Proxima and the Future of Electronic Accordions

[Rosie C]

For myself, I'm very much of the opinion that the visuals of a performance are a huge part of (especially orchestral) music concerts, and a big part of that is seeing what a human has to do to get those sounds out. If I couldn't see the musicians actually making the music, then I'm with dak - I'd much rather just stay home and listen to the recording, where I can be getting other things done at the same time, and it's socially acceptable to use my phone or my laptop.

Absolutely. I read somewhere that less than 50% of a performance is the music - the rest being visual, audience interaction, atmosphere, etc.
We went to see a Pink Floyd some years ago. They were brilliant - not a note wrong, but there was no stage presence and it was like listening to a CD. While I will never be even close to their technical ability, I wouldn't see them again.

It's also something I've had to learn myself. Not an outgoing person, none-the-less I'm the lead singer in a band. We play renaissance-folk-rock and dress in renaissance outfits, and play instruments that look like they might be from the period. Engaging the audience with anecdotes, a bit of history, all seems to come together that we tend to get a good reception and re-booked. Despite our music being a bit obscure.

This was a publicity photo for last year's band line-up. Me on the right.

 

[JerryPH]

I have no knowledge of Proxima, their background, or their earnestness, but it wouldn't shock me to learn they might not be far from this last category of industry player (dishonesty compounded by the shortage and other unexpected calamities), which would be very disappointing. But the lack of information or communication is a red flag to me.

Actually you may know them. Same people that created the EVO. Their "process" was exactly the same as with the Proxima. Videos out 3-4 years before anything became available, when something did come out it was a few youtube videos. 3 years later they made the website and 2 years after that still no pricelist. 1 year later a price list came out, but you could not buy it if you offered them 3 times their price because they decided to sell in Asia only.

It took another 2 years before the first EVO touched North American soil. 1 year after that they claimed bankrupcy, and at a bit past that time, introduced Petosa as the only EVO dealer in North America, They only sold them, not repaired... then a year later started repairing them. Not sure how as parts production stopped with the bankruptcy. Maybe they were scavaging unsold stock?

The owner wisely deleted a TON of his posts off Facebook... too bad because it highlighted his failures one by one starting with his apologies for the delivery delays and ultimate closing of the company. This was WAY before covid. identical excuses are cropping up!

Wish I had taken a few screen shots, but it was not worth my time. All I know is that the EVO is SUPER nice to play, but you could not make me buy one if it meant me sponsoring that company.

 

[dak]

Wish I had taken a few screen shots,

With enough patience, digging up Internet history on https://archive.org is often feasible.

 

[JerryPH]

With enough patience, digging up Internet history on https://archive.org is often feasible.

Yeah... I'd rather waste the time doing something important, like trimming my fingernails... lol

 

[micahcowan]

With enough patience, digging up Internet history on https://archive.org is often feasible.

Do you find this to be true of Facebook? Most of the (even public) content on there doesn't seem to be accessible without an account, which presumably archive.org isn't using in its spiders. I use the Way Back Machine somewhat regularly, but I confess I haven't had the opportunity to try it with Facebook.

 

[dak]

Do you find this to be true of Facebook? Most of the (even public) content on there doesn't seem to be accessible without an account, which presumably archive.org isn't using in its spiders. I use the Way Back Machine somewhat regularly, but I confess I haven't had the opportunity to try it with Facebook.

I don't think it works with most of the Social Media sites, to be honest.

 

[Pamied]

I agree completely with Valski – I love my 8X. I still have my Excelsior 960, but don't play it much after I bought my 8X. I probably shouldn't say this but, to me, the 8X is "garbage" in stock form as delivered from the factory. The factory 8X just gets you to “first base”, maybe not even that far. I started with the Richard Noel User Programs, which are great. From there, I am creating new sound/tones every day! The “hooks” that Roland left in the software to modify the tones are amazing. Such as:

● The 8X has a 4 band Equalizer (Low, Mid 1, Mid 2, and High)
● Each band has:
∆ Adjustable Center Frequency
∆ Gain (+/- 15db) Adjust
∆ Q (0.5-8.0) Adjust on Mid 1 and Mid 2
∆ Level Adjust across all bands
● In the “Accordion” section, the EQ can be set to modify any of the 33 Reed types along with all of their different footages
● The Equalizer can also be used on any of the “Orchestra 1 and 2” sections
● The Equalizer can also be used on the Left Hand Orchestral Chord section
So – Will the 8X sound exactly like your acoustic accordion? No, but it will be very close, and You Can change The Tone. You can do this, also, on with your acoustic but it takes a lot of tedious work.

The bottom line is: how much of a “purist” are you? If you have to have the exact sound/tone of an acoustic or the “spit”,”growl”, “distortion” of a Hammond B3 through a 122 Leslie, then forget about, an 8X. But, if you can be satisfied with sounds that are remarkably close, and full the Portabilty of the 8X, then the 8X is fantastic.

For example take the recent post by 96 Bass on Lewis & Marone's album "Casual and Colorful" Circa 1967 -- Just Cordovox and drums. I contend that the 8X (using Hammond tonewheel sounds) with a MicroVent 122 Leslie simulator and a Bose L1 Pro8 Power stand array will sound better than the Cordovox that uses the Lowery organ tones. Now, realize you need an accordion player equivalent to the player on the "On Green Dolphin Street album", where he transitions from single notes to the great full treble chords on the right hand.

Also, the few variation of tones that are available on an acoustic accordion cannot be compared in any way to the multitude of Accordion, Organ, and Orchestral tones of the 8X.

Hi there! I just want to thank you so much for the recognition my father is receiving on this site for accordionist. My father is Ray Lewis of Lewis &Marone. On Green Dolphin Street is definitely one of my favorites and he never played his chords with less than five fingers... all five note chords. On Grief Dauphin Street happens to be one of his arrangements that he wrote out, or rather dictated to me as I wrote it out, for one of my students it happened to be his grandson, to compete with. Anyway I just wanted to say thank you for acknowledging his awesome talent! Btw, the Cordovox was an an amazing instrument. It was very heavy and my father entertained 7 nights a week, 4 hours a night sometimes with no breaks, standing with his instrument the whole time. Great memories, thank you for taking me back!

 

[Henry D]

oops.. i am stuck in the past again ?

"The past is never dead. It's not even past."

And it seems to pop up with unpleasant regularity to remind me that P T Barnum would have made an outstanding spokesman for many many darling of the day accordions (and many other instruments) over the years. Quite a few of the dears never even made it to the market.

That makes them rare and so, much higher priced ...

 

[JerryPH]

P T Barnum would have made an outstanding spokesman for many many darling of the day accordions (and many other instruments) over the years. Quite a few of the dears never even made it to the market.

That makes them rare and so, much higher priced ...

There are accordions that are worthy of that... Super XI, Gola, Dallapè, etc... an EVO in 50 years that has parts failures in items that are no longer made... will never be a member of that group.