Which Bugari

[Random Johnny]

Question:
I currently own a Bugari CBA seniorfisa, my teacher has a student who due to old age stops playing and wants to sell his Bugari artist cassotto.
I’ve mailed the Bugari seller in Belgium and asked him if he would buy the seniorfisa so I can then buy the artist cassotto. Now the shop mails me they have a secondhand Bugari 430ch/c that I can trade with my, almost new seniorfisa..
The 430 convertor is recently factory revised and tuned. The artist cassotto is 15 years old and in good shape. What would be the wise thing to do? I’m intermediate and have no experience with convertor bass. Bit of a luxury problem but all advice is welcome. Regards, Peter

 

[Tom]

Welcome Peter! Are you in a position to try them both and compare? One may “speak” to you as perfection personified, and one may sound and/or feel really awkward or out of tune. Cost comparison could be an issue too. Many people feel that condition beats features. Good luck!

 

[Alan Sharkis]

Hello Peter.

I have only one thing to offer in addition to Tom’s advice:

If the converter makes the bass side of the accordion heavier than you’d like, that’s a factor in your decision. Otherwise, simply don’t use it unless you get curious.

Good luck in any case.

 

[Random Johnny]

Thanks for wishing me luck, Tom and Alan, feels like I need it. I’m finding it hard to make a choice. Here they are.
Both instruments sound great. Both are a step up from my current model. If I read the posts on the forum the artist cassotto is spoken highly of. I don’t read a lot about converteraccordions.

 

[dak]

A converter bass has to create its standard bass sound from the converter reeds. That makes it different from a standard bass designed from scratch. Some people like that difference, some don't. In particular, this tends to offer less leeway for masking octave breaks and has more prominent individual chord notes. So you definitely want to try it: soundwise it's not "just the same but with an additional free bass mode".

 

[debra]

Question:
I currently own a Bugari CBA seniorfisa, my teacher has a student who due to old age stops playing and wants to sell his Bugari artist cassotto.
I’ve mailed the Bugari seller in Belgium and asked him if he would buy the seniorfisa so I can then buy the artist cassotto. Now the shop mails me they have a secondhand Bugari 430ch/c that I can trade with my, almost new seniorfisa..
The 430 convertor is recently factory revised and tuned. The artist cassotto is 15 years old and in good shape. What would be the wise thing to do? I’m intermediate and have no experience with convertor bass. Bit of a luxury problem but all advice is welcome. Regards, Peter

The 430/CH/C in terms of quality and sound is a lesser instrument than the Artist Cassotto. For starters the 430 has no cassotto, and I fear it will sound much like the seniorfisa you have. So in that sense it's not an upgrade. But it does have convertor.
The Artist Cassotto series are better accordions. You didn't say what model you are looking at...
You can always put your seniorfisa up for sale in one of the common marketplaces (marktplaats, tweedehands) and just buy the artist cassotto without looking for a trade. It's much easier to buy an accordion when buying and selling are separate and not made into a trade-in (which is rarely profitable for the person trading in an accordion to buy a different one.

 

[Random Johnny]

The 430/CH/C in terms of quality and sound is a lesser instrument than the Artist Cassotto. For starters the 430 has no cassotto, and I fear it will sound much like the seniorfisa you have. So in that sense it's not an upgrade. But it does have convertor.
The Artist Cassotto series are better accordions. You didn't say what model you are looking at...
You can always put your seniorfisa up for sale in one of the common marketplaces (marktplaats, tweedehands) and just buy the artist cassotto without looking for a trade. It's much easier to buy an accordion when buying and selling are separate and not made into a trade-in (which is rarely profitable for the person trading in an accordion to buy a different

The 430/CH/C in terms of quality and sound is a lesser instrument than the Artist Cassotto. For starters the 430 has no cassotto, and I fear it will sound much like the seniorfisa you have. So in that sense it's not an upgrade. But it does have convertor.
The Artist Cassotto series are better accordions. You didn't say what model you are looking at...
You can always put your seniorfisa up for sale in one of the common marketplaces (marktplaats, tweedehands) and just buy the artist cassotto without looking for a trade. It's much easier to buy an accordion when buying and selling are separate and not made into a trade-in (which is rarely profitable for the person trading in an accordion to buy a different one.

Good advice, thank you. I don’t have information which model Artist it is. Just that it’s in good condition. My teacher gave me the tip, he played it say’s it 100% ok

 

[debra]

Good advice, thank you. I don’t have information which model Artist it is. Just that it’s in good condition. My teacher gave me the tip, he played it say’s it 100% ok

You should do more inquiries because there are important differences. For instance the 504/ARS/C is an Artist but has no cassotto (it has convertor though). The 540/ARS/C is very nice but more compact than the others. You should check which size you want. A 502/ARS is 96 bass (and has 42 treble notes). The 508 is 120 bass with 46 treble notes. The 505 is the same but 5 voice and thus a bit bulkier.
I have played a 505/ARS for a few years. Very nice accordion!

 

[Random Johnny]

It’s a 120 bass.

 

[Tom]

All else being equal it seems to come down to “free bass vs. cassotto”. What is your feeling about free bass? Do you long for that ability, or do you see yourself happy with stradella for a while? Similarly, do you feel a need for cassotto sound? My advice is to buy the better quality/sound cassotto version, and buy a Roland too because then you get free bass, silent practice, and all the cool sounds and effects. Name them both Doris.

 

[debra]

It’s a 120 bass.

That's a 505/ARS. It is the 5-voice model. This one appears to have an on and off switch for the fifth voice. Some come with just regular registers some with MM in them and some with MMM in them.
If you wonder how I know it's a 505? The grille has 8 decorative strips. The 4-voice 508 has only 7 decorative strips (because it is not as "thick").

 

[Random Johnny]

All else being equal it seems to come down to “free bass vs. cassotto”. What is your feeling about free bass? Do you long for that ability, or do you see yourself happy with stradella for a while? Similarly, do you feel a need for cassotto sound? My advice is to buy the better quality/sound cassotto version, and buy a Roland too because then you get free bass, silent practice, and all the cool sounds and effects. Name them both Doris.

 

[Random Johnny]

I’ve sold the Seniorfisa and I am now the happy owner of the 505ARS.
Yeeha

 

[Random Johnny]

I’m entering a new era with this instrument. The sound is very rich and varied and the bellow is much easier to handle, even though it’s 6 pound heavier compared to it’s predecessor. It also seems to dose the air more efficient. We’re going to spend a lot of time together coming years.