After an interminable delay, my Baffetti TexMex II has finally arrived (http://baffetti-accordions.com/). I haven't had an opportunity to do more than fiddle around on it some, but it sounds great, and I'm a happy camper, to be sure. I'm very impressed with the quality of construction and the Binci a'mano reeds are stellar. I ordered it 6 cents wet (normal TexMex is 4) and I'm very pleased with the choice. There are 3 reed blocks on the treble side (one voice) and 4 on the bass.
While I haven't (read: can't) played a tune on it (yet), Pilo has. Plio is a resident of Dallas, Texas and has been a Norteno player for over 40 years and is an accordion tech (He has a presents on U-tube, if interested, At: Pilo's Accordion Shop). He played it for about an hour and really liked the 6 cents tuning. Pilo is also a dealer for Karlos (exclusive TexMex importer to USA), and has handled/sold numerous Baffetti accordions into the community and he declared this accordion the most beautiful he'd ever seen (true story). I can't help but agree with him (with all due respect to those who prefer an all black box). It's worth mentioning here, that Bling is an important part of all things Mexican.
BTW: Karlos sent a pic of Dino to the Monterrey, MX, Baffetti dealer and the guy went bonkers (Karlos' words). "Where'd that engraving pattern come from?" he wanted to know. "Que Bueno!". May have started a trend!
Some special order details include engraving from Baffetti's Garmon offering (I didn't like the TexMex version), gold plating (22 kt.) on all exposed metal parts, Binci bass side reeds (normally, the bass reeds are omitted), metal flake buttons (a tribute to the 1950's) black and gold, engraving from Baffetti's Garmon offering (I didn't like the TexMex version), gold on purple bellows without ornamentation and an extra long bass strap. I also had the "Dino Baffetti" script placed on the bass side instead of the normal treble cabinet location. I did this to facilitate the attachment of a Myers microphone, which mounts via a rubber suction cup (a smooth surface being required for the suction cup). I am going to fit a quick release system for the shoulder straps, so requested there be no strap brackets installed as well.
I recorded Pilo playing Dino for about an hour. I will try to figure out how to edit and post a clip when time permits (low priority, I'd rather spend the time practicing CBA and getting familiar with the DBA).
All in all, I'm as happy as when I got my first car, age 13. Baffetti is an awesome choice (if you don't mind waiting).
Tom; still haven't chosen a "first tune", yet, but I have several under consideration. It'll necessarily be a simple one. The whole bellows reversal thing will surely be a challenge.
While I haven't (read: can't) played a tune on it (yet), Pilo has. Plio is a resident of Dallas, Texas and has been a Norteno player for over 40 years and is an accordion tech (He has a presents on U-tube, if interested, At: Pilo's Accordion Shop). He played it for about an hour and really liked the 6 cents tuning. Pilo is also a dealer for Karlos (exclusive TexMex importer to USA), and has handled/sold numerous Baffetti accordions into the community and he declared this accordion the most beautiful he'd ever seen (true story). I can't help but agree with him (with all due respect to those who prefer an all black box). It's worth mentioning here, that Bling is an important part of all things Mexican.
BTW: Karlos sent a pic of Dino to the Monterrey, MX, Baffetti dealer and the guy went bonkers (Karlos' words). "Where'd that engraving pattern come from?" he wanted to know. "Que Bueno!". May have started a trend!
Some special order details include engraving from Baffetti's Garmon offering (I didn't like the TexMex version), gold plating (22 kt.) on all exposed metal parts, Binci bass side reeds (normally, the bass reeds are omitted), metal flake buttons (a tribute to the 1950's) black and gold, engraving from Baffetti's Garmon offering (I didn't like the TexMex version), gold on purple bellows without ornamentation and an extra long bass strap. I also had the "Dino Baffetti" script placed on the bass side instead of the normal treble cabinet location. I did this to facilitate the attachment of a Myers microphone, which mounts via a rubber suction cup (a smooth surface being required for the suction cup). I am going to fit a quick release system for the shoulder straps, so requested there be no strap brackets installed as well.
I recorded Pilo playing Dino for about an hour. I will try to figure out how to edit and post a clip when time permits (low priority, I'd rather spend the time practicing CBA and getting familiar with the DBA).
All in all, I'm as happy as when I got my first car, age 13. Baffetti is an awesome choice (if you don't mind waiting).
Tom; still haven't chosen a "first tune", yet, but I have several under consideration. It'll necessarily be a simple one. The whole bellows reversal thing will surely be a challenge.
