Arpeggio Accordion

[Decbox]

Hi everyone!!
I just purchased a CBA which I believe is an Arpeggio.   
Would anyone have any information on this company?
The grille looks very like a Bugari but with a little Excelsior also. 
The original owner was based in the United States. 
Any information would be very helpful. 
Many thanks. 
Declan

 

[Decbox]

Anybody got any information?

 

[nagant27]

Can you put up a picture of it?

 

[JIM D.]

Need a pic' or pic's to identify it.

 

[Decbox]

This is her. The logo was missing so I replaced it myself.

 

[debra]

The body looks like a Bugari indeed, except for the placement of the treble bellow pins. (It is very unusual to have 4 pins at the front. Many accordions have just 3 and Bugari has 2 at the front and 2 on the side.), The grille is like that of an Excelsior, but the half-circles on the side do not go past the registers and the center part is also different from the signature Excelsior grille. This type of mixup is prototypical for North Korean fake copies of Italian accordions. There is a Chinese brand of accordions (sold also through Amazon) but those look distinctly Chinese whereas the one depicted here looks well-made. So it's a mystery accordion...

 

[Decbox]

Thanks Paul
It has a great deep sounding set of tipo mano Reeds. I only ever saw one before here in Ireland and it was a Diatonic 2 row. There's a few of them on the Liberty Bellows website. I thought the centre of the grille over the couplers was very Bugari in appearance. It was originally owned in the New York area.

 

[Ventura]

in the old days, accordion=o=rama (New York) was one of two Excelsior dealers in the USA.
they also sourced the "arpeggio" line as a look-a-like (from somewhere in Italy)
to sell off of the more expensive Excelsior models

i have seen some that were truly lovely, but cheap, and also a few that were carefully. made
with very good reeds and nice action.

they still have a few pictured/listed as available on their website, though
i imagine they are "new old stock" likely built many decades ago

i believe the original principle of the company passed away long ago,
and the current iteration is located in New Jersey

histotically, quite a few Italian Manufacturers quietly built
"look-alike" accordions to copy famous and popular
brands and models... sending them out the side door of course

 

[JIM D.]

Arpeggio models were and still made by Victoria of Italy.
Exceptionally well made and the design of the models were very much similar to the Excelsior's of the same period for sale in the US to
compete with Excelsior. Still today Arpeggio models are offered by Victoria --

Arpeggio - Victoria Accordions

Particolare qualità e cura viene adottata in questi modelli professionali. La meccanica sinistra, ormai collaudatissima dai migliori suonatori professionisti, rimane affidabile e silenziosa nel tempo.

www.accordions.it

 

[debra]

Arpeggio models were and still made by Victoria of Italy.
Exceptionally well made and the design of the models were very much similar to the Excelsior's of the same period for sale in the US to
compete with Excelsior. Still today Arpeggio models are offered by Victoria --

Arpeggio - Victoria Accordions

Particolare qualità e cura viene adottata in questi modelli professionali. La meccanica sinistra, ormai collaudatissima dai migliori suonatori professionisti, rimane affidabile e silenziosa nel tempo.

www.accordions.it

The "Arpeggio" is a piano accordion model in the Victoria lineup, but I don't believe they made the button one shown in this thread. Victoria uses 3 bellow pins on the front treble side, not 4. But of course... who knows what they have done in a more distant past. I'm too young to know that I guess.

 

[JIM D.]

From the Arpeggeio PA's in the past I've found the 17 to 18" keyboards had the 3 bellow pins.
The 19" models had 4 bellows pins.
I've yet not got a button box in shop for repair.

 

[Ventura]

interesting to see arpeggio's in their lineup, and reasons for keeping the
branding quiet have expired ages ago i imagine.. accordion manufacturers
are not nearly as aggressive about territorial issues nowadays..

Victoria certainly built a lot of off and privately branded models
over the ages.. some excellent some built to a price point of course.

i have one bootleg quint bass convertor out of Victoria.. amazing
treble action and tone.. heavy as a boat anchor.. still prefer it on
jazzy Gigs where there is a bass player (and only play right hand)
beautifully sculpted tone chamber and the level of skill shown
by the build on its delicate sordino proves they had some real chops

i can certainly understand why so many Players love their Victorias
and swear by them

DeBra, i think you have the right intuition on "recognizing" who made what
old accordion.. it is in the subtle differences of pin, mechanics, etc. rather
than the curve of the back or familiar grille lines

ciao

Ventura

 

[xcvcpbf]

Hi Declan. As many have already stated, yours is indeed an Arpeggio made by Victoria. I have had 2 Bugari Gold Plus 288 accordions (superb!) and also a Beltuna Alpstar IV Swiss Chocolate model. Great accordion, but limited. Recently I got a used Arpeggio. Pretty identical to yours, except mine is a piano keyboard 19 3/8 ". Unlike the Bugari which had 2 Cassottos, this one has a Sordina. First time I ever tried one, and I like it much better! It saves weight, while providing a multitude of sounds, from soft mellow bassoon to a bright wet musette and about everything in between.
The LMMM reeds, while Tipo-a-Mano, are extremely responsive, even in bassoon mode, which was an unexpected delight. This accordion gives me the versatility to play everything on one box - American standards, Italian / Greek, Polkas, French Musettes, etc. The more I play it, the more I appreciate it. It may not have the "Guts" that the Bugari had (Binci Handmade reeds) but it does have a lot of heart! Versatile enough for smaller venues, and still plenty loud for both Polka bands I belong to.

It's probably about 15-20 years old, and the only downside is that a few of the bass buttons clack
(IF ANYONE KNOWS HOW TO FIX THIS, PLEASE ADVISE).

Here are some pictures of my accordions ( I no longer have the Bugari or Beltuna)

You've got a fine accordion, Declan, I hope you are enjoying yours as much as I enjoy mine!
P.S. If I had it to do over, I would definitely have gone with a chromatic rather than piano accordion
Who knew?!

 

[Decbox]

Hi there. Many thanks for your post regarding the Arpeggio Accordion. I've actually only really started playing mind in the last month despite the fact that I got it back from my tuner just over a year ago. I play Irish and Scottish music with some French Musette too and I have to say this machine is very impressive. As you say it does a lot of things well. Not handmade Reeds but really responsive tipo a mano.
I also have a Guerrini with Sabbattini reeds in Double Cassotto and while it is wonderful, the Arpeggio does a different thing and does it very well. I've managed to keep my piano key playing going too but I can definitely see the advantages of the CBA.
Thanks again for your contribution.
Declan