Paolo Soprani, are new ones any good?

[wayne]

Where are new Paolo Soprani accordions made, particularly the Paolo Soprani Professionale 72 bass 30 note piano accordion? Does anyone know if this model is any good? Thank you.

 

[Scuromondo]

All Paolo Sopranis are still made in Castelfidardo, and all have Voci Armoniche reeds.

I don’t have any experience with the Professionale, but I have a new Super Paolo 96 and I’m very happy with it.

 

[Scuromondo]

Generally, when the subject of new Paolo Soprani accordions is raised on this forum, two related subjects are mentioned:
1. The company that currently manufactures Paolo Soprani, while Italian and of good quality, has virtually no relationship at all to the historical “Paolo Soprani” story the company uses in their marketing literature.
2. The sound of the new accordions is not the same as the ones made 50, 60, 70 years ago. I have a “blue badge” model from about the 1960s, and among other things, it has a much more authoritative low-end to it. It is definitely a different sound.

I mention these things not to discourage you from looking at the new ones, but to encourage you to compare them against the competition based on your experience of actually playing and listening to them and not based on your idea of what the name “Paolo Soprani” means (or used to mean). In my opinion they compare favorably against other contemporary Italian accordions in their price range. If you require the performance of one of the top brands (Victoria, Bugari, Pigini, etc.) they may not be for you; but then again, the Paolo Soprani will only cost you half as much (or maybe a third as much) as those!

 

[wayne]

Generally, when the subject of new Paolo Soprani accordions is raised on this forum, two related subjects are mentioned:
1. The company that currently manufactures Paolo Soprani, while Italian and of good quality, has virtually no relationship at all to the historical “Paolo Soprani” story the company uses in their marketing literature.
2. The sound of the new accordions is not the same as the ones made 50, 60, 70 years ago. I have a “blue badge” model from about the 1960s, and among other things, it has a much more authoritative low-end to it. It is definitely a different sound.

I mention these things not to discourage you from looking at the new ones, but to encourage you to compare them against the competition based on your experience of actually playing and listening to them and not based on your idea of what the name “Paolo Soprani” means (or used to mean). In my opinion they compare favorably against other contemporary Italian accordions in their price range. If you require the performance of one of the top brands (Victoria, Bugari, Pigini, etc.) they may not be for you; but then again, the Paolo Soprani will only cost you half as much (or maybe a third as much) as those!

Thanks for your comments, I didn't know how to refer to the accordion without mentioning the name. It seems difficult to know where accordions are made, since it seems they are made all over the place. I've read the Paolo Soprani story as well, and we can't go back in time. On the other hand, I would like a Pigini, but that is not an option right now.