heads up free bass seekers

[Ventura]

a Guilietti continental freebass has just popped up on the Richmond Va. Craigslist
for sale

thats the one with the 3 extra rows of bass buttons

he is only askin' 3 grand

 

[debra]

A good price for a very good accordion. But the free bass with extra rows instead of a convertor is generally a bit harder to use (you need to reach in quite far and also, 4 rows can be helpful and there have been Giulietti accordions with 4 extra rows).
I think the fact that it's with 3 extra rows instead of convertor may explain the very reasonable asking price.

 

[Vladimir M.]

a Guilietti continental freebass has just popped up on the Richmond Va. Craigslist

I certainly wouldn't want the instrument. Unlike the standard models, it lacks the reed plates where they should be:

That would explain the price...

 

[Ventura]

that appears to be a difference between the 3 extra row version and the 4 extra row version

so there is a note difference between models and an equivalent reed difference
and configuration

Steve N is probably the only person left alive that could explain the manufaturing reasoning
behind the model differences, or perhaps it merely represents the path of evolution
of their extra row freebass model designs

in either case, the reedblocks look amazing to my eye..

 

[Vladimir M.]

I do not question the quality of the craftsmanship of this instrument at all. But I go about it logically. The instrument has 18+19+18=55 buttons for freebass. So apparently 55*2=110 reed plates can be expected inside, assuming there are two freebass-voices inside as usual. I felt it my duty to express my doubts, without any ill intention. For such a large instrument, I consider such an unoccupied place to be atypical....

 

[debra]

I certainly wouldn't want the instrument. Unlike the standard models, it lacks the reed plates where they should be:

That would explain the price...

I had not looked at the actual ad. This definitely does not look right.

 

[Ventura]

you guys know way more about freebass than i do for sure

The instrument has 18+19+18=55 buttons for freebass. So apparently 55*2=110 reed plates can be expected inside,

so the "standard" 4 row model is then 17+17+18+17=69*2=138 reedplates ?
or are there some duplicate notes, or would there be 28 more reedplates in the 4 row than the 3 row ?

the reedblock in question has another higher buildup on the end to accomodate taller reeds,
so there is a difference in the woodworking at the factory as well between the two models

there are intentional empty spots on treble reedblocks so it didn't seem strange to me
at first g;lance

also, there are 3 tall reeds on each of the 2 full reedblocks of the 3 row, (6 total)
but there are 4 tall reeds on each of the 3 reedblocks of the 4 row (12 total)
which suggests that there is a full deep octave on the 4 row but only a
half octave of deep notes on the 3 row ?

 

[Vladimir M.]

so the "standard" 4 row model is then 17+17+18+17=69*2=138 reedplates ?

No sir. If the freebass has 4 rows of buttons, the fourth row is just a repeat of the first row (also 17+18+17=52 buttons and than 52*2=104 reedplates). A typical Giulietti Continental Super with 4 rows of bass buttons for freebass has a range of 52 tones:

However, I also know exceptions with a very large range of tones (58):


Note, sir, that the internal arrangement of the reedplates on the reedblock is essentially identical to the rows of buttons: 19+20+19 = 58 (and then x2 - because the plates are arranged on both sides) =116 reedplates...

I consider it normal if the instrument is built with all reedplates in all places on the reedblock(s). In this case, however, the third reedblock is different and the reedplates are missing. So my humble, but million dollar question is: are there flaps under the blind tone chambers? I'm not asking provocatively, I'm just really interested technically, because I consider this exemplar to be rare. Maybe it's a rebuild at the customer's request. I know one thing. There are missing reedplates for the deepest tones. I can't say more.

Best regards, Vladimir

 

[Tom]

Yeah, only free bass I ever got involved a fishing pole, not sure the register combination…. Just sayin’

 

[Ffingers]

Yeah, only free bass I ever got involved a fishing pole, not sure the register combination…. Just sayin’

Something fishy about that, too