Cordovox

[Burt Heithold]

Hello. I'm new here, and am crazy about tube-type Cordovoxes. I own four sets, all gig ready (a fifth one for parts). Two of them are the standard Scandalli accordions, one of which I had re-done in Germany to get the musette sound (kept the original reed blocks though). The other two are Super-V's which I believe are made by Excelsior, but correct me if I'm wrong on that. Who would I ever contact if I needed reed work on one of the accordions? Two sets have Leslie speaker jacks, and I'd like to ad them to the other two that don't have them. Any leads on where I could find those parts? I also have two Lesie speakers. Hoping to find others here who have the same passions.

 

[JerryPH]

Welcome!

Parts availability is pretty much non-existent, unfortunately. The good news is if you have a strong electronics understanding, some repairs may be done. I once had an issue with the older analog electronics of my first Iorio and they fixed it even without a schematic.

The thing is, that these parts (resistors, diodes, etc...), all degrade over time and eventually all end up non-functional. It takes a stout level of determination to keep them alive, and so for that, for you to have even kept 4 of them alive for this long, I tip my hat to you... the Cordavox was the first and the one that started it all.

About the only advice that I could offer is that I see a lot of older boxes in various levels of functionality online at the Accordion Museum in Superior Michigan, maybe a call to Helmi Harrington may yield some ideas or assistance?

 

[Burt Heithold]

Welcome!

Parts availability is pretty much non-existent, unfortunately. The good news is if you have a strong electronics understanding, some repairs may be done. I once had an issue with the older analog electronics of my first Iorio and they fixed it even without a schematic.

The thing is, that these parts (resistors, diodes, etc...), all degrade over time and eventually all end up non-functional. It takes a stout level of determination to keep them alive, and so for that, for you to have even kept 4 of them alive for this long, I tip my hat to you... the Cordavox was the first and the one that started it all.

About the only advice that I could offer is that I see a lot of older boxes in various levels of functionality online at the Accordion Museum in Superior Michigan, maybe a call to Helmi Harrington may yield some ideas or assistance?

Thanks for the tip, Jerry. What do you have for equipment, and do you play for events? I'm intrigued by the extra rows on the button side of your accordion. I need to get a pic on my profile.

 

[Zevy]

Hello. I'm new here, and am crazy about tube-type Cordovoxes. I own four sets, all gig ready (a fifth one for parts). Two of them are the standard Scandalli accordions, one of which I had re-done in Germany to get the musette sound (kept the original reed blocks though). The other two are Super-V's which I believe are made by Excelsior, but correct me if I'm wrong on that. Who would I ever contact if I needed reed work on one of the accordions? Two sets have Leslie speaker jacks, and I'd like to ad them to the other two that don't have them. Any leads on where I could find those parts? I also have two Lesie speakers. Hoping to find others here who have the same passions.

All I can say is... Wow!

 

[JerryPH]

Thanks for the tip, Jerry. What do you have for equipment, and do you play for events? I'm intrigued by the extra rows on the button side of your accordion. I need to get a pic on my profile.

I'd likely fill a big post to answer that. Perhaps a few minutes on my blog/website is better.

www.AccordionMemories.com

In terms of what I play on gigs mostly the FR-8x and in the future, a combo of that and my Imperator V for acoustic work.

The accordion in my pic with the extra 3 rows is a Hohner Morino VI N with the Hohner MIII Free Bass.

 

[Burt Heithold]

I'd likely fill a big post to answer that. Perhaps a few minutes on my blog/website is better.

www.AccordionMemories.com

In terms of what I play on gigs mostly the FR-8x and in the future, a combo of that and my Imperator V for acoustic work.

The accordion in my pic with the extra 3 rows is a Hohner Morino VI N with the Hohner MIII Free Bass.

Oh, my, I just looked at that model on YouTube and am blown away at the technological advancement. It offers endless entertainment opportunities.

 

[Caps]

I used to have a cordovox with the tone generator/amp units. Still have the owners manual for it. If you have not had them recapped ever, you should. I left mine plugged in once while I went upstairs to eat lunch and after a bit I smelled smoke coming up the stairs. I rand down and found actual flames coming out of the tone generator cabinet. One or more of the wax covered capacitors had blown, dripped down onto something hot and caught fire. I yanked the plug out of the wall and used a fire extinguisher to put the flames out. The tone generator part was completely ruined. I kept the accordion for a couple years and then gave it to my cousin who said he was going to learn the accordion. He lied and promptly sold it to someone.....I really didn't care much for the accordion in a strictly acoustic mode. Very heavy to use.

 

[Giovanni]

Thanks for the trip down memory lane !! The next models of cordovox cg 5 upwards were in a completely different league. .I often wonder what would have happened if the cordovox range had been allowed continued development.
We can only dream.

 

[Burt Heithold]

I used to have a cordovox with the tone generator/amp units. Still have the owners manual for it. If you have not had them recapped ever, you should. I left mine plugged in once while I went upstairs to eat lunch and after a bit I smelled smoke coming up the stairs. I rand down and found actual flames coming out of the tone generator cabinet. One or more of the wax covered capacitors had blown, dripped down onto something hot and caught fire. I yanked the plug out of the wall and used a fire extinguisher to put the flames out. The tone generator part was completely ruined. I kept the accordion for a couple years and then gave it to my cousin who said he was going to learn the accordion. He lied and promptly sold it to someone.....I really didn't care much for the accordion in a strictly acoustic mode. Very heavy to use.

Oh, wow. That's good advice. Thank you for that tip.