Stradella button spacing

[mwatersworld]

This is a question from a relative newbie. I recently 'upgraded' from a 3 row 100 bass button Bayan to a 5 row B system 120 bass button CBA hoping, in my naivety, that the 5 row would be easier to play. I was surprised to find that the converse was true. Aside from the obvious increase in the number of bass and treble buttons I found that the Bayan's bass buttons were less 'crowded.' 

Is this typical with Russian Bayans? Does the bass button spacing and size vary between instruments and makers?

The upside is that when I now pick up the Bayan to play it feels incredibly easy to find my way around.

Mark

 

[debra]

...Aside from the obvious increase in the number of bass and treble buttons I found that the Bayan's bass buttons were less 'crowded.' 

Is this typical with Russian Bayans? Does the bass button spacing and size vary between instruments and makers?

The upside is that when I now pick up the Bayan to play it feels incredibly easy to find my way around.

Mark

The spacing of bass buttons varies a bit between bass mechanisms. Many Italian brands use the same standard components which then leads to them having the same spacing. There are some variations in mechanism (like when you have convertor) and that may lead to somewhat different spacing.
And some have their own, different, mechanism. Russian Bayans have their own mechanism and can therefore have a bit different spacing. A Roland V-accordion has essentially no mechanism and can (and does) have different spacing again...
Similar differences exist on the treble side. There are many different sizes of buttons and thus spacing, making it hard to play big jumps accurately when switching between accordions. Large convertor instruments and French models use small buttons. Typical Italian CBA without convertor will have 46 notes (on a 120 bass accordion) and use large buttons. I also have a mid-size convertor instrument (Bugari 508/ARS/C from about 12 years ago) and that has a button size in between the large and small buttons...
And don't think the situation is much better with PA: there too the width of the (white) keys varies, from roughly 18 to 20mm... which means 1 note difference per octave and that is a lot!

 

[mwatersworld]

Thanks Paul for the illuminating response. I imagine after you've encountered a number of different spacings you rapidly adjust. It's just a little daunting for a beginner where just hitting the correct button is already difficult enough.

I'm in the market for a FR1XB so it's good to be able to anticipate an entirely different spacing with the Roland yet again.

Mark