Oddball Accordions #2

[Waldo]

Here are some pics of #2 oddball. This one is a Serenelli Ruatta, Made in Italy. Always welcoming comments and info regarding this box.
This one has fully functional keys and buttons. The black keys actuate sympathetic buttons in the CBA section. While the previous posted oddball has black dots indicating enharmonics on some white keys, this one has none. My big question regarding this box is; will it play as a fully functional PA and a fully functional 4 or 5-row CBA? The oddball #1 does not function as a PA, the PA portion is fake. I haven't been able to evaluate this box as it was "rebuilt" by a rank amateur ("waxing job" is visible in one of the pics) and numerous reed plates had fallen off prior to my purchase. I'm in the process of rebuilding the reed portion, but completion is a long way off. I'm 40 hours into it so far, just removing the old "wax".

I especially like the MOP inlay with the hand done engraving. Check out the "Devil?". Also the hand cut grille.

Another question is regarding the tuning. There are 5 reed blocks on the treble side and the center block contains the slider for the voicing (two position under keyboard), which removes along with the block. All the weighted reeds are mounted on this block. The other 4 blocks are always active. Would such a set-up simply be a Hi-Lo option? Should I expect a dry tuning?

Again, thanks all,

Waldo

 

[Ffingers]

Fascinating stuff, Waldo.

 

[Dingo40]

I just love these old instruments: lucky you. Waldo !
Another beauty ??

 

[debra]

Oddball #1 looked most like a piano accordion but offered only a 3-row CBA. This one gives you a 5 row CBA. Again, the black keys are not usable because of the "missing" ones. There are also such accordions that have "black" keys in between each pair of white keys but that have the ones that do not exist in PA painted white so from a distance you still see a normal piano keyboard. You then had two complete rows of "buttons" in the PA-style keyboard part, requiring fewer real button rows to complete a full CBA keyboard.

 

[Waldo]

Wow, Paul. I'll need to keep an eye peeled for such a design.
Were these "fakes" ever very popular, or are the relatively rare? The condition of both the oddballs and their cases suggest they didn't see a lot of service. As you have mentioned in the past, the importance of learning and playing on a specific accordion is advice I have taken to heart, and is absolutely correct. This makes me wonder about vintage CBA players using the "fakes", in conjunction with normal CBA,s and switching back and forth. They feel hugely different.
Any idea if they are still made? When discontinued? Production years of my two examples?
Thanks

 

[debra]

Wow, Paul. I'll need to keep an eye peeled for such a design.
Were these "fakes" ever very popular, or are the relatively rare? The condition of both the oddballs and their cases suggest they didn't see a lot of service. As you have mentioned in the past, the importance of learning and playing on a specific accordion is advice I have taken to heart, and is absolutely correct. This makes me wonder about vintage CBA players using the "fakes", in conjunction with normal CBA,s and switching back and forth. They feel hugely different.
Any idea if they are still made? When discontinued? Production years of my two examples?
Thanks

I don't know much about these "fake" piano accordions, but the keyboards look quite normal to me. Most have more or less rectangular buttons, but there are also "plain" CBA with such buttons. They are a normal "stepped" design. So they should really be close enough to a plain CBA to be able to switch between them without much trouble. Regular CBA are also not all the same: there are flat keyboards and stepped keyboards (I have both types) and there are differences in the size and spacing of buttons (I have three different sizes to deal with when I play). On facebook I have seen Nathan Neumann play all types of accordion keyboards (but he plays many more instruments as well and seems to be able to handle much anything).

 

[JerryPH]

"Back in the day" these were made to look like piano accordions because that's what people in North America wanted to see and hear... but the players were generally CBA players wanting in on the action, so commissioned these kinds of layouts. Not very popular, not every easy to find. Harder to play properly... lol.

I've seen a couple of these at the accordion museum in Canaan, CT... fascinating!