ON the picture, showing Mr.R.Ouellet's box,( link#3) you'll notice that the keyboard sports 11 buttons and that the clappers are made of the same wood as the rest of the accordion, and the worksmanship is exquisite, No I wont mention one particular, crucial, in my wiew detail , ok David.
All the different Quebec boxes, that I've tried in Montmagny, Quebec, had all the stops working and were 4 reeders.
As a rule, at the time ,and I got the information from Mr. Vezina,himself is that"all" the Quebec box builders made their own bellows, and pretty much, everything else, except the reeds, witch are imported.
In the Montmagny music stores, I saw and tried 5 different builders made boxes, and they were all of different sizes, and most were made with fiddle back maple , all without exception, had the 4 stops usefull, and "all" were made with an eye for perfection .
Also some had interesting details like straps holders witch were "incorporated in the "design".
They "all" were much, much lighter in weight and looks then the LA boxes, and because they , unlike their La counterparts, are made by individuals using their own blueprints , and as such none of them, ressemble somehow the others, although they "all" are inmistakably 1 row boxes.
Are they "better" then The LA boxes?.
Theyr'e different, with a significantly faster and more agile keyboard action,and they are also somewhat lighter in weight, and also they are if you wish more elegant, perhaps not as "robust" or "squarrish" looking as their LA sisters, and I don't mean to be derogatory, in that respect, you'll have to forgive, 40 woodworking years, teaching and practicing, and I know that I have developed a more discernable eye then most, so, these comments are not to be construed as demeaning in any ways, I'll be just as true in my personnal assessments regarding Canadian woodworking products versus it's US counterparts.
I think the reason is that most LA builders get "Jobbers" to supply most of the parts for their boxes, and as such, use more of a commun "denominator", thus resulting in a more similar look in design.
So, are they better, I really don't care
, I use both, to play different types of Music.
Ok, ok, they are made for a different market,and i don't think they would "fly" for the Cajun market, for one thing, they don't have a " crawfish" on their bellows, and an LA made mark on their end plates.
Very interesting comments. Where do yo live Claude? Aren't you in NB (I'm in Halifax)? If I ever drive by, I'd love to drop in to see your boxes if you don't mind. I will certainly stop at that shop in Montmagny next time I drive to Mtl.
Maz
So, now you know guys. They tune different but play different music. They make wonderful little boxes which have very fast action which in turn is demanded because of the music they play. I would say it is more Irish sounding. Now as had been mentioned in earlier postings days ago. They have pretty well shut out Mark and other Louisiana builders.