Scandalli Intense vs Scandalli Intense air, quality and your opinions

[crescendo]

The Sonola SS6 is in a class by itself
I switched out piccolo reed for another Clarinet so the violin is beautiful
I don’t know if Scandalli intense air sounds as good
I have double riveted binci reeds in new clarinet reeds
I consider weight now that I am older Scandalli Air III-at 21 lbs but key size smaller so I am playing two different key sizes

Hard decision

 

[Walker]

Just for a bit of light entertainment here's Simone Zanchini, one of the world's greatest Jazz accordionists playing a gentle little duet with Gabriele Mirabella. Looks like he has a maple Scandalli Intense.

 

[Ffingers]

Just for a bit of light entertainment here's Simone Zanchini, one of the world's greatest Jazz accordionists playing a gentle little duet with Gabriele Mirabella. Looks like he has a maple Scandalli Intense.

Absolutely sublime.

Thank you.

 

[nagant27]

Absolutely sublime.

Thank you.

I agree. I absolutely love hearing a warm sounding accordion and clarinet together. They were made for each other when played like this.
Reminds me of old recordings with Ernie felice playing his sonola and of course buddy difranco with Gumina.

 

[Walker]

I absolutely love hearing a warm sounding accordion and clarinet together. They were made for each other when played like this.

Totally agree, the accordion & clarinet can be amazing together.

It often made me wonder, what if... a custom built accordion had extra-special reed blocks crafted from African Blackwood! I always knew the great Highland bagpipe makers have prized this wood on their finest instruments for centuries. But it is also a wood of choice for the clarinet too, so I believe.

Okay, so African Blackwood is one of the hardest species of wood in the world, which makes it difficult to cut, but surely there are tools and craftsmen and women who could create a good reed block design with this wood. I also envisage the artisan reeds would need to be set where they can oscillate in a position as internally in the reed blocks as possible...​

I have a few ideas for special instruments, I just lack the king's ransom to test them out.

This is quite interesting...

 

[Pipemajor]

Totally agree, the accordion & clarinet can be amazing together.

It often made me wonder, what if... a custom built accordion had extra-special reed blocks crafted from African Blackwood! I always knew the great Highland bagpipe makers have prized this wood on their finest instruments for centuries. But it is also a wood of choice for the clarinet too, so I believe.

Okay, so African Blackwood is one of the hardest species of wood in the world, which makes it difficult to cut, but surely there are tools and craftsmen and women who could create a good reed block design with this wood. I also envisage the artisan reeds would need to be set where they can oscillate in a position as internally in the reed blocks as possible...​

I have a few ideas for special instruments, I just lack the king's ransom to test them out.

This is quite interesting...

You'd probably need a block and tackle to lift it

 

[Walker]

Good point @Pipemajor. It's heavy, which is okay for light instruments like acoustic guitars, clarinets and bagpipes - but for already heavy instruments like accordions, not so ideal, even if it is just a few lbs on to the reed blocks - it all adds up.

As a comparison:

American Walnut 40lb/ft3
Mahogany 40lb/ft3
African Blackwood 85lb/ft3

Perhaps a good alternative is rosewood. I have seen a number of antique rosewood accordions etc. Would be a little heavier than mahogany but lighter than the African Blackwood. But again it would have it's own distinctive tone...

 

[Dingo40]

There's also Lignum Vitae from the Caribbean:
"Lignum vitae is hard and durable, and is also the densest wood traded (average dried density: ~79 lbs/ft3 or ~1260 kg/m3); it will easily sink in water."
See here:

Lignum vitae - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Ventura]

rosewood has been restricted for a number of years now.. an exemption
was added (kinda) for musical instruments because at first traveling international
orchestras were having (old, personal) instruments impounded

Basically, as long as an item is not for sale and is simply for personal use, you can travel with it internationally. So, think of guitars made with rosewood, and other items weighing less than 22 pounds. The good news is that if you own an item made of rosewood, you should now be able to travel with it without issue. But the bad news is that if you are selling any type of rosewood (either as lumber, or as a finished product), you can no longer (legally) ship it out of your country.

 

[Pipemajor]

Going off at (yet) another tangent, I wonder, if weight considerations are discarded, how reed blocks would sound if made from bell metal, brass? as used in brass instruments, or indeed gold or silver.
I seem to recall James Galway had a golden flute which sounded wonderful.

 

[saundersbp]

I'd always assumed accordion reeds were made out of brass like their close relative the harmonium. I wonder why not? Weight?

 

[Ventura]

i seem to remember brass is not quite as flexible as spring steel,
so longevity and perhaps volume would be a consideration vs. brass,

even intended for harsh salty climates, the few who had mastered tempering stainless,
their accordions opted for stainless steel rather than brass

 

[Walker]

Going off at (yet) another tangent, I wonder, if weight considerations are discarded, how reed blocks would sound if made from bell metal, brass? as used in brass instruments, or indeed gold or silver.
I seem to recall James Galway had a golden flute which sounded wonderful.

No doubt having metal reed blocks would have a big sonic impact. But we just don't see makers trying it. Aluminium cassotto - yes, I have seen this many times.

I think the manufacturers have over the years settled on woods that would be described as tonewoods. Often spruce, walnut, cedar, alder, mahogany, maple have found themselves in our reed blocks. But some people believe the choice of wood makes no difference to the sound of the accordion and it's only about the workable properties of the wood that matter. I disagree. I think at the highest level of instruments, the reeds, reed blocks and use of wax or pins etc. and even the varnish all combine to subtly affect the tone of the accordion.

This is interesting - solid maple. This is not done just to look good, I think maple typically gives a bright sound with tonal projection.

Guitarists know all about the wood in their instruments and the effect it has on tone. Even African Blackwood has even found itself in guitar backs and sides - its stunning! But rosewood appears to be very special too, maybe the best as some guitarists go crazy for it! Others are mahogany mad.

I'd always assumed accordion reeds were made out of brass like their close relative the harmonium. I wonder why not? Weight?

From time to time brass has been used for reeds. I recall some very old Hohner Morino M series having brass reeds. It's not really done much now. With enough money I would imagine it is still possible.

even intended for harsh salty climates, the few who had mastered tempering stainless,
their accordions opted for stainless steel rather than brass

As we know quality reeds these days seem to be Swedish Blue Steel. But, it takes a very knowledgeable individual to know about the special reeds. Ventura, you know the good stuff! I have seen maybe only two or three accordions that have what appears to be stainless steel reeds. They are a thing of silvery beauty - both to look at and to hear. I have only seen them in the occasional vintage Hohner Gola. Magnificent!

 

[Dingo40]

FWIW (from Google):
"A 14-carat gold flute weighs approximately 500 grams, while a solid-silver flute weighs approximately 440 grams.

Do you need strength to play a heavy flute?​

There are also platinum flutes, which weigh more than gold instruments and produce a correspondingly stronger sound. These highly spectacular instruments seem to fill every corner of the concert hall with sound. For this reason alone, the player of a platinum flute experiences fairly strong resistance. Flautists who are used to playing a silver flute normally lack the strength to get the full sound out of a 14-carat gold, 18-carat gold, or platinum flute, as flutes of different materials each have their own corresponding playing methods."

 

[Dingo40]

See here:

solid platinum flute youtube - Google Search

Platinum may be the way to go ?

 

[Walker]

That's it settled Dingo. Two platinum Scandalli Intense accordions please... better make it the Air version though.

 

[Pipemajor]

Guitarists know all about the wood in their instruments and the effect it has on tone. Even African Blackwood has even found itself in guitar backs and sides - its stunning! But rosewood appears to be very special too, maybe the best as some guitarists go crazy for it! Others are mahogany mad.

Then of course there are the Resonator guitars. A friend has a National Resonator guitar. Quite a striking sound.

 

[Waldo]

I have 2 solid silver clarinets from the 1930's (a Silver King by H.N. White Co. and a Buescher Model 740) and I think both sound better than any Buffet or Selmer manufactured from Grenadilla (the common term within the clarinet community), but then what do I know???
BTW, one could purchase a platinum flute or clarinet for half the cost of a gold model (based on metal values, anyway).

I also have a Beltuna "Fly" CBA and the tone quality is lacking, for sure. When I inquired the factory, I was told the changes incorporated in the weight reduction effort were carbon-fibre grille and mechanism components, bellows construction (?), and paint instead of cellulose finish. Not sure how many grams were saved by the reduced tone quality....
The issue for me was weight vs bad back and age, thus, The Fly.

 

[debra]

...

I also have a Beltuna "Fly" CBA and the tone quality is lacking, for sure. When I inquired the factory, I was told the changes incorporated in the weight reduction effort were carbon-fibre grille and mechanism components, bellows construction (?), and paint instead of cellulose finish. Not sure how many grams were saved by the reduced tone quality....
The issue for me was weight vs bad back and age, thus, The Fly.

It takes many small weight reductions here and there to make an impact on the overall weight of an accordion. Replacing metal or wood parts by carbon fiber certainly helps, a few grams per component maybe... Most of what makes an accordion lighter is to use thinner wood for the "outer shell". Besides potential influence on the "fullness" of the sound the main impact is on how sturdy the accordion still is (or isn't). Lightweight accordions need to be handled with more care than heavier ones. I have seen the results of accordions being dropped... It never is a pretty sight but a sturdy accordion has a much better chance of surviving minor bumps or drops than a lightweight one.