Paolo Soprani

[Girundi]

Hello everyone,

I am planning to buy this accordion to start learning to play, but I don't have any information other than brand. Is it a good brand? Is it possible to know when it was made?



Thank you.

 

[Ben-jammin]

It’s a pretty good brand. I would guess late 1950s or early 1960s. Condition of the internal parts you can’t see from the picture will make the difference if it’s a good accordion to purchase or not. It’s never a given that an instrument was properly stored and doesn’t require costly repairs to be usable. Be careful and don’t buy a “project”.

 

[JerryPH]

This one is called a Brevette… they were made between the 50’s to 70’s. Usually fairly good quality, they are popular and came in a variety of configurations. *IF* the accordion was not mistreated, it can make a great starter accordion, however if not in good condition, professional costs to repair can easily exceed it’s value.

I own a model from the 60’s as does my uncle, the both sound and play fantastic. This one looks to be more from the 70’s.

Don’t buy without seeing/examining the accordion beforehand and look for all the signs to avoid. If it passes the test, enjoy!!

 

[Ventura]

to my knowledge, the only times a Paolo copied the
Scandalli "brevetto" design was after both companies had
went out of business, and the names were being bled by
the Bloodsuckers. For a time both brands were controlled
by the same "Factory" and that was when i began to see
the Paolo name with hubcaps

some were so cheaply made, in imitation, that the hubcaps
were just glued on (all plastic) and the switch was cosmetic

i saw these at retail in Rome and other places

while this one does look a bit better than the ones i remember,
and may on it's own be a decent box, would Paolo Soprani
ever, while he had breath in his body, copy ANYONE elses
accordion design (much less his hated rival, Scandalli ? )

 

[JerryPH]

to my knowledge, the only times a Paolo copied the
Scandalli "brevetto" design was after both companies had
went out of business, and the names were being bled by
the Bloodsuckers.

would Paolo Soprani
ever, while he had breath in his body, copy ANYONE elses
accordion design (much less his hated rival, Scandalli ? )

Is it possible that this is a Chinese knock-off? Now that you do mention it, I do recall seeing a "Paolo Brevette", and yes it looked like new, but the "hubcaps" were not made to open, it was all for looks... I did not play that one personally, just saw it (it was not the highest quality looking accordion), and heard it from the other side of the room... it sounded OK to me at the time.

My uncle's is definitely also a 60's model, but in gold trim including gold hubcaps, bellows corners and trim. His model has no master palm switch, which I found odd.