Scandalli Super VI Extreme bass switches

[AccordionPatric]

Sorry if this is a question that has been asked before - I'm brand new to this forum and don't yet know how to look for specific subjects. I've got a Scandalli Super VI Extreme and I can't work out what combination of bass reeds I get with each position of the bass switches. Having spent some hours trying to work this out by ear I've made progress but I have a feeling that I may not quite have it right. This is particularly true as it's got the bass decoupler which means I've got a whole "extra set" of switch options! There was no info on this with the accordion itself on purchase from Scandalli, nothing on their website to give a clue: I guess I'm looking for some kind of diagram/idiots guide and would be really grateful to be pointed in the right direction. And having seen the positive/helpful comments in this forum I think I don't really need to make the apology I'm about to make but I'll get it over and done with: I'm keenly aware that this is an embarrassingly ignorant question being asked about a really nice accordion, by an owner who isn't really good enough for it. But I love playing this thing like no other instrument I've ever owned, and I want to get better at it.

 

[Big Squeezy Accordions]

There is no standardization for bass registers, and I'm not familiar with this particular model, but you can figure it out by opening it up. Take out the bass bellows pins and separate the bass section from the bellows. Then press the master switch so all slides are in the open position. Now you can press the other switches one at a time and see which slides move, blocking the air to their respective reeds.

 

[Scuromondo]

The “Register switches” section from the Wikipedia page on Stradella bass provides a fairly good overview.

Stradella bass system - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[AccordionPatric]

Thank you- I actually hadn’t managed to find that (I mean seriously- I manage to spend two hours with a pen and my accordion trying to work out what’s going on but I don’t think to have a proper look on Wikipedia. I wonder about myself, sometimes). It’s a really useful breakdown of how it works.

 

[AccordionPatric]

There is no standardization for bass registers, and I'm not familiar with this particular model, but you can take out the bass bellows pins and separate the bass section from the bellows. Then press the master switch so all slides are in the open position. Now you can press the other switches one at a time and see which slides move, blocking the air to their respective reeds.

Thanks Big Squeezy - I'll work my way up to that option I think but it's a good way to be certain.

 

[AccordionPatric]

Well I ended up having a happy hour in the music room, removing the bass section, looking at the operation of the switches and making a careful note of what was going on! It did indeed turn out to be the only way to be sure and the reed blocks in this thing are beautiful. Considering it's something that is only ever seen by someone who's repairing or servicing the accordion, the Scandalli people seem to have taken a great deal of pride in making it as nice inside as it is outside, which is always a really good sign of craftspeople who care about what they're doing. I like it even more now... and will post a diagram of the switch setup so if anyone else has the same question about a Super 6 Extreme, they don't need to take it apart.

 

[dak]

the Scandalli people seem to have taken a great deal of pride in making it as nice inside as it is outside, which is always a really good sign of craftspeople who care about what they're doing.

Not only. People tend to trust the judgment of those they allow to take their accordion apart for repairs, and when the repairers call an instrument a fetid heap of rotted kindling, that tends to color the reputation of instruments.

I know this phenomenon with the infamous Nikkor AF 28-80mm/3.3-5.6G lens: it was produced over a million times together with plasticky DSLR cameras that were competing in the price bracket of compact viewfinder film cameras. It looks and feels like a light piece of plastic trash and produces annoyingly good images. People will rather tack more solid and confidence-inspiring less capable lenses onto their expensive full-frame digital camera bodies.

If you want to sell at prices befitting a myth, you need to get more right than the sound.