Excelsiola Reeds ??

[JIM D.]

A new member harmonikadave has asked a question on whether his Excelsiola has machine or hand made reeds.
Well over the years I've found models of Excelsiola both US and Italian with machine, hand fitted and hand made reeds. The bottom line is you will have to open the box and examine the reed visually. The unique feature of Excelsiola models of the past is that if you happen to have one with machine made reeds, the quality of the reed material and close tolerances will rival the sound produced by a hand finished reed. When examining the reed note the rivet, if it has a flat head - machine made and hand tuned. If the rivet head has a hammered dome - hand fitted or hand made. A hand fitted or hand made reed will have blue edges at the base and is an indication of the best quality steel. A close up pic' of one of your bassoon reeds will be needed for indication of faceted tongues, rough or uniform file marks, the clearance between the reed tongue and the reed vent, and the smoothness of the reed plate surface . Not an easy question to answer as Excelsiola's over the years have been equipped with reeds made by more that one manufacturer. One thing is for sure that no matter the reed type your Excelsiola has, they were always of the finest quality.

 

[Soulsaver]

Someone asked a question in the Giulietti thread whether a comprehensive list of their models existed - reminded me:
I'd really like to see a comprehensive Excelsior model history with specs... I don't know if we could find someone who knows enough about them & willing to kick one off...

Edited to just add 'know' Doh!

 

[JIM D.]

Ive been looking for a accurate comprehensive list of Excelsior made models for some years now.
The problem is that for many years now models of Excelsior made accordions pop up and cannot be found in any old product lists. I have seen some custom models that have never appeared their product line list of models such as this one which is believed to never have existed --
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Accordion-A...ouble-T-Chamber-Excellent/262292959370?_trksi

Now this one is a Excelsior Symphony W/Cassotto but has an Accordiana badge and grill. For many years Ive said these existed but always told I was full of manure. Nice to see this one pop up so now I can prove it. :tup:

 

[landro]

Most of the time I use the Roland but when I want to play accoustic I always reach for my Excelsior Symphony. (Early 50`s , made in NYC.)
Supposedly the reeds were by Bugari but I have no way of knowing for sure since the reeds are not stamped. The edges are blued at the rivet end of the reeds so I know they are from the best steel.

 

[harmonikadave]

heres a close up shot of a couple of my excelsiola bassoon reeds. i reckon its a 930 as it has the two bassoon reeds one in and one out of the chamber.(the numbers are worn off) i bought it to use for playing tango as the bassoon out of the chamber and middle reed in the chamber is a pretty good approximation of a bandoneon. well its the best ive heard? i play a good deal of jazz so am loving the chamber effect.(its my first tone chamber accordion). so the reeds have the hammered diamond headed look to them so am thinking theyre either hand finished or hand made?
p.s. im in melbourne australia, so not so quick on the replies to the northern hemispherians due to time zone difference.

 

[truthinbeer]

Welcome harmonikadave. Thanks for posting up the internal photo.

You can set your location by going to "User Control Panel" at top of page, scroll down to "Profile", then across to "Edit Profile". "Location" is most way down the options.

 

[JIM D.]

Hand Made and in excellent condition :tup:

 

[landro]

Looking closely at the image , the edges of the reed base do not look blued to me. Or am I just not seeing it?

 

[JIM D.]

The bluing is on the base of the reed tongue, the bluing on the rest of the tongue was removed in it's manufacture.

 

[landro]

Good info on reeds from Jim D.
Here`s another good read with regards to identifying reeds . http://www.bradfordaccordionband.org.uk/hand-made-reeds/

 

[landro]

The bluing is on the base of the reed tongue, the bluing on the rest of the tongue was removed in its manufacture.

I had always thought hand made reeds cut from ribbon steel always showed the blued thin sides (edges) of the reed base ,as opposed to the silver stamped edges from sheet steel .

 

[JIM D.]

If the tongue was stamped from a one-reed-wide coil the edges at the base will remain blue. If the tongue is stamped from a wider coil the edges will appear silver.

You can see what modern hand fitted and hand made reeds look like here --
http://www.accordiondepot.com/

When you get to the site look under components and then BINCI or SALPA reeds.

 

[landro]

If the tongue was stamped from a one-reed-wide coil the edges at the base will remain blue. If the tongue is stamped from a wider coil the edges will appear silver.

OK , That makes sense. However , since all of the reed base side edges in my Excelsior Symphony are blued , should I assume they were cut from purposely made widths of ribbon steel ?

 

[JIM D.]

You just answered your own question :tup:

 

[truthinbeer]

Great internal photo of your Excelsior harmonikadave. Will you be introducing your accordion to us by way of photos? JimD would certainly be able to tell you something about it.

Thanks for the Bradford link landro, most informative.

JimD, what is the purpose of the blocks on the end of the reeds in hamonikadave's photo? Necessary to approximate the frequency of that reed?
How are they attached to the reed?

 

[truthinbeer]

i reckon its a 930 as it has the two bassoon reeds one in and one out of the chamber.
...

Dave, regarding if it is a 930 or not. I have just bought one. You might find the identification number 930 stamped on the inside of the grill. This was so that parts made in different areas of the factory could be mated at assembly. Mine also has the number 72 stamped though I have no idea what it might mean.


The inside of the cassotto is also stamped on mine.