Scandalli or Maugein

[Corinto]

There is a garage sale (not exactly, but can't find a better definition) here not too far from where we live and these people have two "similar" 80 bass accordions, 2 voice MM, similar age and both look like in good condition, not having been played a lot, but may need tuning and maybe new leathers and maybe a few more things ... the Maugein may be older than the Scandalli ...

My main question is not about these details, but about the makes themselves, how do they compare? Is one of these brands clearly better then the other, or should the quality be very similar also? I understand this can be very subjective, but of course lots of you here at the forum know more about this than me.

Thanks in advance.

 

[ColoRodney]

I’d say try them both and get the one you like better. Or both, if they’re a good deal. Two MM accordions may have different widths of musette tuning, especially when one is Italian and one French.

If you’ve got time and a pair of needle-nose pliers, open them and look at the reed blocks and leathers.

Scandalli is a far more common brand in my neck of the woods, but that means little. I’ve never played a Maugein, but I’ve heard that they’re very good (search the name on this site).

 

[JerryPH]

Maugein has been on very shaky financial legs, closed and recently reopened. Scandalli has been one of the most financially stable companies of all the manufacturers, if that means anything.

That said the only choice that should be made in this case is to choose the accordion that is in better shape.

 

[Corinto]

Thanks.

 

[dak]

You don't say whether you are talking about piano accordion or chromatic button accordion. The latter is more Maugein's domain, the former covered to a larger degree by Scandalli.

 

[Walker]

My main question is not about these details, but about the makes themselves, how do they compare? Is one of these brands clearly better then the other, or should the quality be very similar also? I understand this can be very subjective, but of course lots of you here at the forum know more about this than me.

I don't know much about Maugein, but I do like Scandalli accordions a lot! They are my favourite of the remaining Italian manufacturers, now that Dallape are no longer in production.

Scandalli is one of the most famous names in the Italian accordion industry and was founded in Camerano around 125 years ago. By the early 1940s they had several hundred employees, and early Scandalli would certainly have dwarfed any fabrica in Castelfidardo today! In the second half of the 1940s Scandalli merged with Settimio Soprani and Frontalini to form the company FARFISA. Its greatest hit came in the early 1950s when the model known as the SUPER VI was developed. Over the course of the 1950s and 1960s the SUPER VI was to become known by many as the greatest accordion ever made. The only serious rival to the crown was that other special instrument - the Giovanni Gola built Hohner Gola, also from the 1950s and 1960s. After the brilliance of the 1950s and 1960s, things started to decline and by the early 1980s FARFISA ceased to make Scandalli instruments. However, Scandalli did, nevertheless, continue and thanks to the efforts of the great accordionist Mirco Patarini and the Menghini family, Scandalli have continued to produce accordions to the present day.

Scandalli makes piano accordions and chromatic button accordions. They are still famous for the SUPER VI, though some connoisseurs of the original will not consider later versions to be anything like as special. I've owned an original Super VI (M series), an original Gola 414 (1963) and modern Scandalli. I like them all.

Scandalli do not make diatonic accordions and they do not produce very small, beginner instruments (not smaller than 72 bass or 3 voices). Most Scandalli accordions have 96 or 120 bass and 4 voices or more. Today, Scandalli's largest range of accordions isn't the traditional line (such as the Super VI etc) but the Conservatorio line, where they produce at least 23 different models of converter accordion, in a variety of free bass systems, from student instruments to the most expensive concert accordions costing tens of thousands of pounds (£). They are one of the major producers of free bass instruments along with Pigini, Bugari and Victoria etc.​

 

[Corinto]

@ dak looking for a CBA

Going to France later this spring, and am exploring a few shops in southern France with interesting offers and good prices on secondhand accordions.
Looking more specifically for Maugein, Scandalli and now maybe also Piermaria, not too heavy, 80 bass and 2 or 3 voice treble.

Thanks for all your input.

 

[losthobos]

Piermaria have never disappointed me....superb built and materials.....had several....kept one...a joy ...kinda wish I'd kept the others too...
I had a maugien that was light and enjoyable but not impressed at all with the MDF wood insides.... probably wouldn't have known for a few years when it started decaying had not the guy fitting a midi system bought it to my attention....as he couldn't stick sensors to it...I wouldn't touch one again unless an old one made before cost cutting was an issue

 

[ColoRodney]

Scandalli certainly seems to have made beginner/student/small accordions in the past. I had a 48-bass probably from the 1940s (badged Camerano, but made by Scandalli). It only had MM and LMM options, but the bass side was incredibly sweet sounding. I gave it to my brother.

 

[Tom]

Scandalli certainly seems to have made beginner/student/small accordions in the past. I had a 48-bass probably from the 1940s (badged Camerano, but made by Scandalli). It only had MM and LMM options, but the bass side was incredibly sweet sounding. I gave it to my brother.

Those Camerano were nice. Another in the pile of “I wish I kept my….” Sold it to a lady that was looking for a light one to bring on a European trip. I hope it worked out for her….