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About Titano and Giuletti accordions

Jaime_Dergut

Jaime_Dergut

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Hello everybody,

Some days ago, I found a couple of accordions that could be of interest for me, and I wanted to know the opinion from the community about them and their price:

First, I found this Titano Virtuoso:

1708094922962.png

Full size, 4/5 hand made reeds, 19.25' keyboard come with case. The owner is asking 2000$ for it.


After that, I also found this Giuletti C System:

1708095009461.png

Stepped up keys, MM reeds with 72 bass buttons.
Owner claims is is good working conditions. Asking 1300$ for it but is willing to have an offer.

Are those good prices for these accordions?

Please share your thoughts with me. I am aware that Titanos are really good accordions but I am not sure about what tube chamber is. Also, I don't know much about Gulietti either.

Thanks for your time and consideration.
 
I would inspect the reeds on that Titano to be sure they really are handmade. All the Virtuoso models I've seen only had "tipo a mano" reeds. I imagine you could special order one with handmade reeds, but people would typically buy a Titano model that came standard with handmade reeds instead. "Tube Chamber" is just the name they gave to that grill design.
 
I like Titanos.

I don't have one but one of my favourite accordionists plays them. He plays a Titano Cosmopolitan, both a converter version and a stradella bass instrument:

williampoppmusic.com

William Popp: Accordionist, Composer

williampoppmusic.com williampoppmusic.com

I think the Virtuoso usually has hand finished reeds but the Cosmopolitan has hand made reeds.

Keep practicing your Palmer & Hughes and this could be the result...

 
Jaime_Dergut said:
Some days ago, I found a couple of accordions that could be of interest for me, and I wanted to know the opinion from the community about them and their price:
Click to expand...
I guess you first need to decide if you want to go with PA or CBA?
If they are true to label and in good working order, the prices seem to be reasonable for around here, but a lot depends on your local market conditions.
Try bargaining !🙂
 
Last edited:
Dingo40 said:
I guess you first need to decide if you want to go with PA or CBA?
If they are true to label and in good working order, the prices seem to be reasonable for around here, but a lot depends on your local market conditions.
Try bargaining !🙂
Click to expand...
I think I am just going to stick to Piano accordion because it is convenient for me.

I might check the titano but probably I am not going to buy it, unless the buyer offers me a good deal.
 
I paid $1399 for a similar Titano, an LMH, not a LMMH like this one looks like. I'm completely happy with it and may have slightly overpaid a bit. No regrets though. I like Titano. $2000, yeah, like Paul said, a little pricey. If you like the sound of it and everything is in order, $1600 would be a good number, in my opinion. Good luck!
 
The Virtuoso is a nice instrument. I think that the older Virtuoso models sound better than the new ones. $2000 may be on the high end, but still within range if the compression is good and there are no keyboard or internal issues. If you like the sound, then it doesn’t really matter if the reeds are hand made or if there is a tone chamber. One thing to keep in mind is that it might be tuned sharp, possibly to A443, and might not pair well if you will be playing with others.
 
Jaime_Dergut said:
I think I am just going to stick to Piano accordion because it is convenient for me.

I might check the titano but probably I am not going to buy it, unless the buyer offers me a good deal.
Click to expand...
Hasn’t someone on this forum made the comment that the wrong accordion at a good price is still the wrong accordion?
 
Wheezer said:
The Virtuoso is a nice instrument. I think that the older Virtuoso models sound better than the new ones. $2000 may be on the high end, but still within range if the compression is good and there are no keyboard or internal issues. If you like the sound, then it doesn’t really matter if the reeds are hand made or if there is a tone chamber. One thing to keep in mind is that it might be tuned sharp, possibly to A443, and might not pair well if you will be playing with others.
Click to expand...
I always thought the reason to get hand made reeds was because of their superior response, not because they sound better.
 
I have a Titano Royal, and Vitruoso that are both chambered and there isn’t much difference in response or tone quality. I also have 2 Cosmopolitans and they all sound quite similar.
 
96Bass said:
I always thought the reason to get hand made reeds was because of their superior response, not because they sound better.
Click to expand...
It's a combination of both. Hand made reeds are supposed to have a smaller gap around the reed tongue so less air is "wasted" between the tongue and the reed plate and the air pressure therefore can "attack" the tip of the reed better so the reed can start faster. Also, the tip can sit a little bit higher above the reed plate and still start faster while reducing the risk of the reed choking. Not wasting air around the reed tongue also reduces any hiss involved in the air being wasted (a hiss that is most pronounced on the high notes that have no valves) and the gives a cleaner sound.
Of course all of this is often more theoretical than practical difference. A good tipo-a-mano (hand-finished) reed made with precision tools can be just as tight a fit on the reed plate than a hand-made reed, sometimes even better.
 
danp76 said:
I have a Titano Royal, and Vitruoso that are both chambered and there isn’t much difference in response or tone quality. I also have 2 Cosmopolitans and they all sound quite similar.
Click to expand...
That's very interesting. I have a Titano Royal Converter with HM reeds and tone chamber as well as a Virtuoso. I've also played 4 other Virtuoso's belonging to various friends (3 of them came from our mutual teacher, who sold Titano accordions). They were all very good instruments. The Virtuoso's all played and sound similar to each other, but very different from my Royal. The Royal sounds much better, with much stronger piccolo reeds, brighter sound in general, and more dynamic range than the Virtuoso's. All Titano accordions I've played or heard that do not have HM reeds have very weak sounding piccolo reeds and generally lack brightness. I always thought that was due to the "tube chamber" grill until I obtained my Royal that does not suffer that problem even though it too has that same grill style. All Virtuoso's I've encountered had no tone chamber and non-HM reeds. I don't believe that was offered as an option for a Virtuoso in the ED catalogs, but I could be wrong. I still have some of their old catalogs, so I'll try to remember to check on that. Of course, you can usually special-order non-standard features on any new accordion.
 
daveburkevt said:
I paid $1399 for a similar Titano, an LMH, not a LMMH like this one looks like. I'm completely happy with it and may have slightly overpaid a bit. No regrets though. I like Titano. $2000, yeah, like Paul said, a little pricey. If you like the sound of it and everything is in order, $1600 would be a good number, in my opinion. Good luck!
Click to expand...

I might try to negotiate that.

Someone told me those Titanos are hard to resell later, so a good deal will be a 1000$, and hopes that somebody will buy it later.
 
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