Thanks for visiting my website. I really appreciate it. I'll be updating the site in the coming days (hopefully by weekend end) with new pictures and a few new soundbites. I plan on putting a few pictures of my November '05 trip to Italy along with pix froma recent Festival. Check out the site next week sometime.
My tuner stopped working on H-Gabs..quality concerns
I saw the innards.. not the same as those for the Euro market..
overhyped and overpriced..but that's just my opinion
Dino Baffettis also vary in quality.. I would trust Karlos..and of Course I would like to see the inside of Joel's box and compare it to an off the shelf instrument before I bought one...
endorsed instruments often are hand made and receive special attention while an inventoried unit may not..
Dino BAffetti also makes many (if not all ) of the Saltarelle accordions which in Europe and GB and Ireland are second in popularity only to Castagnari
of the higher end Italian diatonics.. however .. historically there have been many comments about the quality of the Baffetti Saltarelles..
Before Dino Baffetti the Saltarelles were made by Serenellini and there were no complaints of quality..
Even so... many famous players use Dino BAffetti made Saltarelles.. these are all wood boxes..Players would include
Mairtin O'Connor, Jackie Daly, Dermot Byrne on and
on..
Play before you pay or have a return agreement up front.
You are right about the Saltarelle quality.. it is becoming a preferred brand amongst some confirmed pro Irish and Celtic players.
The Guzman and other pro's playing Baffetti Tex Mex have handmade reeds, usually custom tuned to player preference, and the button level is adjusted to preferred height and action, along with custom engraving. Otherwise, same as off the shelf boxes. ( correct me Karlos if wrong ).
The merit of the Baffetti remains its ration of high quality at a reasonable price.
There are more expensive brands ( ones which under the grille are meticulously built in terms of materials and workmanship, and tuning..such as the Beltrami who Karlos represents ).. but only differences in inventoried units is in the reeds, action, tuning and engraving..which can be accomodated by special order.
Saltarelle was originally a product of a meeting of the minds between Mairtin O'Connor, Bertrand, one guy I can't remember and the current owner/operator of Saltarelle... they parted company as do most "good " partnerships... this was around 1980 something..
Saltarelles have been the box of choice for at least 15 years.. until Cairdin, Verde, Kincarra and Bertrand ,Brigss ( if you have $8000 for a 2 row) and other boutique brands came on the scene..
In the last few years Castagnari has come on with some flat keyboard 2 rows but yet have not made a dent..
Other Brands such as Borelli actually made by Mengascini are favored for light weight and speed..
Baffetti is the choice for a loud 2 row especially in D/G for the Morris....
... Beltrami is on good terms with Nello Menghescini.. they are both top notch builders..and Betrami does custom tuning for Castagnari, Baffetti, and most likey for Nello.
... Beltrami is in Stradella ( the second city for accordion production in Italy.. which has dwindled to only a couple makes.. mostly jobbed to Castelfidardo )..
... The TUNING tradition in Stradella is quite famous... They have a different technique and do more shades of tuning.. and .. are best known for being able to tune to keep volume very balanced , even on the higher notes, where on diatonics you can lose volume...