Cavagnolo Vedette 10 SK

[maugein96]

Thought I had seen it all, but this one got me.

The normal Vedette 10 model is your typical French looking Cavagnolo.

However, this model is apparently being marketed as a competitor for Gallianos Victoria accordion, but the only pro player I can find who plays one is Daniel Mille.

There is no way on this earth that accordion is made from standard Cavagnolo parts. It looks as though it has been lifted straight out of Castelfidardo, and had a Cavagnolo logo applied to the front.

If you want a used one you can get it at this French store, although I have a feeling theyll have it for quite a long time.

https://www.lamalleauxaccordeons.fr/en/347-cavagnol-vedette-10-sk-second-hand.html

This is what it sounds like, and all you need is a pair of hands like Eric Bouvelles to make it work.



Anybody know anything about these, and whether have they made more than two of them yet? It just looks like a re-badged Italian job?

 

[Krikri]

It's a real made cavagnolo to compete victoria model. 100% designed and built in the new cava france factory.

 

[debra]

Its a real made cavagnolo to compete victoria model. 100% designed and built in the new cava france factory.

It may be really made by cavagnolo but then it is a replica of typical design like made by Bugari or Victoria, using larger buttons, and using two reed blocks in cassotto and two outside of cassotto. It is also PA design with buttons (like Bugari and Victoria do). In fact Richard Galliano said himself that his accordion is essentially a PA with buttons.
As a result of copying that design this accordion sounds much more like a Bugari (508/ARS) for instance than a french-style Cavagnolo with 3 reed blocks in cassotto and three outside (resulting in a thicker body) and it does not appear to have typical Cavagnolo tuning either.

 

[maugein96]

Its a real made cavagnolo to compete victoria model. 100% designed and built in the new cava france factory.

Hi Krikri,

Thanks for that info. I could have lost a lot of money if I had bet on it being Italian. Looks like Ill need to read up on Cavas new factory. I wish Cavagnolo well with the venture, but I think Victoria will be hard to beat.

 

[maugein96]

Its a real made cavagnolo to compete victoria model. 100% designed and built in the new cava france factory.

It may be really made by cavagnolo but then it is a replica of typical design like made by Bugari or Victoria, using larger buttons, and using two reed blocks in cassotto and two outside of cassotto. It is also PA design with buttons (like Bugari and Victoria do). In fact Richard Galliano said himself that his accordion is essentially a PA with buttons.
As a result of copying that design this accordion sounds much more like a Bugari (508/ARS) for instance than a french-style Cavagnolo with 3 reed blocks in cassotto and three outside (resulting in a thicker body) and it does not appear to have typical Cavagnolo tuning either.

HI Paul,

The bass side has decoration at top and bottom similar to Bugaris that were exported to Norway, and that raised my suspicion, as well as the big treble buttons and push in bass buttons. The French retailer who is selling it describes it as a PA based CBA.

I would agree that it definitely does not sound like a Cavagnolo. Maybe new factory=new sounds.

A friend of mine had a LMMM Ballone Burini from their French CBA range which could never sound anything but pure Italian, on any register combination. Dont know if it was the tuning, the reeds, or both, but he never kept it for long.

Have we finally reached the stage where one maker is set on copying the models made by others in an effort to create an accordion monopoly? I would imagine that could be a bit of a tall order when it comes to acoustic boxes.

 

[debra]

...
Have we finally reached the stage where one maker is set on copying the models made by others in an effort to create an accordion monopoly? I would imagine that could be a bit of a tall order when it comes to acoustic boxes.

Well... if you look inside this type of accordion: two reed blocks in cassotto, two reed blocks outside, 5 reed bass, 7 bass registers... you have to really look for details that are different. All these accordions from all accordion makers look the same at first sight. It is all the more surprising they do not all sound the same.
You have to realize that many accordion factories only produce two elements of the accordion completely by themselves: the box (treble and bass side) and the reed blocks. Everything else consists of standard components and subassemblies made elsewhere. (There is still a lot of work left to do, like the work to create keys, bending them the way they should fit, fitting the pallet, felt, etc., etc. it is a laborious process but not starting completely from scratch like the box and the reed blocks.) To fit standard components the size and shape of the box is not arbitrary either. So we end up with accordions like the new Cavagnolo, a Bugari (288/ARS) or a similar Victoria that look almost identical, and that sound similar too. (The reed blocks are very important for the finer differences in sound so there is still fine art in that.)

I do a bit of accordion repair and the use of standard components and subassemblies is actually a blessing: there is some familiarity between all modern accordions now. When you open accordions from 5 or 6 decades ago everything is different, from keyboard mechanics, bass mechanics to registers, how the box is attached to the bellows, etc., etc. but nowadays there are fewer differences. There are only a few designs for the bass mechanism anymore, for registers, buttons, etc. (Sadly, because as a repairer you work more on older instruments every new repair job is a discovery into the unknown, and you never have all the right parts...)

The accordion world isnt moving towards a monopoly but many smaller players have already gone out of business, not because of the quality of their work (which was generally fine) but because of the cost of marketing/advertising to have the small brand known and distributed in many countries. I hope we will continue to have quite a bit of variety for a long time to come. I mostly listen to accordion ensembles and orchestras (and play in some) and there is nothing more boring to listen to than an orchestra where everyone plays a Hohner Morino...

 

[maugein96]

The accordion world isnt moving towards a monopoly but many smaller players have already gone out of business, not because of the quality of their work (which was generally fine) but because of the cost of marketing/advertising to have the small brand known and distributed in many countries. I hope we will continue to have quite a bit of variety for a long time to come. I mostly listen to accordion ensembles and orchestras (and play in some) and there is nothing more boring to listen to than an orchestra where everyone plays a Hohner Morino...

Thanks Paul,

I also hope that there will still be a lot of variety for a long time. Identical sounding instruments can be a bit boring as you say.

Cavagnolo seem to be putting a lot of time and effort into developing their digital accordions, which they have just about got down to a fine art (to those of us who dont have a super keen ear). At the moment there is no obvious attempt to make their own version of a Roland, and they certainly dont price their Digit models to compete with them, as Cavagnolo digitals are typically twice the price.

However, in conjunction with their recent relocation to a larger factory, it would appear that they have lowered their retail prices, which now typically undercut the Maugein range, and they have made a series of fairly well publicised marketing drives featuring their new instruments made from lighter compound material.

What confounds the whole argument though is that Hohner France seem to have put their prices up, and theyre now just about level with Cavagnolo!

Mind you, Im getting those retail prices from the French internet, and I appreciate that a few random examples wil not illustrate what the real situation is. Nevertheless, I do get the feeling that Cavagnolo are looking to put one or two competitors under. If Maugein becomes yet another statistic then they could be about to fire big guns at the Piermaria and Mengascini, at least with regard to their French export models. There are inklings that all is not well in Castelfidardo at present, but I dont know enough about the industry there to draw any firm conclusions as to what, if any, plans Cavagnolo have to muscle in on any shortcomings. That Cavagnolo/Bugari type hybrid has got me thinking.