Which are The Great Acoustic Piano Accordions?

[KLR]

Hi all,

I bought an old Giulietti N3T a few years back as I wanted a freebass PA. LMH, 41/126, 3 rows of bassetti or full stradella. Previous owner was a lefty who played it upside down! My repair guy complimented me on my taste, eulogized the company's work especially in the old days; I love the tone that comes out of it, it's very inspiring somehow. Just describing it makes me want to grab the thing and play a few songs. In fact someone authored a book recently - "The Giulietti Sound."

 

[JIM D.]

While surfing thru some older posts I noticed there were two accordion models that have become classics and not yet included in Ed's list. They are Bell model 4516 (American Made) and the Bell model 2520 (Italian Made) JIM D.

 

[Soulsaver]

While surfing thru some older posts I noticed there were two accordion models that have become classics and not yet included in Eds list. They are Bell model 4516 (American Made) and the Bell model 2520 (Italian Made) JIM D.

Added in Jim, thanks.

 

[Glenn]

Are there any French models in this list?

 

[JIM D.]

Hi Glenn: The list here is for PA's and although there were some quality French made accordions such as Bon Temps and some Piermaria"s (made in the 1920's) they were button boxes. There is a line of electronic accordions of French origin but their quality is hit and miss. Maybe we could start a list of classic acoustic button boxes ?? The button concertinas such as Star (US) have all become classic and much scearched after today here in the US. JIM D.

 

[Adam-T]

Are there any French models in this list?

Maugein ought to have a few, top class instruments - also Saltarelle make lovely CBAs (though by Make I mean Market, Saltarelle don`t actually make anything, they`re made by Dino baffetti or Serenellini) ....... in the melodeon world there`s Bernard Loffet too .

 

[JIM D.]

Thanks for the info Adam. Button boxes are rare here as 90% of the accordions in the US are PA's. The 10% of button boxes are a mix of Hohner,Weltmeister,and Paolo Soprani in the east and Gabbinelli's in the west in Tex/Mex and Cajun music groups. There are many used "Star" ( Chemnitz style) concertinas used in the popular Polish/American bands and the Roland button models have become very popular. JIM D.

 

[Tom]

Not to mention the Cajun accordions, both vintage and made by the "new" makers like Savoy et al. Personally I have not had experience with these but the general thought seems to be that the Savoys (at least, probably others) are destined to be modern classics.

Jim you mentioned the east and west but what about the middle Here in the midwest we have old time German bands playing Chemnitzer style called "concertina" and PAs called "cordeens" and lots of old Hohner style diatonics for folk music. Then you have all the Tex/Mex/Norteno/etc. in Minneapolis with the Coronas with the bass removed and the random jazz and klezmers with the chromatics. And those everlasting Italians in Milwaukee and Chicago with the big old fisarmoniche from the bel paese.

 

[JIM D.]

Yes Tom your quite correct. The % of button boxes here are small here but the brands and makes are numerous. My post was a generalization and failed to include the midwest and south. If a new topic for button boxes were to be created in will have to be separated by types. JIM D.

 

[jarvo]

Heres one you may have the answer for JIM.....I have a Scandalli 80 button 37 key .....it is obviously not a Super 6.....will it have a model name or will it just be a Scandalli 80.......I dont know much about it, it was 499 pounds, Red , Italian and therefore sounds (to my untrained ears , gorgeous) it ticked all my boxes ........I am trying to get a photo onboard !


http://s1335.photobucket.com/user/cjarvis01/library/?view=recent&page=1

 

[ilrosso]

in Italy we have Victoria, Pigini and Zero Sette who are know to be the best.
but right know every hand made accordion of Castelfidardo or Stradella are pretty much equivalent (bit of different sound, but pretty much the same quality)

 

[Tom]

What do you think of byMarco?

 

[JIM D.]

Hi Jarvo; I must say that I'm hesitating to reply to your question on your Scandalli model, as my reply just might be taken as disappointing. Let me start by saying that the name Scandalli has for the past 70 years has appeared on accordion models made by different Italian firms and vary in quality from poor to excellent. The name has recently showed up on a line of Chinese accordions. 99% of the Scandalli's imported to the US in the last century were of the low quality student model design and your model is one of these types. Most of these low quality models show up for repair these days and have no value as the cost of repairs will far outweigh the value of the instrument. If yours is in good shape it will be perfectly suited for occasional entertainment. Keep playing and have fun: JIM D.

 

[ilrosso]

never tried a by marco, but they are renown for being really good (if not the best) for dancing music (liscio) that i dont really like...
if you are gonna visit Stradella you should also go to Stocco factory, another great and storic accordion maker. Also in Vercelli (not far from stradella) there is Cooperfisa also renown for dancing and popular music. I think that if u plan to come to italy you should try all those 3 factory!

 

[jarvo]

Hi Jarvo; I must say that Im hesitating to reply to your question on your Scandalli model, as my reply just might be taken as disappointing. Let me start by saying that the name Scandalli has for the past 70 years has appeared on accordion models made by different Italian firms and vary in quality from poor to excellent. The name has recently showed up on a line of Chinese accordions. 99% of the Scandallis imported to the US in the last century were of the low quality student model design and your model is one of these types. Most of these low quality models show up for repair these days and have no value as the cost of repairs will far outweigh the value of the instrument. If yours is in good shape it will be perfectly suited for occasional entertainment. Keep playing and have fun: JIM D.

So 500 quids worth of firewood then ?..... :tdown: ......p.s. though if this is low quality then I have to try top quality sometime.......which could get expensive :lol:

At least I have the satisfaction of knowing that it is Italian.....unless the Chinese have stooped to stamping Made In Italy to go with their bogus Italian sounding names ...... {} :b :b


And I can go and console myself with me Roland ....the Made In Italy Label has pride of place in the shed

Thanks Anyway....

 

[ilrosso]

ah Marco from By Marco has a television show here in italy that i called Fisarmonicando. you can find it on youtube, there you can listen to lot of artist with bymarco accordions.

 

[Adam-T]

Jarvo - yours is a proper Italian Scandalli and FAR from being Firewood and a big step up from an East German (Weltmesiter) of the same era (70s/80s) let alone anything from Chinese the Parrot factory - I`ve never seen the name appear on a Chinese box in the UK .... the only poorly made Scandallis I`ve seen have been 48 bassers and button boxes and even they were made in Italy and sounded excellent despite the orange box wood.

I`d not be Suprised if Jim had seen a Chinese box with Scandalli on it as all sorts of things happen in the American market , for instance the Gabbanelli button boxes they get over there aren`t the same as the proper Italian made ones imported here (different arm of that large family apparently making inferior boxes in or for the USA - heck they maybe chinese too) .

 

[Tom]

Hi ilrosso,

Yes, that's where I found ByMarco. It seems like a lot of players like them, or maybe good marketing Ok, I happen to like liscio, along with other types, but what kind of music do you like?

I have a Panaccordion Cruccianelli and just bought a Della Noce organetto from Teramo, I like both of these but plan to visit Italy again in the not too distant future.

Grazie and boun forum! Tom

 

[dunlustin]

I've only just bothered to look at this thread.
What a great collection of expertise and enthusiasm!
On the off-topic lurch into cbas, Cavognolo (Lyon) is worth a mention. Very top-end but I see they now have a student model at a more accessible 1800euros which is sourced in Europe, assembled in the Far East then quality checked back in France. I'd love to know more about it as I can't see them risking their reputation for a few sales to youngsters.

By the way, is it OK to salivate when thinking/reading about/looking at accordions?

 

[Tom]

They don't call it accordion eye candy for nothing!