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smaller accordions with more left-hand couplers

shoe

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Hi there, I'm new here.

I would quite like a mid-size accordion (72/96 basses) with a few more bass couplers than you normally get on these sizes, so maybe 5 or even 7, to have the option of playing lighter sustained chords without drowning out the right hand. Ideally, I would like to try before I buy, rather than have an instrument customised and wait for ages for it to be shipped from Italy. I'm willing to spend around 4000 pounds. I'd be grateful for any suggestions.
 
Hi there, I'm new here.

I would quite like a mid-size accordion (72/96 basses) with a few more bass couplers than you normally get on these sizes, so maybe 5 or even 7, to have the option of playing lighter sustained chords without drowning out the right hand. Ideally, I would like to try before I buy, rather than have an instrument customised and wait for ages for it to be shipped from Italy. I'm willing to spend around 4000 pounds. I'd be grateful for any suggestions.
Brandoni Kingline Cassotto
 
Hi there, I'm new here.

I would quite like a mid-size accordion (72/96 basses) with a few more bass couplers than you normally get on these sizes, so maybe 5 or even 7, to have the option of playing lighter sustained chords without drowning out the right hand. Ideally, I would like to try before I buy, rather than have an instrument customised and wait for ages for it to be shipped from Italy. I'm willing to spend around 4000 pounds. I'd be grateful for any suggestions.
A small (96 bass) Bugari like the 148/CH or 151/SE comes with 5 bass registers.
 
Thanks a lot for those suggestions. Has anybody got any personal experience with these instruments? Apparently smaller instruments can be quite different from the bigger instruments by the same brands.

If there is anybody from the UK here, I'd love to know where I could try these out. Most dealers I have been able to find online seem to have to order them.
 
I recently bought a Giustozzi 96 Bass which has 7 bass couplers. I'm very pleased with the light and shade available and the balance between the treble and bass. Not many 96/72 on the market in the UK at the minute and you might have to wait until the right accordion is available.
 
Have you considered going to see what Allodi accordions have? They’re in London and have a pretty big stock. 5 bass couplers are rarer in their stock under 120 bass. But they do have some. Most just over your budget but some under. Definitely visit and try them in person if you can. See eg http://www.accordions.co.uk/80&96.htm
 
Thanks Jibberin, I hear great things about Giustozzi, but I never seem to see any for sale anywhere. Where did you get yours?

Thanks Viv, I am aware of Allodi. He's great, but his website is rarely up to date. Those Brandonis for example have been listed as "out of stock" for ages. You are right, I should probably go in person.

I should add I'd also prefer a double octave tuning rather than musette. This seems to make it trickier still.
 
Thanks a lot for those suggestions. Has anybody got any personal experience with these instruments? Apparently smaller instruments can be quite different from the bigger instruments by the same brands.

If there is anybody from the UK here, I'd love to know where I could try these out. Most dealers I have been able to find online seem to have to order them.
Most (but certainly not all) people who buy a small accordion do so more as a "beginner" instrument, often for (growing) child. They don't want to spend too much money. But... building such a smaller accordion is still a lot of work, so most of the cost cutting has to come from the materials used, like all-plastic keys, the cheapest machine-reeds, cheaper wood for the reed blocks, etc., etc... If you really want a high quality small accordion some manufacturers will build it for you. A smaller accordion can be fitted with good quality a mano reeds, wooden keys (with celluloid or plastic tops), and if you really want the best sound there are also cassotto models. It all comes at a cost.
 
My Giustozzi came from the Accordion Lounge. Fortunately they had one available to try. I noticed that John Douglas Accordions in Dumfries has a second hand Fisitalia 96/34 double cassotto, handmade reeds at £3995.
 
The Giustozzis at the bottom of this page http://www.accordionlounge.com/96-bass-piano-accordions-bugari-giustozzi.html have cassotto, I can imagine they cost a bit more than I was thinking of. May I ask how much you paid?

The Fisitalia looks like exactly what I need though. Unfortunately there is no way I can travel that far north to try it out. Do you know whether John Douglas is a reputable dealer I can trust? Someone I met at a workshop recently kindly allowed me to try his Fisitalia, and I really liked it. I think it was this one https://www.squeezeboxmarketplace.com/accordion/ Piano-Accordion-96-Bass- Accordions/Fisitalia-96-Bass-Piano-Accordion Non-cassotto I believe, but new. Not sure what is better, particularly if I have to order one unseen.
 
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Most (but certainly not all) people who buy a small accordion do so more as a "beginner" instrument, often for (growing) child. They don't want to spend too much money. But... building such a smaller accordion is still a lot of work, so most of the cost cutting has to come from the materials used, like all-plastic keys, the cheapest machine-reeds, cheaper wood for the reed blocks, etc., etc... If you really want a high quality small accordion some manufacturers will build it for you. A smaller accordion can be fitted with good quality a mano reeds, wooden keys (with celluloid or plastic tops), and if you really want the best sound there are also cassotto models. It all comes at a cost.

I mainly play folk. In Britain there is quite a thriving folk accordion scene, and most people in it play mid-sized instruments because 41/120 (and the associated weight) is just not necessary for the genre. However, I feel like there is an evolving trend towards more intricate and lyrical arrangements of folk tunes with more complex chords played as block chords or sustained. Maybe manufacturers and sellers are missing a trick here. There is definitely a demand for higher-end smaller accordions with more options. (And lots of older people with some spending power in the folk scene.)

The brands that have been mentioned on this thread so far don't do plastic or cheap machine reeds as far as I know, but I have been warned that some brands are better than others at scaling down their signature instruments and still getting the L/R balance right.
 
Hi
I bought an accordion and had repairs to others done by John. I can only say I found him very good to deal with and would have no hesitation in recommending him.
 
Hi
I bought an accordion and had repairs to others done by John. I can only say I found him very good to deal with and would have no hesitation in recommending him.
That's very helpful, thank you. I may contact him about the Fisitalia.
 
I have a 37/96 Serenellini Regina Gold with Binci reeds, doulbe chambered accordion. It's fun to play and easy to handle, of course there are lighter 37/96 accordions, consider a Beltuna Fly 37/96 or Bugari Essenzia, Petosa Leggera, etc.
 
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