paper or fabric for bellows.

[Anadi]

Hello,
I was in the process of filling out a form for a new bellows, and I saw that there is an options for fabric or paper. Are both options appropriate for a 120 converter bayan?  I think that I have only ever seen fabric on bellows. I am interested in the paper options as they have some particularly attractive designs. Any information would be helpful. And Please, pretend that I know nothing!  Also there are other options for cotton, satin and high gloss laminate; are these purely aesthetic choices or are there pros and cons for each? 

Oh and one other thing, the form has a tick box for "covered" or "uncovered", (on the marconi website) to what does this refer? 

Thank You in advance for any information.

Cheers, Anadi

 

[debra]

I have only ever seen fabric used to cover the bellows, even with pretty painted patterns. For a bayan I would recommend plain black (cotton) fabric with black (patterned) bellows tape and silver-color corners. A bayan is not a show accordion. It is appreciated for the serious bayan player playing virtuoso pieces, not for its looks.

 

[jozz]

you can send in your own picture so that's a no brainer

i guess the form doesn't respond when you select Uncovered, it should grey out all those covering options below..

I have a paper bellows, but this is more wallpaper than it is writing paper. It's feels the cheapest of all my bellows. Works the same though

 

[Anadi]

Thanks for the replies! I did some more research and asking around and what I have learned so far, is that historically/traditionally, the bellows of German boxes were usually covered in paper and that the bellows of Italian boxes were usually covered in fabric. I picked out a paper cover for the bellows, I just could not resist the patterns and colors!

 

[Sebastian Bravo]

The corners break when you open the bellows a lot.



this is the main problem with paper bellows, it doesn't resist high tension as fabric does, that's why Italian bellows are always superior than German ones (But some Weltmeisters uses fabric bellows as well)

 

[Anadi]

Thanks, I wondered if the fabric would be more robust.

 

[debra]

Thanks, I wondered if the fabric would be more robust.

Dunno in general, but I have never seen a tear like in that picture on a bellow with fabric.
(I have not seen many bellows with paper to be honest. Most accordions I worked on have Italian bellows, and that includes the Hohner Morino N and S series that are popular and made in Italy.)

 

[jozz]

the comment about the Weltmeister had me look twice at my recently discovered Unisella, and it has indeed cloth bellows

This is not in general: but my 1981 Concerto III has a paper bellows and it has been used extensively by at least two people over the last couple of decades 'on the road', but it hasn't failed yet (it looks original to me).

But if I had the choice for a new one, I would choose cloth