Jupiter Bayan

[Miroslav1806]

I am currently playing on a Pigini 42b converter but I urgently need a new accordion as it has too small a range for the pieces I play and it loses its character.

I am really a fan of the sound of a Jupiter bayan. I did research and concluded that there are 2 jupiter bayan companies:

Led by Gusarov where the price of the Jupiter Lux is around 8000 euros

And under the leadership of Barinov

Now my question is what your experiences are with Jupiter bayans and I would also like to know how much the Jupiter bayans from Barinov cost

Hopefully someone can help.

Thank you

 

[debra]

I am currently playing on a Pigini 42b converter but I urgently need a new accordion as it has too small a range for the pieces I play and it loses its character.

I am really a fan of the sound of a Jupiter bayan. I did research and concluded that there are 2 jupiter bayan companies:

Led by Gusarov where the price of the Jupiter Lux is around 8000 euros

And under the leadership of Barinov

Now my question is what your experiences are with Jupiter bayans and I would also like to know how much the Jupiter bayans from Barinov cost

Hopefully someone can help.

Thank you

If you like the sound of the "old" (Soviet times) bayans, the Barinov bayan should be your instrument of choice. It is recognized by the "open O" in the name. The Gusarov has a sharper sound and there are "rumors" that it is partly or completely made in North Korea. It can be recognized by the "star" (or + sign) inside the O of the name.
There are other bayan manufacturers with sound that is more like the old ones than the Gusarov. Think of AKKO and Zonta for instance. (AKKO is made in Voronesh, a few hundred km east of Moscow, and Zonta is made in Belarus.

 

[Walker]

I have done a quick bit of research. It seems there is a W. Gudi in Hamburg who has a website and is apparently a dealer in Jupiter bayans. There is a price list with Jupiter freebass instruments ranging from roughly €10k to €23k. However, the prices may well have changed.

I personally like Pigini and Bugari (and a few others ), and think a good pre-owned example of a Sirius or Bugari equivalent would be a quality accordion for the money. Out of the Russian instruments I think AKKO is rich and full in tone. However, there is a big variation in the sound of instruments from the different Russian manufacturers. If I may choose a colourful example to illustrate, take Mussorgsky's piece - The Hut on Foul's Legs (Baba Yaga), music inspired by an old Slavic folk tale. Firstly played on a Jupiter:



Then on an AKKO:



If the music is not scary enough, the price of the instrument will be

 

[debra]

A lot of the sound differences may come from different recording environments. Before I bought I bayan I went to a concert (with my wife) where the first half was played on a (Barinov) Jupiter bayan and the second half was played on an AKKO bayan. That made the sound comparison much more realistic. Our conclusion was that the AKKO sounded better (so I ended up buying an AKKO).
Note that how scare the price is depends on exchange rates. I bought mine when the Russian Ruble was rated quite low versus the Euro.

 

[Ffingers]

I agree with Paul that the sound which comes out of your loudspeakers or headphones is not a sound ( pardon the pun ) basis on which to judge the quality of an instrument.
I mentioned the same in a previous post with reference to the many factors which will be affecting the accuracy of final music output.

 

[Walker]

I agree with Paul that the sound which comes out of your loudspeakers or headphones is not a sound ( pardon the pun ) basis on which to judge the quality of an instrument.
I mentioned the same in a previous post with reference to the many factors which will be affecting the accuracy of final music output.

That's a fair point Ffingers and worth repeating.

However, my post was to give Miroslav1806 a reference point for Jupiter pricing and add a little to the conversation by giving a fun musical example to illustrate Paul's point - that there are different Russian makes, with different tones. Regardless of the recordings, there is one certainty in all of this - a Jupiter and AKKO do not sound the same.

Whilst the recording environment and the artists (and producers) creative vision introduces added variables, one thing matters here - these are both recordings for public release - the artists want to interpret their choice of music in its most favourable light, as they see it. In the absence of being able to sent Miroslav1806 a Jupiter and AKKO to try out, I wanted to share some recordings which I found interesting and enjoyable. I hope others get something from it too.

To me Nesterenko's Jupiter has the brighter tone, regardless of the audio enhancements etc. If I had a significant amount of money to spend on an accordion, I would take every avenue available to enrich my understanding of the options, including listening to recordings of other musicians playing different brands. And if it were me, and I wanted a Russian accordion, I would visit the factories also (if it was safe and possible to visit).

The only other thing to mention is - and it was a little playful of me - did you all know that Vlasova's AKKO was a piano accordion? I thought that might add to the conversation, but it was not mentioned. An instrument with different dimensions, construction and disposition of reeds would slightly affect the tone and increase the contrast with the more compact Jupiter. That said, it would still be tonally 'related' to the button series of AKKO instruments.

Anyway, they are both brilliant musicians with impressive accordions.

​

 

[Dingo40]

Walker,
Both the Jupiter and the Akko have appeal: it would be so hard to choose!?

 

[Siegmund]

Buy one of each! And when you've settled on one, sell the other one here

I have heard a fair bit of Jupiter and Akko before, but have been listening to Zonta video clips all day.

 

[debra]

That's a fair point Ffingers and worth repeating.

However, my post was to give Miroslav1806 a reference point for Jupiter pricing and add a little to the conversation by giving a fun musical example to illustrate Paul's point - that there are different Russian makes, with different tones. Regardless of the recordings, there is one certainty in all of this - a Jupiter and AKKO do not sound the same.

...​

Let me repost a video that is most illustrative of the sound differences:

In this video there is one person who played 4 bayans, in the same setting, all recorded the same way. Regardless of how faithful the sound reproduction is that you hear when you watch the video, it is a good basis for comparison because of the identical recording circumstances.

 

[Miroslav1806]

Thank you all for the responses. I contacted someone who has a Jupiter and an akko. I'm going to spend my time now trying out as many instruments as possible.