A cousin of mine just bought an accordion (for $400) and he had some questions that I thought some of you could maybe help with.
It is an Italian made "Acadian" accordion (Key of C) (stamped "Made in Italy"); and after opening it up I found that it had removeable reed banks (two total stand up style). He is interested in converting it to the key of D, but was wondering if anyone had any information on where different key reed banks could be located; or if getting a local builder to make a set of reed banks and/or change the reeds out would be a better option. Any idea on what the price would be for a key change?
I found a website from AccordionsofLondon that sell a modern version of this accordion named "Zero Sette Acadian - Melodeon", and was wondering if these reed blocks would work and/or if they could be purchased. See Link 2.
I hear that the Gab Cajun King has removeable reed banks, and was wondering if these could be used and/or purchased.
Does anyone know what type of reeds were put in these accordions. I have heard that these were built in the 80's (From a Marc Savoy pattern and agreement) to make middle priced accordions from a factory that felt like a LA Handmade. I hear that they did not have hand made #1 reeds in them, but was wondering if others had more information on them (Brand/Type, etc...)
I have photos of this accordion that can be seen at Link #1.
Overall; I feel that this was a steal for $400; as I find that it plays very well. I played it last night for over 2 hours with no problems. I find that this accordion plays much better than a Gab Cajun King, but not as nice as my Falcon. What do these typically sell for?
Any additional information about this accordion would be appreciated also.
Those accordions were, in fact, build by John Gabbannelli for Marc Savoy in the 80's. Mr. John would ship the wood frames, bellows and reed to Marc and Marc assembled them. They eventually had a falling out on the price Mr. John was providing them and the price that Marc was selling the finished product. These accordions are identical in every way to the Gabbanelli Cajun and the Cajun Bric-Brac which is now built by Polverini. Ironically, Polverini now sells them to Mike Gabbanelli in Houston, and Mike assembles them and sells them at a high markup.
Brett,
I finally had a chance to look at your pics. This is definitely one of the early one supplied by John Gabbanelli. Mr. John gave me all of the parts to assemble one excluding the bellows and reeds. It is identical to the one he gave me. They were all painted black because he used inexpensive woods. He would sell the parts to Marc for $75. Marc would assemble them and put finishing touches on them, then sell for $700-$800. Mr. John felt like he was getting the raw end of the deal so he stopped supplying them.
I have also seen a couple of the later ones that were supplied by the factory currently owned by Polvrini. They are identical in every way to the Gabbanelli Cajun King, including the slider assembly and frame routing.
Link #2 shows the Polverini Cajun kit. Looks like it would be fun to tinker with - but you might get hooked and end spending a lot of time in the shop.
The April 2011 Dewey Balfa Cajun & Creole Heritage Week
