What do folks think of the Serenellini Regina Gold 37/96 vs the Petosa 950am? Any other recs?

[Jennyt4778]

This seems like a sweet accordion for a 37/96:

6156 - Certified Pre-Owned Black Serenellini Regina Gold Piano Accordion Binci LMMH 37 96

Type: Piano Accordion Reeds: 4/5 LMMH (BINCI, Concert dry tuning) Treble: 37 Keys, 17.75(45cm) Key to Key, 11 Registers Bass: 96 Bass Buttons, 5 Registers Weight: 24lbs / 11kg Features: Double Tone Chamber, Binci Hand Made Reeds, Concert Dry Tuning

www.libertybellows.com

Brand: Serenellini
Model: Regina Gold
Type: Piano Accordion
Reeds: 4/5 LMMH (BINCI, Concert dry tuning)
Treble: 37 Keys, 17.75"(45cm) Key to Key, 11 Registers
Bass: 96 Bass Buttons, 5 Registers
Weight: 24lbs / 11kg
Features: Double Tone Chamber, Binci Hand Made Reeds, Concert Dry Tuning, Incredibly fast keyboard action
Includes: Used Straps and Case, 6 Month Store Warranty
Suggested Upgrades: Soft Case, Professional Microphone Installation, Accordion Stand, Spray Polish, Dust Cover

Petosa has a comparable one, but why is it so much more?! I'm thinking the price is not justified. Any other Recommendations?

petosa AM-950 (36/96 LMM II TC)​

REGULAR PRICESALE PRICE$8,495.00
Certified & Warrantied

Handcrafted with the same world-famous genetics of its predecessor, the AM-1100, the AM-950 is a uniquely compact, ultra-powerful & dynamic instrument for all generations of professionals. Featuring our exquisite solid Mahogany double cassotto, Voci Armoniche's revolutionary BlueStar® reeds, 5-ply Mahogany cabinet & Mahogany reed blocks, 36 full-size Walnut treble keys with lucite key tops, and completely insulated & silent bass mechanics. This 22 pound masterpiece covers a wide array of genres while boasting an intense depth of sound and attitude.
Built in 2022, and in near-new condition, this is a fantastic opportunity for savings on the popular AM-950 model. Featuring the attractive painted finish with upgraded gunmetal hardware; a special one-of-a-kind instrument with over $1500 of custom upgrades. Completely serviced, Certified and Warrantied.

 

[danp76]

Try them both and see which one suites you best. I have a Regina, seems pretty good and probably a better value. The Petosa is most likely constructed better, but of course more money.

 

[PhiliGol]

I just had the same idea to see the dealer you trust and intensively test them both.
Make it a gut-feeling decision and you won't be wrong.
But I see: you're located in Portland - the Serenelli is in Phili - not just around the corner.
Even if you'd spend a trans-continental trip Liberty Bellows actually doesn't have an AM-950 on display.

 

[Ventura]

Luciano is a fine craftsman, can't gpo wrong with one of his accordions..
but i would suggest getting a new price for comparison.. then
consider if you buy new you can choose LMMH or LMMM
and specify tuning, as well as the standard Regina or the compact

 

[debra]

The Serenellini comes from a relatively small factory that has to work harder (and sell for less) to stay in business. Serenellini sells direct to the end-user or to a dealer. The Petosa is made by Zero Sette, part of the large Bugari factory. Zero Sette sells them to Petosa (which needs to make money on it) and Petosa then sells to the dealer (who needs to make money on it). This indirect process makes accordions more expensive. Add to this the expensive Voci Armoniche Bluestar reeds... and you can see why the price when new must have been quite a bit higher, without necessarily having added anything the player will notice... The used price later carries over some of that original price difference.

 

[Dingo40]

Here's the Serenellini : nice!
And the Petosa : nice too!

Decisions, decisions...!

 

[Walker]

Any other Recommendations?

There are lots of nice accordions out there, like the ones you are considering now... I'm sure whatever you choose will be great.

I just bought a new accordion only a few weeks ago - I chose a Scandalli, and from what I have personally seen, it seems to me the craftsmen and women have a lot of pride in their work, and it really shows in the end product.

My particular instrument is a piano accordion (41/120) in black celluloid finish, with double cassotto, hand made reeds and Quint system free bass. The model is the BJP 442 V and I absolutely adore it. I love the compact design (19mm key width), excellent build quality, superb looks and a warm, silky tone - an old Italian sound, to my ear. You know, I think it's in the blend of woods they choose.

In time I would like to buy one more good accordion. I'm going to stick with Scandalli (I kinda have an instrument in mind ). I would go for something very similar to my current Scandalli, but with a mahogany wood finish - a Scandalli Intense. I think that would compliment my current instrument well.

 

[96Bass]

The Serenellini comes from a relatively small factory that has to work harder (and sell for less) to stay in business. Serenellini sells direct to the end-user or to a dealer. The Petosa is made by Zero Sette, part of the large Bugari factory. Zero Sette sells them to Petosa (which needs to make money on it) and Petosa then sells to the dealer (who needs to make money on it). This indirect process makes accordions more expensive. Add to this the expensive Voci Armoniche Bluestar reeds... and you can see why the price when new must have been quite a bit higher, without necessarily having added anything the player will notice... The used price later carries over some of that original price difference.

I don't believe that there are Petosa dealers, all new Petosa accordions are sold direct from their store in the Seattle area. If you buy a Petosa from any other place, it is used. I haven't seen any other accordion makers that offer the Blue Star reeds. I wonder if they are made for Petosa exclusively????

 

[debra]

I don't believe that there are Petosa dealers, all new Petosa accordions are sold direct from their store in the Seattle area. If you buy a Petosa from any other place, it is used. I haven't seen any other accordion makers that offer the Blue Star reeds. I wonder if they are made for Petosa exclusively????

Good to know Petosa is just a single place (and thus one less intermediary making profit on sales.
As for the Blue Star reeds, they are a fairly recent "invention" and are rapidly being picked up by many accordion makers, for their top of the line instruments. These reeds are "tempered" again after they have been pre-tuned, so as a result all sides of the reeds are blued steel. This changes the sound characteristics to some extent because the blue side of a normal reed is stronger than the shiny (silvery) side of the reed and that influences how the reed flexes while vibrating. (The reed resists movement in both directions equally instead of more in one direction than the other.) I have yet to hear two otherwise identical accordions, one with regular a mano reeds and one with blue star reeds, in order to listen for any actual differences in sound.

 

[Jennyt4778]

Tha

Try them both and see which one suites you best. I have a Regina, seems pretty good and probably a better value. The Petosa is most likely constructed better, but of course more money.

Thank you all for the discussion!! The Petosa am 950 used accordion is in Seattle, so I’d have to drive up there to test it. However, I just had a “live” Skype session with Stas at Liberty Bellows to test the Serenelli and also the Beltuna IV Prestige 37/96 and wow, we both thought the Beltuna “won!”
I’m seriously now thinking of the Beltuna IV Prestige at Liberty Bellows
Liberty Bellows seems very knowledgeable btw, has anyone had experience with them? Stas is the main guy there who plays on their accordion videos on their website

 

[Jennyt4778]

Stas said what Debra said about Petosa- basically the markup is not justified. The used am 950 Petosa 36/96 is $8500, with like 5 registers, whereas the Beltuna Prestige 37/96 has 12registers , though both have doubel cassotto. I’m thinking I like Beltuna IV Prestige 37/96 over the Serenelli Regina gold 37/96 and Petosa am 950 bc of price point and sound… is Beltuna pretty well approved of? It’s not exactly inexpensive, but seems quality too

 

[danp76]

I have bought several accordions from them, including a Regina, and two Beltuna’s. I have a Spirit and a Leader Fly. They are all nice, all a bit different. I’m not sure that I have a favorite, the Regina is great. The Prestige is part of their three-tier professional line, which also includes the Leader and the Spirit.

 

[Jennyt4778]

We also tested a Scandalli, but seemed to me Betuna “won” over Scandalli too. Do you like Regina better than Beltuna?

 

[Jennyt4778]

Yes, Betuna Prestige line I think is the lowest of the “Professional “ accordions, but that’s ok, after all I’m really just an amateur,,

 

[Jennyt4778]

I have bought several accordions from them, including a Regina, and two Beltuna’s. I have a Spirit and a Leader Fly. They are all nice, all a bit different. I’m not sure that I have a favorite, the Regina is great. The Prestige is part of their three-tier professional line, which also includes the Leader and the Spirit.

Good to know you trust Liberty Bellows. They are far away from me but seem trustworthy

 

[danp76]

We also tested a Scandalli, but seemed to me Betuna “won” over Scandalli too. Do you like Regina better than Beltuna?

I think the Regina is more powerful with the Binci reeds. I’m not sure which one is better. A lot of it comes down to personal preferences.

 

[John M]

.. . Liberty Bellows seems very knowledgeable btw, has anyone had experience with them? . . .

Liberty Bellows is a very good company. Mike is the owner. I bought one acoustic accordion and two Roland Fr-8X's (all used and in excellent condition). Their shipping/packaging is great -- no damage to any of the accordions I received.

 

[OuijaBoard]

I have done two purchases with LB, both small new Italian accordions, with no issues. And am contemplating a third. Or, fighting the temptation anyway.

Well, one, a Beltuna "Studio" model, has toxic solvent fumes emanating from the bellows, but I didn't figure out the source of the fumes until four years after the purchase. I'm just going to have the bellows replaced myself as soon as I can get time away from work to travel the needed distance to take it to one of the outfits I see as right for this kind of job. There appears to be actual spray paint on the bellows; I'm speculating perhaps a bellows subcontractor used by Beltuna used an inappropriate substance, a fixer or spray adhesive or something.

The bellows on the Prestige look free of the paint design they've been using on the Studio line, plus the Prestige is a whole different class of instrument anyhow. Though the Studio models are not cheap, and just continue to rise in price like everything coming out of Italy.

I will say I'm a bit uneasy about the painted-and-gloss finishes so in vogue just now. The Prestige looks celluloid? While the Petosa appears to have the paint-and-gloss? It's a gorgeous look, but my Beltuna, which has a beautiful tobacco-honey sunburst stain with high-gloss finish, already has a couple of chips where that finish has simply broken off. It has by no means been bonked around and in fact has barely been used. It's like Debra has noted elsewhere about the wood cabinet accordions, which I also love, visually at least. They scuff and scratch no matter how careful you are.

 

[96Bass]

I must have been one of the few that had a bad experience with LB. I purchased a new accordion and it arrived with significant damage. My opinion is that the accordion was damaged before they shipped it. Even though the accordion was "new" it had been on their showroom floor for over a year before I bought it. The damage looked as though the accordion had been dropped. They offered me an insignificant discount if I kept the instrument. I declined and sent it back for a full refund. I am guessing they repaired the damage as a few weeks after I returned it, the accordion was back on their website, but with no mention that the accordion had been damaged.

I have two Beltuna 96 bass accordions. A Euro IV and a custom 96 bass accordion that I special ordered through John Castiglione. The custom accordion has the same walnut root finish as the accordion you are considering. The finish is excellent and not at all fragile. I believe they use a type of epoxy coating to give it a hard finish. Beltuna is an excellent brand. The only reason that I personally wouldn't want the Beltuna you are considering is because it has a smaller than standard size keyboard. A standard 37 key is 17.75". The Beltuna you are looking at, according to the website, is 17". Depending on your hand size, this could actually benefit you. For me, I wouldn't consider an accordion with a small scale keyboard.

You are not close, but not that far from Seattle (less than 3 hour drive?). You might want to look at the Petosa Artista which is 37/96. These models do no not have a tone chamber. Are you sure that you want an accordion with a tone chamber? The big advantage of dealing with Petosa is they provide excellent service, are extremely reputable, and have been in business for 100 years. Their new accordions come with: 10 day trial, lifetime maintenance, 10 year warranty, and reed guarantee. The Petosa Artista has hand made reeds and is 3 lbs lighter than the Beltuna.
I really like Beltuna accordions, but I won't do business with LB in the future.

Artista (37/96 LMMH)

Details Lightweight, powerful, and versatile... The Artista Classic reed configuration (LMMH) offers a traditional style instrument in a modern build with the quality expected from petosa. Featuring Mahogany reed blocks and box construction, all calfskin reed leathers, and special felted petosa...

petosa.com

 

[Jennyt4778]

I have done two purchases with LB, both small new Italian accordions, with no issues. And am contemplating a third. Or, fighting the temptation anyway.

Well, one, a Beltuna "Studio" model, has toxic solvent fumes emanating from the bellows, but I didn't figure out the source of the fumes until four years after the purchase. I'm just going to have the bellows replaced myself as soon as I can get time away from work to travel the needed distance to take it to one of the outfits I see as right for this kind of job. There appears to be actual spray paint on the bellows; I'm speculating perhaps a bellows subcontractor used by Beltuna used an inappropriate substance, a fixer or spray adhesive or something.

The bellows on the Prestige look free of the paint design they've been using on the Studio line, plus the Prestige is a whole different class of instrument anyhow. Though the Studio models are not cheap, and just continue to rise in price like everything coming out of Italy.

I will say I'm a bit uneasy about the painted-and-gloss finishes so in vogue just now. The Prestige looks celluloid? While the Petosa appears to have the paint-and-gloss? It's a gorgeous look, but my Beltuna, which has a beautiful tobacco-honey sunburst stain with high-gloss finish, already has a couple of chips where that finish has simply broken off. It has by no means been bonked around and in fact has barely been used. It's like Debra has noted elsewhere about the wood cabinet accordions, which I also love, visually at least. They scuff and scratch no matter how careful you are.

Thank you for the info! Ack! Toxic solvent issues .. I didn’t even imagine there could be this kind of thing going on. Makes me a little nervous about Beltuna now.