The Dallape' sound

[snavoyosky]

The Dallape’ sound

This will be an interesting article for most of you because its a far reach from the providence of Marche’ in Italy, where Castelfidardo is located as well as the beginnings of the small hand device to later be known as the accordion found in Loreto.

There’s a story about Mariano Dallape’ in the history of the Dallape’ accordion who carried around and played his Organetto…...one of the early offerings based on the same principles of a bellows causing brass reeds to ‘speak’. He came from far Northern Italy,,,Tyrol,,,,,,and eventually settled in Stradella Italy...farther South. Interesting town name….Stradella. Was the Stradella bass system named after that town because of Mariano Dallape having a factory there? It’s an unknown.

Stradella is quite a distance from Castelfidardo and it’s interesting to learn that Paolo Soprani and Mariano Dallape’ started building accordions in 1876. It’s been said or found that they did not know each other.

But that’s not why we are here right now investigating. For many years Dallape’ accordions has captured the ears of accordionists worldwide. That sound. For many years it has caused accordionists to accept it as a most original and enchanting sound quality that surprisingly caused Roland to buy the entire Dallape’ Accordion factory lock, stock, and barrel. Roland wanted the sound for its digital machine…...but Dallape’ would not relinquish that part causing a suffering of Dallape’ accordion sales.

So the deal by Dallape' was everything or nothing.

It’s from this where we will start and analyze what Roland acquired for a mere digital sampling by purchasing the entire company.

I have worked on many Dallape’s and I consider them to be the most problematic of all accordions. I dread their keyboard arrangement the most and especially when a tone chamber is present.

It got better when Guerrini made them years later for the company.

So we’re back to the age-worn answer…….”it’s the reeds”

I’ll level with you here and now…...it’s never the reeds that make or break the sound of your accordion. Keep that in mind whenever you go looking for another accordion. Reeds provide you with responsiveness…...and air tightness control. If that accordion's air pressure isn’t tight, consider your reeds first.
Where’s the best test?
Your lower bass.
Can it always be your reeds?
No. It can be your quality of wax meaning the formula that you are using.
What can I do about it? Seek the quality workmanship of a journeyman. You are a musician and you can’t be a technician too. One or both will suffer from it and bring heartache to you.

Then what is the sound controlled by? And here's where we separate the nitty from the gritty.

What’s left?

The accordion in general, folks................................... Until we break that down.

I bought several repair shops and factories. The factories I have are International, Zoppi, and Universal accordions. I was looking at one time of acquiring Karpek Accordions in Wisconsin….and it was there where I saw an actual concertina built the size of a small accordion….so imagine a large concertina.

When played it sounded like…..an accordion. See my point?


***No you can’t because I haven’t gotten there yet.***


Let’s bring into the picture those super colossal sized accordions you saw built by factories to stir your juices into buying….like the 5/5 reed ones whereas that extra reed line was for a bass accordion. Ever truly listen to its sound?

In fact, have you truly listened to your accordion sound for the sound itself and not the reed tongues?

Is there a match in sound between your bass reeds and your treble reeds? These are critical questions whereas your instrument should produce outward as one unit….unless you separate it by your control.

Most accordions anymore have a foundation plate made of aluminum to hold your reed blocks. How vibrant or resonant is that aluminum plate?
Correct…..so it can’t be that.

With Dallape’ it’s always been the design of their reed-blocks. Those wide reed-blocks and resonating chamber and wall thickness….and the wood....and anchorage.

So its not the reed but what the reed vibrates to conduct that resonating sound quality. Not much different than a Bb Clarinet or any woodwind or string instrument. Same principle.

Now apply this principle to the Giulietti, Excelsior, etc. that you own. The sound quality will be controlled on the quality of your accordion.

Why do polka player love Italo-American? For that same reasoning. The accordion is made of cheaper Poplar wood and its reed blocks are likewise the same. So the sound comes forth stringent and shrill. Giulietti insisted on mahogany and Spruce and varnished.

Questions?

 

[debra]

Glad to finally hear someone else say that in fact "it isn't the reeds" that make most of the sound of an accordion. Sure, the stiffness of the reeds influences the sound, and the gap between the reed tongue and the hole in the reed plate it goes through influences air consumption and how much "hiss" there is from spilled air, and it influences how cold it can get before the reeds stop playing (because the somewhat shrunken reed tongue can no longer go through the much more shrunken hole in the reed plate. (It's steel versus aluminium... expansion rate different by about a factor of 2.)
I played and worked on several seemingly identical Bugari Artist Cassotto 285/ARS accordions, which contained reeds of the same quality type but from different manufacturers... and they all sounded the same. Yet, take for instance an older Pigini Sirius and a Hohner Gola, from the same era, both fitted with Salpa a mano reeds, and their sound is vastly different.
I firmly believe that most of what makes the sound of an accordion is the reed blocks: how wide they are at the base versus at the top, i.e. are they more towards rectangular or more trapezoid with narrower top? An old Hohner Morino has nearly rectangular reed blocks (seen from the end) and for instance a Victoria has reed blocks that are much narrower at the top. That means the resonance chambers inside the blocks are very different and that causes the same type of reeds to sound differently.
Other than that what's impeding the sound to come out, i.e. what's under the grille and where are the holes in the grille... that too has great influence. Register mechanisms block (higher frequencies in) the sound of what's underneath them. Solid (versus open) parts of the grille do the same, giving Giulietti accordions a special sound (with just an oval cutout in the grille). Some things under the grille have great influence, like a sordino, and some do very little, like the "tube chamber" in some Titano accordions. Likewise the sound of the bass depends a lot on the construction of the bass compartment (holding the mechanics) and the position and size of holes to let the sound come out. The sound resonates so much inside the bass compartment that even with high-end accordion microphones a single mic capsule inside the bass compartment is enough to capture the sound of all the notes, regardless of where they are on the reed blocks. On the treble side the "compartment" under the grille does little enough that about 4 or 5 mic capsules are needed to capture the sound more or less evenly. (The very commonly used three-mic Sennheiser modules simply do not give a sufficiently even sound.)
The woods are another important factor. The Hohner "Metalbau" accordions have a terrible sound (but liked a lot by some...). A wooden case gives the sound more body, resonating midrange frequencies more and dampening higher frequencies somewhat.
There is so much to the accordion construction and its influence on the sound that is visible and perhaps even more that's invisible. When looking inside accordions there are invisible mysteries. For instance: when I look at the cassotto construction of a Hohner Morino N or S series and put it next to that of say a Bugari, I simply cannot see anything that might explain why on the Morino (made by Excelsior) the M register sounds more mellow than the L register whereas on the Bugari it's the other way around. To go further, the Gola also has that mellow M register yet again nothing inside looks more similar between the Morino and the Gola than between them and the Bugari (or a Scandalli or a Pigini for that matter).

So when you say "Questions?" it's hard to make questions concrete, but there is a lot I do not understand about what part of which accordion has which influence on which aspects of the sound... And that is hard for me to accept, with my scientific background which makes me always want to understand rather than just accept what something is.

 

[Ventura]

everyone reveres Dallape.. having had the Vatican as true believers
all those decades didn't hurt either.. but don't try sight-reading and whistling
that sheet music on display in the foyer of the Sistine.. they frown on that
(mea-culpa mea-culpa mea maxima culpa)

i still believe that they were successful at hiding a large stash of their
reeds from the Germans who stripped those areas of all metal
for making Bombs as they retreated up the Boot

i have been working on restoring a cool post war 1940's Dallape, got it playable
and it needed a new Bass plate so i made one out of thin clear Lexan/persepex
then took it to a Club meeting to do a show and tell on a Stradella Mechanism
from Stradella made by the people who (perhaps) invented it, which was fun

it sounds pretty good but still needs new pads and the action pulled.. hope
i get around to it this year !

 

[Tom]

Thank you so much for that very interesting post, Steve. It's very cool to hear your stories. Unfortunately I hardly ever listen to top of the line, great sounding accordions. I don't have one. Most of the videos I watch, or the people I meet, are "folk" or "traditional" with beat up to average accordions. Maybe some people on here have the good accordions, I don't know. I think Jerry does. I'll say it again, it's not the reeds, it's not the plates or the cassotto, it's the musician that makes the difference. But I am glad that there are people trying to improve the sound of our beloved instrument.

Now, can you please do the Piatanesi sound?

 

[John Doe]

i still believe that they were successful at hiding a large stash of their
reeds from the Germans who stripped those areas of all metal
for making Bombs as they retreated up the Boot

Must have been quite the pileup as they ran into the Selmer Paris workers gathering all those used brass shell casings to create the Mark VI saxophones...

I don't know. I think Jerry does. I'll say it again, it's not the reeds, it's not the plates or the cassotto, it's the musician that makes the difference.

I wholeheartedly agree. A huge percentage of the big name accordion models are cosseted by players who want them "just because" whether or not they can remotely do them justice. They take pleaure in owning and playing on them and more power to them- but they are beside the point in making music. My very-thriftily-constructed Galanti Aristocrat is actually the instrument I take the most pleasure in simply playing. I stare at and carress and oooh and ahhh over the others but for just terrorizing the cat and noodling the Galanti takes the cake.

As John Coltrane - a relatively influential single reed instrument player- put it: "You can play a shoestring if you're sincere."

Of course the quality of the fibers in the shoelace make all the difference...

 

[JerryPH]

Wellllll.... My 2 cent opinion is that I'll say yes and no. Being blessed with a few really nice accordions, I can hear the differences. Different accordions do sound different and have their own personalities. Is it the box? I'll agree that a lot if not most of the sound quality comes from there. Is it the reeds? Well... If its not, then why do we need to pay thousands more for A Mano reeds?

Can accordions sound good with fair or low quality reeds? For sure, we see it here every day, but high quality reeds would make any accordion sound better, respond faster have that "sweeter" tone that we yearn for.

We have box designs that definitely improve (the Sordino effects on the Beltuna and Imperator show this nicely), coincidence that these 2 have hand-made reeds YET what I feel is my best sounding accordion (the Morino), doesn't, but it has a massive case and Cassotto.

I've contemplated going hand-made reeds if I could not find my one lost true love (Gola 459), but then again, I am just NOT displeased with the sound of my Morino, quite the opposite... so I am swaying on that teeter-totter... lol.

What do I feel is the ultimate answer? That in the end, it doesn't matter... unless it matters TO YOU, so follow your heart. In the meantime I am adding a few minutes of accordion per day and thats a TON more than ever before, and am enjoying every second I can squeeze in... pun intended!!

 

[Walker]

For me, Dallape had a distinctive tone - bright and piercing, especially in the 'organ-tone' sounds that use the piccolo voice coupled with bassoon, and/or clarinet. I personally think everything that goes into an accordion combines in sometimes subtle ways to create the overall sound, particularly in past times when the reed work was mainly carried out in-house or by artisans (not like today when most accordion makers share the same few suppliers of reeds). However, in addition to the combination of the reeds and reedblocks, the use of wax or nails (or both) and also the construction of the accordion case materials and design, I think the grill makes a difference to the sound. Dallape was well known for its Supermaestro models that had a closed aluminium grill. I don't know, but I suspect some of the Dallape 'zing' results from the incorporation of this grill design to the overall mix.

What do you all think to that? Go easy on me now Steve. ​

 

[Ventura]

The Dallape’ sound

I bought several repair shops and factories. The factories I have are International, Zoppi, and Universal accordions.

Questions?

hehehe.. well SNav, since you ask... i DO have one burning question..

the mention of Universal reminded me, as i did recall you had ended up owning
the rights and the provino and who knows what else you have in Storage somewhere

but

the question.. yes..

i also recall that a bit before you semi-dissapeared to Florida that you were in the middle of the
process of making 6 full sets of reeds, and had collected/prepared the other respective parts to
build 6 New Accordions and i think you were going to badge them "Universal"

i also recall thinking Wow.. i would love to get my hands on one of those !

so did you ever complete them ? or did Florida and life get in the way of that
labor of love ?

 

[snavoyosky]

Glad to finally hear someone else say that in fact "it isn't the reeds" that make most of the sound of an accordion. Sure, the stiffness of the reeds influences the sound, and the gap between the reed tongue and the hole in the reed plate it goes through influences air consumption and how much "hiss" there is from spilled air, and it influences how cold it can get before the reeds stop playing (because the somewhat shrunken reed tongue can no longer go through the much more shrunken hole in the reed plate. (It's steel versus aluminium... expansion rate different by about a factor of 2.)
I played and worked on several seemingly identical Bugari Artist Cassotto 285/ARS accordions, which contained reeds of the same quality type but from different manufacturers... and they all sounded the same. Yet, take for instance an older Pigini Sirius and a Hohner Gola, from the same era, both fitted with Salpa a mano reeds, and their sound is vastly different.
I firmly believe that most of what makes the sound of an accordion is the reed blocks: how wide they are at the base versus at the top, i.e. are they more towards rectangular or more trapezoid with narrower top? An old Hohner Morino has nearly rectangular reed blocks (seen from the end) and for instance a Victoria has reed blocks that are much narrower at the top. That means the resonance chambers inside the blocks are very different and that causes the same type of reeds to sound differently.
Other than that what's impeding the sound to come out, i.e. what's under the grille and where are the holes in the grille... that too has great influence. Register mechanisms block (higher frequencies in) the sound of what's underneath them. Solid (versus open) parts of the grille do the same, giving Giulietti accordions a special sound (with just an oval cutout in the grille). Some things under the grille have great influence, like a sordino, and some do very little, like the "tube chamber" in some Titano accordions. Likewise the sound of the bass depends a lot on the construction of the bass compartment (holding the mechanics) and the position and size of holes to let the sound come out. The sound resonates so much inside the bass compartment that even with high-end accordion microphones a single mic capsule inside the bass compartment is enough to capture the sound of all the notes, regardless of where they are on the reed blocks. On the treble side the "compartment" under the grille does little enough that about 4 or 5 mic capsules are needed to capture the sound more or less evenly. (The very commonly used three-mic Sennheiser modules simply do not give a sufficiently even sound.)
The woods are another important factor. The Hohner "Metalbau" accordions have a terrible sound (but liked a lot by some...). A wooden case gives the sound more body, resonating midrange frequencies more and dampening higher frequencies somewhat.
There is so much to the accordion construction and its influence on the sound that is visible and perhaps even more that's invisible. When looking inside accordions there are invisible mysteries. For instance: when I look at the cassotto construction of a Hohner Morino N or S series and put it next to that of say a Bugari, I simply cannot see anything that might explain why on the Morino (made by Excelsior) the M register sounds more mellow than the L register whereas on the Bugari it's the other way around. To go further, the Gola also has that mellow M register yet again nothing inside looks more similar between the Morino and the Gola than between them and the Bugari (or a Scandalli or a Pigini for that matter).

So when you say "Questions?" it's hard to make questions concrete, but there is a lot I do not understand about what part of which accordion has which influence on which aspects of the sound... And that is hard for me to accept, with my scientific background which makes me always want to understand rather than just accept what something is.

And so you want 'conclusive proof' in order to believe things are so. I read your concerns above with varied interest based on your efforts to compare, some of which was comparison between old and new techniques. I come from a different world than you for I have been fortunate to realize the mental efforts placed on mechanisms known long before today's technology and work load ease which now became more desired by man.
In following your efforts to involve the present with the past I could sense your turmoil of questioning for which you will continue to search for 'want'. Excelsior in Italy was always the Excelsiola factory of the past. Yes, Excelsior of NYC sent their entire machinery, dies, jigs, etc to the Excelsiola factory in Italy dedicated to preserve its heritage of a quality accordion. I was surprised to learn in later years, those mailings were never opened. Italy was not interested apparently with anything but changing the Excelsiola name to Excelsior and reaping its goodwill. To this day I witness players believing that Excelsior is alive and well in Italy. Of course we know that has changed with Pigini. Technology has taken over the accordion greatly since 1950 and truly, an accordion is not really an accordion nowadays. Its presence against the body has been lost. But did this changeover really start in 1950? Nay, it started more like 1930 and Excelsior was the leader. as 'they' say......'follow the money trail' ...or 'seek and you will find' what transpired and when. Excelsior brought forth three things: The piccolo reed; the rocker switch; a new look. The piccolo reed was not needed for the harmonics rendered by M reeds gave this quality. However, what introduced that piccolo reed at the time was their organ tab.....LH.....that attracted the uninformed ears and it caught on.....much in the same way the so-called musette 'tuning'.....which is really playing an accordion 'out of tune'....and having nothing to do with a musette. And so it is.
You ae finding out what was already known for years and why it occurred at the time. I can recall a time when Excelsior advertised "There will never me a mass production Excelsior"......and here we are....many years later and made by artificial intelligence, long ago. Perhaps you will understand why I advise to go back when accordions were handmade for the most part.....and enjoy the accordion made by natural means. Selling your handmade accordion and buying an electronic similarity is not for me. The accordion was the best instrument ever invented and capable of many directions. It was the only two-system instrument but it also was the very best instrument to learn theory and harmony. I was fortunate to have family that placed it in my hands at such an early age instead of a one note horn.
You asked ...what part of the accordion influences the sound and my answer is this: the design. That alone tells the story in the case of every accordion manufacturer. Each had their thoughts. If you engine search Ernie Felice accordion patents......you'll see his frustration as a musician wanting to make his Sonola accordion mellower in spite of Sonola placing a thin sheet of wood under the grille. You'll see some wild ideas coming from his head.....and this was before the tone chamber was developed by others. Ernie Felice was an 'M' player.
Surely you have studied Hemholtz. If not, I suggest reading him on resonating sound. There are other old books and notice I emphasize 'old' because that's where you true answers will be. I'm sure you would love my library that assisted in answering every mechanical and acoustical problem facing the work bench in front of me. But that's been a long time ago. Very few today want to work as an accordion technician and its know....and has been said.....that the last stage of the accordion will be the repair technician.......then the instrument will die with him.

 

[Chickers]

I thank Steve for sharing a bit of history, as well as some education of accordion construction.
I certainly thank the many of you co-Forum members that contribute to the discussion, and all your insights.
As a relative newcomer to the accordion, I find it quite fascinating and intriguing to learn the history, and aspects of
design and manufacture of accordions. What an art
Thank you all for the many contributions----keep it going.

 

[snavoyosky]

hehehe.. well SNav, since you ask... i DO have one burning question..

the mention of Universal reminded me, as i did recall you had ended up owning
the rights and the provino and who knows what else you have in Storage somewhere

but

the question.. yes..

i also recall that a bit before you semi-dissapeared to Florida that you were in the middle of the
process of making 6 full sets of reeds, and had collected/prepared the other respective parts to
build 6 New Accordions and i think you were going to badge them "Universal"

i also recall thinking Wow.. i would love to get my hands on one of those !

so did you ever complete them ? or did Florida and life get in the way of that
labor of love ?

I enjoyed your delivery, V.....ever so much better than what we used to read from TommyV.

The answer to your question: It had to do with constructing 12 accordions. I never decided on a brand name.
One was almost completed save for the last two bass reed button lines.......bellows frames.....grill.....placing the keys...and the reeds.
I'll see if I locate a photo of it and post it thus far.

 

[Ventura]

you DO like those big, deep corners in the Bellows

i bet it will breath easy and let you go a long way before having to reverse direction

 

[tcabot]

The accordion is made of cheaper Poplar wood and its reed blocks are likewise the same. So the sound comes forth stringent and shrill. Giulietti insisted on mahogany and Spruce and varnished

Why do you expect poplar to sound stringent and shrill compared to mahogany?
A typical piece of (white, yellow, black) poplar has close but lower density and lower hardness than mahogany (american or cuban). The elasticity modules of yellow poplar and american mahogany are almost the same. White poplar and black poplar are way lower than mahogany.
Hardness aside, the woods are not very different and, if anything, poplar should produce a softer sound & higher overtone content against a comparatively more focused mahogany.

 

[snavoyosky]

Why do you expect poplar to sound stringent and shrill compared to mahogany?
A typical piece of (white, yellow, black) poplar has close but lower density and lower hardness than mahogany (american or cuban). The elasticity modules of yellow poplar and american mahogany are almost the same. White poplar and black poplar are way lower than mahogany.
Hardness aside, the woods are not very different and, if anything, poplar should produce a softer sound & higher overtone content against a comparatively more focused mahogany.

You mentioned them. Weight is another factor in those designs. Further testimony is the question why those polka players believe that Italo is the Cadillac instrument for polkas....for that reason.

 

[snavoyosky]

For me, Dallape had a distinctive tone - bright and piercing, especially in the 'organ-tone' sounds that use the piccolo voice coupled with bassoon, and/or clarinet. I personally think everything that goes into an accordion combines in sometimes subtle ways to create the overall sound, particularly in past times when the reed work was mainly carried out in-house or by artisans (not like today when most accordion makers share the same few suppliers of reeds). However, in addition to the combination of the reeds and reedblocks, the use of wax or nails (or both) and also the construction of the accordion case materials and design, I think the grill makes a difference to the sound. Dallape was well known for its Supermaestro models that had a closed aluminium grill. I don't know, but I suspect some of the Dallape 'zing' results from the incorporation of this grill design to the overall mix.

What do you all think to that? Go easy on me now Steve. ​

Sounds good, Walker. You are right that even the grill contributes it's offering to design. I sold a newly made Italo PolkaKing to a student after he bought an old Excelsior owned by Adolph Max.......called a Max Special and it had no tone changes....just LMMM from the early 1930s.
Anyhow he was enthralled in Italo-American like most polka player in this territory and beyond.....so he brought it back and claimed it sounded muffled. I recognized a possible solution being the grill and offered to make an adjustment that would not only correct what he heard but also it should gain more power besides the tuning I placed on it. He was surprised at the results.
So Walker, when I wrote that the only thing left was the accordion,,,,,,that also included the grille

 

[oldbayan]

The Dallape’ sound

This will be an interesting article for most of you because its a far reach from the providence of Marche’ in Italy, where Castelfidardo is located as well as the beginnings of the small hand device to later be known as the accordion found in Loreto.

There’s a story about Mariano Dallape’ in the history of the Dallape’ accordion who carried around and played his Organetto…...one of the early offerings based on the same principles of a bellows causing brass reeds to ‘speak’. He came from far Northern Italy,,,Tyrol,,,,,,and eventually settled in Stradella Italy...farther South. Interesting town name….Stradella. Was the Stradella bass system named after that town because of Mariano Dallape having a factory there? It’s an unknown.

Stradella is quite a distance from Castelfidardo and it’s interesting to learn that Paolo Soprani and Mariano Dallape’ started building accordions in 1876. It’s been said or found that they did not know each other.

But that’s not why we are here right now investigating. For many years Dallape’ accordions has captured the ears of accordionists worldwide. That sound. For many years it has caused accordionists to accept it as a most original and enchanting sound quality that surprisingly caused Roland to buy the entire Dallape’ Accordion factory lock, stock, and barrel. Roland wanted the sound for its digital machine…...but Dallape’ would not relinquish that part causing a suffering of Dallape’ accordion sales.

So the deal by Dallape' was everything or nothing.

It’s from this where we will start and analyze what Roland acquired for a mere digital sampling by purchasing the entire company.

I have worked on many Dallape’s and I consider them to be the most problematic of all accordions. I dread their keyboard arrangement the most and especially when a tone chamber is present.

It got better when Guerrini made them years later for the company.

So we’re back to the age-worn answer…….”it’s the reeds”

I’ll level with you here and now…...it’s never the reeds that make or break the sound of your accordion. Keep that in mind whenever you go looking for another accordion. Reeds provide you with responsiveness…...and air tightness control. If that accordion's air pressure isn’t tight, consider your reeds first.
Where’s the best test?
Your lower bass.
Can it always be your reeds?
No. It can be your quality of wax meaning the formula that you are using.
What can I do about it? Seek the quality workmanship of a journeyman. You are a musician and you can’t be a technician too. One or both will suffer from it and bring heartache to you.

Then what is the sound controlled by? And here's where we separate the nitty from the gritty.

What’s left?

The accordion in general, folks................................... Until we break that down.

I bought several repair shops and factories. The factories I have are International, Zoppi, and Universal accordions. I was looking at one time of acquiring Karpek Accordions in Wisconsin….and it was there where I saw an actual concertina built the size of a small accordion….so imagine a large concertina.

When played it sounded like…..an accordion. See my point?


***No you can’t because I haven’t gotten there yet.***


Let’s bring into the picture those super colossal sized accordions you saw built by factories to stir your juices into buying….like the 5/5 reed ones whereas that extra reed line was for a bass accordion. Ever truly listen to its sound?

In fact, have you truly listened to your accordion sound for the sound itself and not the reed tongues?

Is there a match in sound between your bass reeds and your treble reeds? These are critical questions whereas your instrument should produce outward as one unit….unless you separate it by your control.

Most accordions anymore have a foundation plate made of aluminum to hold your reed blocks. How vibrant or resonant is that aluminum plate?
Correct…..so it can’t be that.

With Dallape’ it’s always been the design of their reed-blocks. Those wide reed-blocks and resonating chamber and wall thickness….and the wood....and anchorage.

So its not the reed but what the reed vibrates to conduct that resonating sound quality. Not much different than a Bb Clarinet or any woodwind or string instrument. Same principle.

Now apply this principle to the Giulietti, Excelsior, etc. that you own. The sound quality will be controlled on the quality of your accordion.

Why do polka player love Italo-American? For that same reasoning. The accordion is made of cheaper Poplar wood and its reed blocks are likewise the same. So the sound comes forth stringent and shrill. Giulietti insisted on mahogany and Spruce and varnished.

Questions?

Interesting, but there is a reputed maker in Québec that says that the reedblock material is irrelevant! According to him, it's about the space underneath the reeds (called alvéole in French) and what frequency they are set to. For those who can understand French:



At 1:30 he does a demonstration using a tuning fork, showing that the material of the reedblock does not affect the sound.
He says that the ideal material for a reedblock would be aluminum, but makers choose wood because it's easy to work with.

 

[Dingo40]

I'm sorry, but it's all Greek to me

 

[JerryPH]

Not sure if thats the same Mario Bruneau, but we have one member here that is from the Quebec City area that plays an 8X and posts here now and then.

 

[snavoyosky]

Interesting, but there is a reputed maker in Québec that says that the reedblock material is irrelevant! According to him, it's about the space underneath the reeds (called alvéole in French) and what frequency they are set to. For those who can understand French:



At 1:30 he does a demonstration using a tuning fork, showing that the material of the reedblock does not affect the sound.
He says that the ideal material for a reedblock would be aluminum, but makers choose wood because it's easy to work with.

Your two sentences tells about him explicitly........."says that the reedblock material is irrelevant" According to him it's the space underneath the reeds............and what frequency they are set to.
Then you state that he says that the ideal material for a reedblock would be aluminum. [Ideal for what? sound quality?]

However the proof of sound is by using a tuning fork on a reedblock in various ways.

A competent journeyman realizes that a reedblock needs the value of an accordion shell to provide the true sound of an accordion.

 

[Ffingers]

I'm sorry, but it's all Greek to me

Were sleeping in the year 7 science class?