Bugari or Borsini

[maugein96]

So brand brand is not very reliable indicator to sound quality. Each box has its unique character.

A very good point, indeed. Some makers change the production methods relative to the same model over the years, so one made in say 2000 may sound different to one which looks identical, but built in 1995.

Ive mentioned this before on here, but I have tried three identical accordions in the same shop/store on the same day. They were all Bal Musette model accordions made by Cavagnolo, and all brand new. They all sounded different, and the treble keyboard action on one of them was markedly different from the other two. Was that maybe down to different accordion technicians working on each one?

Ill never know, so I prefer to try before I buy, but I do appreciate others do not agree with me.

 

[colinm]

Maugein
Relax, most of my purchases have been unsatisfactory, that is why i only have 2 accordions.


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[colinm]

Tom
I am in the same boat as you, one day i will get a suitable instrument


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[colinm]

Ouijaboard
Thats good info re the bugari thanks, i may get in touch with them

Frequently accordions have only the briefest description, finding out keyboard length or weight is like getting blood from a stone,
one of the uk,s largest retailers does not have a scale on their premises
If you try to get a full description it rules out most of the accordions on sale, for me it would rule out all the accordions i am interested in.
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[colinm]

Yc360
Interesting the difference in volume you have noticed between the same models and musette versus straight.
Dealers always put low volume down to , “the accordion needs playing in”,
Maybe its not true


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[debra]

Yc360
Interesting the difference in volume you have noticed between the same models and musette versus straight.
Dealers always put low volume down to , “the accordion needs playing in”,
Maybe its not true

A bit of stiffness in the bellows in new accordions is normal and is down to the accordion needs playing in. Anything else really isnt. A new accordion does not really require playing in. That is a myth I have heard many times. It is a good idea to try each note in both directions at low volume a bit (but that really should have been done in the factory already as part of tuning) but a new accordion really is good to go. If something doesnt sound right it isnt going to disappear just after some more playing and even if it does it may come back after a bit of non-playing so it isnt right at all.

Accordions are a hand-made product to some degree. Some companies are more production-based and make series of instruments using a lot of machinery and can reliably produce instruments that sound mostly the same (barring differences in individual pieces of wood). Some are smaller and do a lot more by hand, and work done by hand cannot be repeated identically as well as machines can do that. Larger companies have the same for their less common instruments. I just installed microphones under the grille of two Pigini bass accordions and found out that even something as generic as the grille is not identical: the grille of one does not fit on the other. One even has a small strip of wood glued to the underside (at the end where the registers are) and the other does not. Clearly these grilles are not just pressed in a machine and then placed on the accordion but they need to be individually adapted to the specific body of the instrument.

The individual differences between instruments are a potential issue with ordering a new instrument that still has to be built. You can try the model before you decide but you cannot try the specific instrument before it is built...

 

[yc360]

I still like the borsini musette. Just caught off guard by the difference between the two. Would be nice to live close to a place where people actually play and sell accordion in person. The Cyber substitute can only go so far. The accordion is very much a complicated mechanical machine from the industrial era. Make me believe it would have more consistency in production than, say, a violin. Well, how could I have forgotten it's all from the smart and whimsical Italians! :b {} . I was expecting a macho loud musette from borsini, but ended up with a nice little kitty meow.
Also, both Borsinis only have 46 notes from low E to high C#, which to me it somewhat limiting. But it does help keep the size and weight in check and the buttons well sized.