Marine accordion! Any thoughts or suggestions, please.

[Galingale]

I had such fun this summer, playing my Saltarelle Chaville B-system accordion aboard my yacht. Sitting on the foredeck, entertaining several other yachties with a selection of Celtic tunes , not to mention plenty of blues.
But, it scares me , keeping my cherished instrument aboard a boat, surrounded by salt water. Tottering along the deck, knowing that any ingress of corrosive salt, rain, or even the chance of dropping it overboard, gives me sleepless nights. I am convinced that all sea shanties were sung afloat without musical accompaniment, or ashore in the dryness of a local pub on the quayside. Surely nobody in their right mind would take a reed instrument to sea and expect it to last, let alone stay in tune and not leak.
The reason I am posting this thread is to find out if anyone knows of a cheap CBA , B system suitable for a boating environment. It needs to be lightweight, possibly Chinese(!) so that I can leave my lovely Saltarelle at home and sleep easier.

 

[Dingo40]

I remember there was a previous thread on this very subject some ago

 

[Dingo40]

Here's a thread:

Something suitable for a boat

Hi all, I'd like to know if anyone has any views on what would be a suitable accordion take on a sailing trip. I currently have a Vignoni Ravel 96 which is wonderful vut a little heavy and not wanting it to be ruined by salty air or damp. Weight is a key thing so I'm looking at 72 base probably...

www.accordionists.info

 

[Dingo40]

Here's another:

Best inexpensive accordion for rough environment

Good day, I’m a new member. I have played accordion for years, most of which I played occasionally but didn’t really study (I took a few years of lessons as a kid). I’m at the point where I’m taking lessons again and am improving for the first time in years. I spend most of my free time in the...

www.accordionists.info

 

[Dingo40]

Surely nobody in their right mind would take a reed instrument to sea and expect it to last, let alone stay in tune and not leak.

An acquaintance began his working life as a merchant seaman.
To help pass his off-duty hours, he took up making hexagonal, leather concertina bellows and repairing concertinas for other sailors.
So, evidently, there's free reeds afloat out there somewhere!
Eventually, this guy quit the sea, settled ashore and made a business of manufacturing diatonic button accordions (melodions) for the aficionados of Celtic music .

 

[losthobos]

Don't worry....play it with all your emotions today....who knows if we're even gonna be here tomorrow ourselves
Post some of your blues too please...I'd be mighty interested

 

[Javthedog]

Black Diamond Accordions in Essex may have the very thing.....

 

[Ikesaccordions]

I had such fun this summer, playing my Saltarelle Chaville B-system accordion aboard my yacht. Sitting on the foredeck, entertaining several other yachties with a selection of Celtic tunes , not to mention plenty of blues.
But, it scares me , keeping my cherished instrument aboard a boat, surrounded by salt water. Tottering along the deck, knowing that any ingress of corrosive salt, rain, or even the chance of dropping it overboard, gives me sleepless nights. I am convinced that all sea shanties were sung afloat without musical accompaniment, or ashore in the dryness of a local pub on the quayside. Surely nobody in their right mind would take a reed instrument to sea and expect it to last, let alone stay in tune and not leak.
The reason I am posting this thread is to find out if anyone knows of a cheap CBA , B system suitable for a boating environment. It needs to be lightweight, possibly Chinese(!) so that I can leave my lovely Saltarelle at home and sleep easier.

Don't unless you know where to get new reeds the same quality.

 

[Galingale]

Black Diamond Accordions in Essex may have the very t

I had such fun this summer, playing my Saltarelle Chaville B-system accordion aboard my yacht. Sitting on the foredeck, entertaining several other yachties with a selection of Celtic tunes , not to mention plenty of blues.
But, it scares me , keeping my cherished instrument aboard a boat, surrounded by salt water. Tottering along the deck, knowing that any ingress of corrosive salt, rain, or even the chance of dropping it overboard, gives me sleepless nights. I am convinced that all sea shanties were sung afloat without musical accompaniment, or ashore in the dryness of a local pub on the quayside. Surely nobody in their right mind would take a reed instrument to sea and expect it to last, let alone stay in tune and not leak.
The reason I am posting this thread is to find out if anyone knows of a cheap CBA , B system suitable for a boating environment. It needs to be lightweight, possibly Chinese(!) so that I can leave my lovely Saltarelle at home and sleep easier.

Black Diamond Accordions in Essex may have the very thing.....

That's a good suggestion. Thanks. What about these? They're made in China and retail at about £500
At that price I could afford to keep it on the boat.
Any thoughts, anyone.

 

[dunlustin]

I believe the owner of BD has moved on to other things and the accordion co is no more

 

[Tom]

That's a good suggestion. Thanks. What about these? They're made in China and retail at about £500
At that price I could afford to keep it on the boat.
Any thoughts, anyone.

As has been said a million times, you're better off taking that $500 to a decent dealer (if such a thing exists in your area) and getting a higher quality used, especially if you're taking it on the boat.

 

[Javthedog]

https://www.blackdiamondaccordions.com/chromatic-button-accordions
£899 .......... made in China with reeds made in Italy. I called them about 3 months ago and had a sensible conversation with (?)Greg. Certainly worth a phone call.
Accordion Centre Brum is worth a look. Fair Deal Accordions - also Brum - only do Piano and C-system and the prices/quality are comparable with BD.......

 

[dunlustin]

Re: Black Diamond
That's good news - they seemed to offer a good value intro to accordions.
I was sure I'd seen an interview about them closing - remaining stock selling thro' Reed Lounge?
Delighted to be wrong and agree it's a good place to go.

 

[Ikesaccordions]

https://www.blackdiamondaccordions.com/chromatic-button-accordions
£899 .......... made in China with reeds made in Italy. I called them about 3 months ago and had a sensible conversation with (?)Greg. Certainly worth a phone call.
Accordion Centre Brum is worth a look. Fair Deal Accordions - also Brum - only do Piano and C-system and the prices/quality are comparable with BD..

 

[Ikesaccordions]

If they claim the reeds are made in Italy, maybe so, but it doesn't mean they are good reeds. Not possible to sell and still make a profit, I would imagine. What does it even mean?
I have seen accordions made in China with German reeds that had to be modified to even play.

 

[Ventura]

i thought there were some free reed instruments kind of built and
intended for a short life living in or near the Sea
like a brass reeded concertina ? brass reeded harmonica ?

and a select few stainless steel reeded accordions ordered for
sea-adjacent towns and such where the extra resistance to corrosian
would be helpful, but they weren't cheap

i guess nothing is going to stand up to a Salt water influenced atmosphere for long
except an electronic instrument

but if you run out of batteries on a boat you are done playing

 

[Galingale]

Don't unless you know where to get new reeds th

i thought there were some free reed instruments kind of built and
intended for a short life living in or near the Sea
like a brass reeded concertina ? brass reeded harmonica ?

and a select few stainless steel reeded accordions ordered for
sea-adjacent towns and such where the extra resistance to corrosian
would be helpful, but they weren't cheap

i guess nothing is going to stand up to a Salt water influenced atmosphere for long
except an electronic instrument

but if you run out of batteries on a boat you are done playing

I've tried my Roland FRb1 on the boat. Too quiet! Cant hear it without the amp connected and you need mains power for that.

 

[Siegmund]

I am convinced that all sea shanties were sung afloat without musical accompaniment, or ashore in the dryness of a local pub on the quayside. Surely nobody in their right mind would take a reed instrument to sea and expect it to last, let alone stay in tune and not leak.

You may well then ask why one of the words for "accordion" in German is "Schifferklavier," ship-piano. (They may not have been expected to last - but if you want to take one instrument rather than a whole band, and don't want to try to maintain a piano or organ, an accordion is cheap by comparison.)
Before the accordion age, my understanding is that fiddles (probably with some number of extra strings) and flutes were the most frequent seagoing instruments. Stringed instruments don't necessarily mind high humidity, as long as it's more or less constant humidity.

i guess nothing is going to stand up to a Salt water influenced atmosphere for long
except an electronic instrument

Electronics might well stand up worse than mechanical instruments would. It takes only the tiniest little bit of oxidation to cause an electrical contact to cease conducting. Though in principle you could take apart a keyboard, sand off the oxidation, and rub no-ox-id grease on every contact.

Keeping things dry on ships has been a problem for a long time - and is one of the reasons why we call those things that keep us cool in summer "air conditioners" not "coolers": the original demand was for dehumidification (to do things like keep the powder from deteriorating in the magazines of warships in the tropics), and cooling was just side effect, since the easy mechanism to dehumidify is to cool the air down, make the water condense out, and then release the air into the space you want to keep dry.

I imagine that the 'salt water influenced atmosphere' aboard a ship is no worse than on land in a lot of tropical climates.

 

[Galingale]

All very interesting, and thanks for the input. The reference to ship-piano is fascinating but I don't own a ship or a piano accordion. My CBA is dangerously close to the water at times, hence my request for advice, for which I am most grateful. Thanks again for all your help.

 

[Dingo40]

A really cheap, compact and light alternative would be a mouth harmonica!