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440Hz

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boxplayer4000

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440Hz





On the forum we often read about tuning to 440hz pitch. I have seldom encountered an accordion at this level. My own Hohner Morino 1VM when bought was pitched at about 7 or 8 cents above (and I’ve just kept it there over the years).


In order to sell a Fratelli Crosio (Musettina) I have just sounded out a selection of reeds so that I can describe the tuning to a prospective buyer. The basic pitch is about 12 cents (about 443.5 Hz). The pitch is remarkably consistent over the whole keyboard given the age of the instrument. The history of this accordion is known to me and I feel confident that no major changes have been made since new. In the course of repair work I have come across other instruments, mostly of Italian origin, which were set even higher.


Any thoughts?
Musettina1.JPG
 
I’ve found more often than not that they are tuned at A442/3 which is very frustrating to me as I like to play along with digital and acoustic instruments and I can hear its sharp. I’ve rejected a couple of potential buys because of it. Seems to be common in Europe where they also tune classical pianos to A4423/3 and so the whole orchestra tunes to that too. My weltmeister S4 is A440 but desperately needs an overhaul.
 
Old accordions can be tuned to any reference frequency. That A=440Hz was first standardized by the American Standards Association in 1936 and was adopted as ISO standard in 1955 and reaffirmed in 1975. But like many standards, this is a recommendation and is not mandatory. Everyone can use any different reference as there is no way to enforce the ISO standard.
several decades ago Italian accordions were often tuned to 442 or 443 by default, whereas German accordions were 440. Nowadays the situation is even more confusing as some Italian companies tune to 440 by default and others to 442 (and Hohner stopped being a German accordion maker a long time ago).
The bad thing is that many people are unaware that there are different tunings and will just order an accordion without asking for it to be tuned to some reference frequency. And when you go to a store the accordion dealer will certainly not ask you what tuning you want because then you get confused and end up buying nothing...
 
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