new thread to keep from straying too far in an old thread

[Ventura]

and generally speaking, it requires more skill and patience to re-tune
a sharp M+ reedset lower... you need to be handy with that tool that
pushes the inside reed up to where you can reach it and then it is hard
to get a file or diamond shaped bit (held in a pin-vice... not a dremel tool)
onto the lower part of the reed without damaging the sides of the embocure

tuning the reedset more sharp only requires a tiny bit off the tip !

it might actually be easier to find an identical Excelsior in junk condition and buy
it for parts, which could allow you to work on a different set of reeds and swap
the reedblock in to try it

 

[Ventura]

bucket lists and talking about classic accordions...

there were three accordions on my Bucket List,
and i recently fell into a pre-1960 Myron/Pan,
so #1 was scratched off...

the second accordion is long gone... it was Rosa Caccamise's Mothers
accordion, which Rose had had restored many years ago, and
was kept on a modest Shelf at the Music Store...
i was allowed to play it during Visits, and it was really nice...
i mostly wanted it (if ever given the chance) because i particularly
like Accordions with Provenance, and a personal connection
to Friends i have known...

unfortuately the recievers of Roxy's didn't care about such things as "Legacy"

so there is now only one last Accordion on my Bucket List...
a very specific accordion

however, i am pretty certain she is going to outlive me...

there was once a young child in the USSR, a nice athletic Blonde Girl who was
also a Prodigy on Piano Accordion... as a Teenager, she was chosen
to travel with the official Russian delegation to compete in a World Accordion festival
in Osimo Italy

she won some medals and such, and then a Man approached the delegation
and requested they bring the Girl to his Factory for a visit before they returned
behind the Iron Curtain

that man was MarcoSigniore, and he placed a brand new Super Six on her lap and
asked her to play it and give her opinion... she played the snot out of it and smiled
like a typical teenage girl in love...

he gave it to her... no charge.... no strings... said "take it home"

many years later she emigrated to the USA and had a distinguished carreer
in Education, while always keeping up her chops and giving performances
for various events, festivals, schools, fundraisers... always playing her
beloved Scandalli... always playing the living daylights out of it...

THAT is the Super Six i covet

she had a great friendship with Rose, and through Rose we became friends as well

accordions, when loved, take on the personality of their owners
(that is my story and i am sticking to it)
in all of the Accordions i have owned that had a personal history,
you will find the Name of the original owner written inside, as
well as a file card with the History in the accordion case

so after I am dead, whoever gets to pick over my stuff,
look for the details (and give my Wife a decent price)

LoL

ciao

Ventura

 

[Ventura]

it may be useful to note, as you look back wondering why or what

the Music Industry has always labored under a very limited ceiling...
by comparison, the Calendar industry is 4 times LARGER, and requires
much much less effort to achieve it's yearly sales goals

you can take out an ad for the Super Bowl, or in a major newspaper,
or as a push in Google results, for Toilet paper, and have the potential
for 100% of the people who notice your ad to actually buy your product

for Musical Instruments and related products, the top limit is 10% penetration,
and THAT 10% is in heavy competition with other electronics and leisure-time items

during the latter half of the 20th Century, conglomerates became the fashion,
and acquisitions were the rule rather than the exception... Fender, Steinway, Moog
Conn, Jim Lansing, Hammond, Wurlitzer, and many other major Musical brands were snapped up
because their balance sheets looked so solid, and had what seemed to be unlimited Upside...
these wealthy conglomerates like CBS, the Marmon group, and of course Lear Siegler,
did not understand that the Music Business is more than just Numbers and Spreadsheets

Many of the companies were nearly put out of business, and but for the efforts
of True Believers who picked them up (for a pittance, as they were jettisoned
rapidly and without remorse during the 1980's) by people like Sidney Harmon,
Bill Schultz, and other greats in our Music Hall of Fame, and saved !
unfortunately many companies simply died as they were auctioned off in Fire Sale manner...
Hammond and many others saw their file cabinets tossed in the trash and parts departments
bought out by desperate dealrships before their Intellectual Assets / brand names were
eventually sold to the highest (if any) bidder

Farfisa was really the only Italian Music company that rose high enough to be targeted
by the Conglomerate Phenomena, and suffered the consequences, unfortunately for us.
Others such as Elka, Orla, Crumar, and Galanti (Galanti diversified into Liturgical and
Pop Organ markets and eventually stopped building accordions completely)
remained independant through this period and survived to face other challenges

so remember, their were and still are limits on our industry
that are unique and different than other more general business categories...

just sayin'