I am looking for a new Cajun accordion in C that is very light weight.

I have a dry tuned Gabanelli Cajun King in D. I like the sound. But it is very heavy (9 lbs).

I tried a Bon Cajun a few years back. I think it was lighter, but it is hard to remember.

I tried a Castagnari melodeon that was amazingly light in comparison, but it didn't have that Cajun sound.

Who makes the lightest Cajun Acordion?
Martin, Miller, Savoy?

What wood is the lightest?
Curly Maple, Walnut, Cherry?

I want a quality cajun box that is very light weight with a sound that is Cajun but very dry.

Ideally, it would be 6 lbs or less.

You may want to consider Hawaiian Koa. Very light and resonate wood. Contact Jude Moreau a few years he built a Koa accordion now owned by a musician in the Bay Area. The box is very lightweight and sounds very good. Jude is very capable and can use a variety of techniques to give you exactly what you want.

I tried on this summer and yes, it was the lightest Cajun box I had ever lifted or played.. pototao chip light. I don't know about the resonance or projection.. I did sense that there was less volume, but hardly noticeable if weight is your priority.

Nice soundbites on your sight ! IF you are in Austin you might know BJ Williams who plays cajun accordion with the Gulf Coast Playboys.. he plays Jude's accordions and may be able to give insights.

Good luck..and go with the Koa ! Glenn ( it's pretty too )

Thank for the info. I will check out Jude Moreau and ask Bradley.

I have read on a few web sites that the specific weight of Koa
vaires greatly from 31 to 41 lb/ft3. Perhaps Jude uses the lighter
variety.

Savoy lists Koa as wood options with a weight of 7 lb.
But I hear he has a long waiting list.
I think Koa looks better that Cypress, also 7 lb.

Cheers,
Kenny

I can (de biere) make you one with a diet Coke bottle, my freind !

Note : Mr mayor means that a light instrument won't fit for Cajun music. He suggests you to play the kazoo instead, with yodeling and all.

don;t get "brass reeds"

they add a lot of weight

if you don;t specify them, you don;t get them

it;s just the reed plates, not the actual reeds
that are brass [aluminum is normal'

wle.

Well, hello, Mr. Mayor, what a pleasure to see you here!

You've played the old German boxes, right? They were very light, n'est-ce pas?

sure the german boxes were light, smaller
bellows, less wood in the frames,
mystery wood, lighter reed plates..

wle.

The wood was very light, but I'm not so certain about the reedplates on the old boxes -- I think they tend to be heavy, however, not heavy enough to offset the lightness of the wood.

Also, I've played a few of the classic old Hebert black boxes, the funky ones with Hohner hardware, and they were very very light.

I have a couple of those old German boxes as mantle pieces. I think they were actually made of pine!

Light weight, but the wood is subject to warping :(

DP

I've heard from many people that the wood the accordion's made of makes no difference in the sound of the accordion, it's all in how the reeds are tuned and possibly the wood block that the reed plates sit in.

I'd say be careful of what wood you choose, idealy it should be sturdy wood, whatever you decide.

Good luck!

Jim

Thanks Jim.
Savoy's web site say just that.
I haven't decided yet between Koa or Cypress.

Mon Cher Mayor...

I don't understand why you would prefer a heavy instrument.

Weight is the one of the main factors contributing to the
playablity of the instrument. Next would be keyboard action
and then bellows construction.

Marc Savoy claims the exterior wood has no effect on tone quality.

My Gabenelli is a tank. It is far too heavy. It hurts my back.
I just want a lighter box.

There are sturdy light woods out there, I just don't know of any. I'm not very familiar with alot of wood. It seems alot of the lightest popular woods are about 7 or 8 pounds (I forget which) per accordion.

I was gonna prank call a builder and say that I want one made of "Charles wood." However, I don't think they'd find any humor in it though!

Jim

Italian makers will beg to differ and claim wood quality does influence tone quality. They are convinced Olive is the loudest wood and I tend to agree after trying one.

G.