Age of that Titano Standard

[Zvon]

Does anyone know how old that Titano Standard is?
I understand from other threads here that Titano were made by different makers over the years. Who would be the maker of this specific model?

https://petosa.com/products/titano-standard-17-lmm-1

 

[isorry123]

Looks like ~1950’s - 1960’s based on key and body design. The metal clasps are also 50’s? OG’s please Correct me if I’m wrong. No idea who the “maker” is

 

[Ventura]

well everyone who could answer that for sure is long since dead

i associate that grille and design to the Trafficante period when
the brand was being established, and God only knows who they
dealt with in those early days. If you look for similar cosmetics,
some Marino Pigini accordions of the 1950's sported an identical
double border arc with M.Pigini in the graduated half-oval
above the shifts, but that is merely a guess and anyone could have
copied the look or built to that look

and obviously after Deffner bought the franchise from them, there would have
been a period of business as usual before the Palmer-Hughes collaboration and the
new designs new engineering new patents from Deffner were contracted with Victoria
and the Famous/legendary Titano line was born and took over the Titano models.. after
another period of time, the Student line was re-branded "Titan"

the specific quality of this student type accordion can only be evaluated
in person, same as any other similar product from this era.. obviously too, the
price is heavily affected by their re-furb warranty, and trade up guarantee,
which only you can decide if that is worth the more or less doubling of
the typical used price for am LMM 3/4 size student accordion

i do not think who specifically built it makes much difference for
any student level accordion after 60/70 years have passed

it probably has a lot of years left in it.. do you think it would be an
improvement over what you are currently playing ? the bellows
have the original tape though.. a bit of warpage in the cardboard..
and whatever "hand finished reeds" means or not, that will take some muscle
to squeeze it for hours and hours

 

[isorry123]

I would agree that $1500 for an LMM is pretty steep. I got an LMM excelsior for $800 from the Ct accordion museum

 

[JIM D.]

1950 to 1960 by Victoria of Italy.

 

[Zvon]

it probably has a lot of years left in it.. do you think it would be an
improvement over what you are currently playing ? the bellows
have the original tape though.. a bit of warpage in the cardboard..
and whatever "hand finished reeds" means or not, that will take some muscle
to squeeze it for hours and hours

Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts and observations. I think it’s an interesting accordion with a special look but that price is too much for me. I got interested in this accordion because yesterday I saw one offered in my hometown for less than a third of that price.

It would interest me if it sounds good and different than what I am currently playing. Ad says it has been revised and tuned a few months ago. The one in the ad from Petosa I posted is numbered 13110 and the one in my town is # 13831.

 

[Zvon]

1950 to 1960 by Victoria of Italy.

Thanks a lot, I was typing my previous reply while your post came in!
So it’s definitely “very vintage”!

 

[Dingo40]

So it’s definitely “very vintage”!

Depends who's talking!
For some of us, the 1950s & 60s is only just yesterday!

 

[Zvon]

I took the plunge and bought it, here's mine, lovely accordion!

 

[Ventura]

sweet

 

[Zvon]

sweet

Thank you!

 

[Ventura]

now if you end up not playing it as much as you thought,
in case the sound is not that much diff from your other accordions,
consider a conversion to full musette, as this would be perfect
as a French style stroller

nice size nice weight great look.. would fit in perfectly at a bistro or
rooftop patio or streetside tables in a nice old style Town Center

the Giulietti i converted lo those many many years ago is also
cream colored, 3/4 size and has been extremely useful in this
niche role.. you really cannot beat MMM for a rich strolling sound,
and fancy handmade reeds are simply not necessary in this role
(as long as the standard reeds are easy starting)

technically, the L reedblock areas are larger than needed for a set of M
so all you have to do is trim some wood craft sticks to cover the gaps
and wax them all in.. Kimric mentioned he was currently converting
a nice little LM to MM in another thread

not rocket science at all.. just need an old student donor accordion
with a clean set of M reeds pitched a bit differently than the 2 sets
in the Titano, or a nicer set of M reeds from something better
that got like serious body damage somehow, but the reeds are fine.

 

[Tom]

now if you end up not playing it as much as you thought,
in case the sound is not that much diff from your other accordions,
consider a conversion to full musette, as this would be perfect
as a French style stroller

nice size nice weight great look.. would fit in perfectly at a bistro or
rooftop patio or streetside tables in a nice old style Town Center

the Giulietti i converted lo those many many years ago is also
cream colored, 3/4 size and has been extremely useful in this
niche role.. you really cannot beat MMM for a rich strolling sound,
and fancy handmade reeds are simply not necessary in this role
(as long as the standard reeds are easy starting)

technically, the L reedblock areas are larger than needed for a set of M
so all you have to do is trim some wood craft sticks to cover the gaps
and wax them all in.. Kimric mentioned he was currently converting
a nice little LM to MM in another thread

not rocket science at all.. just need an old student donor accordion
with a clean set of M reeds pitched a bit differently than the 2 sets
in the Titano, or a nicer set of M reeds from something better
that got like serious body damage somehow, but the reeds are fine.

It’s a beautiful white and yellow International, I love it. Maybe he could buy one of those “junkers” from Clutter King?

 

[Ventura]

my friend Andrew (also my Dentist) is a casual player,
and has several nice accordions including one really classy
PalmerHughes era full size white Titano that is still pristine..
i know the Victoria fans would give an eyetooth to find one
like his. Those models were a work of art inside and out

 

[Ventura]

one of those “junkers”

well for an MMM conversion, i think it is better to harvest from another LMM
donor, as you have two different pitched M reedsets to work with.
and, if your target box is 442 and your donor box is 440, you will end up
with M- M M+ which is ideal and possibly without even needing
much or any re-tuning at all

but yes an LMH can be a good donor too.. some of those student boxes had damn nice reeds
from waaaaay back when

 

[Pipemajor]

well for an MMM conversion, i think it is better to harvest from another LMM
donor, as you have two different pitched M reedsets to work with.
and, if your target box is 442 and your donor box is 440, you will end up
with M- M M+ which is ideal and possibly without even needing
much or any re-tuning at all

but yes an LMH can be a good donor too.. some of those student boxes had damn nice reeds
from waaaaay back when

If converting an LM to MM, would I be right in thinking you only need to remove the lowest octave reeds on the L range, then swap all the reeds down an octave. You would then only need to source the high octave reeds?

 

[Ventura]

if you split two different sets of reeds into one keyboard end to end
reedblock set you could have a noted tonal difference, as well as
needing to match the reference pitch

so you would remove all the reeds in the L set and replace them all
with a complete set of M reeds (ideally already tuned to a reference pitch
that you feel would be simpatico with the other 2 sets of M reeds)

 

[Zvon]

now if you end up not playing it as much as you thought,
in case the sound is not that much diff from your other accordions,
consider a conversion to full musette, as this would be perfect
as a French style stroller

nice size nice weight great look.. would fit in perfectly at a bistro or
rooftop patio or streetside tables in a nice old style Town Center

the Giulietti i converted lo those many many years ago is also
cream colored, 3/4 size and has been extremely useful in this
niche role.. you really cannot beat MMM for a rich strolling sound,
and fancy handmade reeds are simply not necessary in this role
(as long as the standard reeds are easy starting)

technically, the L reedblock areas are larger than needed for a set of M
so all you have to do is trim some wood craft sticks to cover the gaps
and wax them all in.. Kimric mentioned he was currently converting
a nice little LM to MM in another thread

not rocket science at all.. just need an old student donor accordion
with a clean set of M reeds pitched a bit differently than the 2 sets
in the Titano, or a nicer set of M reeds from something better
that got like serious body damage somehow, but the reeds are fine.

I am very happy with it and it does sound different from the two I already had. The idea of creating a MMM is interesting, thanks for the tip.