If it ceased in 1946 it was absorbed into another manufacturer, Settimio (not Settimo) Soprani made some of the greatest 'standard production' accordions EVER in the 1950s & 1960s. And you can still buy new Settimio Soprani branded instruments of repute today - Google SS 'Atiste 6'
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Salvage reeds from older boxes?
- Thread starter Soulsaver
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psc945
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Yes looking at the history of the Accordion makers it seems many changed hands and were absorbed by others.
The name Settimo is typo on the site presumably.
The quality and skills of the makers hopefully doent get lost, by this process.
The tonal quality must be lost surely by modernising the materials and methods of assembly, only those with an ear for this will probably notice it the greatest.
The actual player will notice its ease of use, smoothness of action and response to the player needs.
Also the cost for the quality accordion must be greatest for those traditional built which provide the better tone and overall sound.
Who makes the best reeds, would be my question. If you need a replacement to keep the quality on a good instrument, would it be a best getting proffessional work done, by those preferably who made it, or have trained by them. I would asume so. To salvage a reed and try to install on an expensive instrument, would maybe be an insult to the people who made it, but most importantly not keeping the high quality and best sound expected of the instrument. Or is it that a better quality reed from a traditional made instrument would increase the quality of sound in one of the modern, cheaper instruments.?
The reeds themselves have to be an important critical part of this musical instrument, as they initially produce the sound.
What determines a quality reed ? the initail make of the metal, the treatment as from the website -http://www.advantagefabricatedmetals.com/metalformingglossary.html
Accordion reed steel
Hardened, tempered, polished and blued or yellow flat steel with dressed edges and a carbon content of about 1.00%. Material has to possess good flatness, uniform hardness and high elasticity.
just read this website, his way of tuning and repairing old reeds.
http://1accordion.net/tuning.html
The name Settimo is typo on the site presumably.
The quality and skills of the makers hopefully doent get lost, by this process.
The tonal quality must be lost surely by modernising the materials and methods of assembly, only those with an ear for this will probably notice it the greatest.
The actual player will notice its ease of use, smoothness of action and response to the player needs.
Also the cost for the quality accordion must be greatest for those traditional built which provide the better tone and overall sound.
Who makes the best reeds, would be my question. If you need a replacement to keep the quality on a good instrument, would it be a best getting proffessional work done, by those preferably who made it, or have trained by them. I would asume so. To salvage a reed and try to install on an expensive instrument, would maybe be an insult to the people who made it, but most importantly not keeping the high quality and best sound expected of the instrument. Or is it that a better quality reed from a traditional made instrument would increase the quality of sound in one of the modern, cheaper instruments.?
The reeds themselves have to be an important critical part of this musical instrument, as they initially produce the sound.
What determines a quality reed ? the initail make of the metal, the treatment as from the website -http://www.advantagefabricatedmetals.com/metalformingglossary.html
Accordion reed steel
Hardened, tempered, polished and blued or yellow flat steel with dressed edges and a carbon content of about 1.00%. Material has to possess good flatness, uniform hardness and high elasticity.
just read this website, his way of tuning and repairing old reeds.
http://1accordion.net/tuning.html
P
psc945
Guest
Rather than starting a new post, I thought it fits in here although no answers for my situation.
The big question on mind is if there is a standardization on the dimension of reeds among the piano accordion manufacturing industry. For example, is middle C the same height,width and length for all accordions?
I am wishfully thinking I should be able to go out and buy an old 120 bass and salvage the reeds and have the treble side fit my 60 bass. Also it would be nice to know that I could buy some used reeds from eBay and they would fit. Putting a lot into new reeds would be too expensive for this old beater.
What I want to do is replace all the reed units in the first block of my three voice treble side because this is where all the malfunctioning reeds are. I have tested and tuned all the rest in the accordion on my bellow tester and all seem to be holding their tune and producing a clear note.
Reason i would like to go this route is because this old Chinese Parrot I have really suits my budget, is the right size and I like its tone. Also I could be a bit overattached to it from all the work I have done on these reeds and I am one of those oddballs that would rather repair something than replace it if possible. Reminds me of my old hot rodding days and swapping parts so kinda fun. Besides, this size is quite in demand and are few and far between in the market place and thus overpriced while the 120's are over abundant and cheap. Meanwhile it, takes the pressure off and I can polish my skills so I feel worthy of a dream machine that happens to come along.
So if anyone thinks this swapping reeds is feasible or a pie in the sky idea I would appreciate your input.
Mike
The big question on mind is if there is a standardization on the dimension of reeds among the piano accordion manufacturing industry. For example, is middle C the same height,width and length for all accordions?
I am wishfully thinking I should be able to go out and buy an old 120 bass and salvage the reeds and have the treble side fit my 60 bass. Also it would be nice to know that I could buy some used reeds from eBay and they would fit. Putting a lot into new reeds would be too expensive for this old beater.
What I want to do is replace all the reed units in the first block of my three voice treble side because this is where all the malfunctioning reeds are. I have tested and tuned all the rest in the accordion on my bellow tester and all seem to be holding their tune and producing a clear note.
Reason i would like to go this route is because this old Chinese Parrot I have really suits my budget, is the right size and I like its tone. Also I could be a bit overattached to it from all the work I have done on these reeds and I am one of those oddballs that would rather repair something than replace it if possible. Reminds me of my old hot rodding days and swapping parts so kinda fun. Besides, this size is quite in demand and are few and far between in the market place and thus overpriced while the 120's are over abundant and cheap. Meanwhile it, takes the pressure off and I can polish my skills so I feel worthy of a dream machine that happens to come along.
So if anyone thinks this swapping reeds is feasible or a pie in the sky idea I would appreciate your input.
Mike
Is it possible? I'd like to think so, however the chances of you finding a set that will work and fit perfectly is going to be a challenge and you might find yourself buying 4-5-6 sets of reeds until you find a set that fits a parrot... unless you happen to find the same model of Parrot that you have now for a song and rip it's reeds out. Different manufacturers do things their own way, so chances that there is any perfect interchangeability is pretty low, I would think.
Thanks Jerry. Big chance to take without looking inside first before buying and that could be difficult. I will look for some used reeds online as has to be some one out there with a pile of stripped down old boxes. In this day and age, it should not be too hard to find them and send them the dimensions of my reeds. I would think they could match me up with a Italian or German set with no rust. Could be another assumption though.
Mike
Mike
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Well I've been reading this tread for some time now and feel (since I have time) to comment.
I started working on accordions when I was 18 years old and was fortunate to meet and associate with some of the finest accordion repair tech's. The advise given me is what I'll post here.
The simple fact that quality spring steel can retain it's unique properties for an extremely long time if not subject to heat or rust.
A reed salvaged from an old and well played box that still has remained in tune has value. I've been saving hand made reeds for 40 years now and have over 5000 in stock. If you feel you might stock some used reeds, stay away of saving old machine made reeds and old reeds with zinc plates. American hand made reeds from the 30's to 40's and all Italian hand made reeds are worth saving. German reeds from diatonic's are worth saving as are German Helikon's. Also
older Hohner (Italian made) reeds are valuable.
I started working on accordions when I was 18 years old and was fortunate to meet and associate with some of the finest accordion repair tech's. The advise given me is what I'll post here.
The simple fact that quality spring steel can retain it's unique properties for an extremely long time if not subject to heat or rust.
A reed salvaged from an old and well played box that still has remained in tune has value. I've been saving hand made reeds for 40 years now and have over 5000 in stock. If you feel you might stock some used reeds, stay away of saving old machine made reeds and old reeds with zinc plates. American hand made reeds from the 30's to 40's and all Italian hand made reeds are worth saving. German reeds from diatonic's are worth saving as are German Helikon's. Also
older Hohner (Italian made) reeds are valuable.
Give us the pitch and measurements of a couple of reed plates and we can compare.MikeS said:
Tom
That's a good idea Tom. I just happen to have the low A in the bassoon out of the accordion as it was not much use. Lost its temper or tensile strength from overuse I suspect. I checked it with my digital calipers and the length is
2.01 in, 50.83 mm , width .70 in. 17.78mm , depth .126 in , 32 mm.
I plan on removing the block and measuring them all soon so any other measurements would be nice to get.
mike
2.01 in, 50.83 mm , width .70 in. 17.78mm , depth .126 in , 32 mm.
I plan on removing the block and measuring them all soon so any other measurements would be nice to get.
mike
The straight answer to this question is a simple no. Machine reeds are smaller than tipo a mano or a mano reeds. Reeds for lower notes can have different sizes as they have (copper) weights added to lower the pitch of reeds that are not long enough to have that low note by themselves. They are made to fit the box.MikeS said:
If you are lucky the same note (one octave higher in the L register, one octave lower in the H register) will have the same size reed plate and reed but even that need not be the case. (I know that they are different on my AKKO but thats a bayan.)
The same note will also have a different reed plate on the bass side than on the treble side.
So finding reeds that fit is always a mix and match game.
Thanks Paul for your insight. Got me to thinking if I were to pick up a 120 base Scandalli of the same era, I would be cutting the odds down to getting the right size reeds as the Parrot Design i have was patterned after it. I have seen pictures of them and see the similarities. Only thing if my gamble is wrong, I will need to adjust to playing it as unloading it would be difficult. Have to think on this one for a while.
Mike
Mike
The main reason old repairmen (or women) can use reeds salvaged from older instruments is that they have so many of them, so they are more likely to have the same notes in all sizes they come in.MikeS said:
And another thing to consider is that what really matters most is the length of the reeds. If the reed plate is a bit too long or too wide you can grind it down to make it fit. As long as the reeds then still fit it is fine.
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