike t.]

Being cold from outside, on coming into a warm, relatively moist room it will immediately create condensation.
Assuming it is packed in airtight packaging, perhaps you should allow the whole package (accordion and all) to reach room temperature before exposing the accordion to the air in the room?
Just saying.

I waited a forever half hour! You could see the buckles on the case fog up after opening the second inner box so I cooled my jets for a while. The accordion was in a clear plastic bag so I at least got to look at it!

 

[Mike t.]

My new accordion arrives this afternoon after traveling about 2800 miles across the states. I ordered it from Liberty Bellows, I would imagine that they will have instructions on removing the cardboard from the bass side? Is there any other concerns or procedures to watch for? Do you have to “break-in” a new accordion? It has been just above freezing most of its travels so while unpacking it and checking for shipping damage it should warm up to house temperature. Exciting times!

 

[Mike t.]

So I’ve played if for a hour and was hoping it would sound about as good as my Petosa, truly it sounds better! It is somehow crisper sounding? and the bass side sounds maybe just a touch louder than the Petosa, Anyway I’m very pleased with it. The 9lbs lighter is wonderful, the wood case is beautiful. The one thing I have to do is get use to its shorter size to make those jumps on the treble side. And standing while playing is way better!

 

[Scuromondo]

Congratulations!

Now I’m going to show my ignorance:
I’ve never owned an accordion of this size, but is the low F key a dummy key?—or does this accordion have no low F# associated with it?

 

[Mike t.]

Congratulations!

Now I’m going to show my ignorance:
I’ve never owned an accordion of this size, but is the low F key a dummy key?—or does this accordion have no low F# associated with it?

No, this one confused me, instead of a low F on this brand anyway, they made it an octave lower D and called it a drone note. So as long as I’m playing the last chord as a D or G, I think I could use this note to fill in? Not positive on how use it yet.

 

[Scuromondo]

Very curious. Calling it a “drone” evokes thoughts of bagpipes. I would have no idea how to utilize this feature and my thumb would certainly land on it by force of habit, expecting it to be an F.

Still, it is a wonderful instrument—very attractive and I’m sure very fun to play.

 

[debra]

That "drone" D is very typical for a Saltarelle. I would have thought you knew about this note before ordering the accordion...
I don't know how you'd use the note, but it is what you get with a Saltarelle like this.

 

[Walker]

Very curious. Calling it a “drone” evokes thoughts of bagpipes. I would have no idea how to utilize this feature and my thumb would certainly land on it by force of habit, expecting it to be an F.

Still, it is a wonderful instrument—very attractive and I’m sure very fun to play.

The thing to remember is that this type of piano accordion is a 'serious' folk instrument, so if you try to think like a 'folk musician' would rather than as an 'accordionist' it might begin to makes sense.

There are a few things to consider:

1. In Irish/Scottish traditional music (and other similar genres) the king instrument is the fiddle! The low note on a fiddle (apparently some people call it a violin) is G3. Therefore, as long as that's our low note too, it's all well and good. Low F is as much use as an ashtray on a motorcycle in traditional/folky music. Plus, the fiddle player might try to attack you with their bow if they think you are about to play a low F note that they can't play.

2. It is important for you to explain to the fiddle player that the low note is actually a 'drone note'. Drones are definitely a bagpipe thing and therefore have some credibility in traditional circles. Pipers will probably take you under their wing and offer you whisky if you drone on about your drones. Drones seem to make pipers happy. Having the low D can be fun; a homage to mist covered mountains and the skirl of the Saltarelle etc. You could press it with the thumb and doodle a wee tune an octave or so above it. However, I suspect most folk get that out of their system pretty quickly after a few swipes from the fiddle player (they may forget it's a drone). A safer alternative is to drone with your bass notes, and fiddle players will usually ignore it or just give you a hard-stare.

3. The low D is of some use in playing 'double stops'. If you do them well you may confuse said fiddle player into thinking you are playing a weird string instrument, like a hurdy-gurdy. Keep your distance though, in case they twig you're not a gurdy-master. Getting thwacked by a fiddle bow is no laughing matter.

4. If classical accordionists find out you've got a 'drone note' they may look worried and back away slowly. To play down the weirdness of it just tell them it's actually a short octave, like what 'authentic' and 'historic' keyboard instruments sometimes had (remember to use both words). That way you will gain hero status among the classical accordionists and they may overlook that you chose something that wasn't a bayan.

Hope this was of some assistance.​

 

[Mike t.]

That "drone" D is very typical for a Saltarelle. I would have thought you knew about this note before ordering the accordion...
I don't know how you'd use the note, but it is what you get with a Saltarelle like this.

I knew about it from watching every video (probably ever posted!) but the playing/use of the low D in a song hasn’t been highlighted?

 

[SteveBox]

Given that they decided the keyboard should have one extra key below the G, a D is a lot more useful than an F for the keys that traditional (fiddle) music is usually played in, as others have noted. However, it seems to be of limited usefulness as a drone note, because with your thumb on that key, you would only have a very limited range of melody notes you could play against it. Well, maybe you could quickly whip out a piece of duct tape to hold it down while you play the melody higher up! Or maybe Saltarelle should have designed a latching mechanism for this key (push on, push off). It is probably more useful for playing certain melodies an octave lower than usual.

Usually, drones are more conveniently and appropriately played on the bass side.

P.S. A beautiful accordion, and I like the matching paneling on the doors.

 

[tcabot]

The accordion indeed looks very nice.

I also expected a latching mech for the drone. If it's not there, you can probably use a guitar capo?

 

[SteveBox]

I agree that if they really intended to design in a low-D drone feature, there would have been a way to latch it down. My guess is that the real story is that they are using a standard PA keyboard that normally begins on F, but then folkies would complain "What do we do with the F? Why don't you get rid of those lower two keys to reduce the size and weight." Instead, they made the F a low-D and as for that F#, easy to get rid of by leaving out an in-between black key. So, a modification to a standard PA keyboard becomes a (barely useful) feature they can boast about.

BTW, don't get that idea that Fs are never used. D minor and A minor tunes are common in traditional music.