There is no need to describe to me how to recognize a fraud. I am well aware of Marc's practice of assembling accordions from pieces that he neither cut, nor selected the wood for; however I can identify one of those from an authentic Acadian accordion while blindfolded.

I was merely responding to the statement about a lack of cutting tools and sawdust at the shop. That's because what wood he does cut is done at the farmhouse. In addition, I know of at least two accordion builders who use only a table saw and drill press to build their accordions, they don't cut on a regular basis and neither has callouses.

What you fail to realize, and apparently many others, is that the real question is does it really matter whether or not Marc cuts, assembles or tunes his own accordions? If it meets his approval and leaves the store, then it is an Acadian. Martin guitars are still among the finest guitars in the world and Christian Martin has been dead for more than 100 years. How did he pull that off?

Hard to argue with a fan .

Nevertheless I would agree that Mr.Savoy has to give his final approval before an accordion bearing his name leaves his store.
And I'm not disputing the fact that Martin guitars are an Internationaly rated top of the line brand.
And your'e absolutely correct,in saying that it doesn't matter whether Mr. Savoy cuts, assembles or tunes his own accordions
And you did use the word "fraud", witch I didn't or even imply.
And it certainly was not my intention to call Mr. Savoy a "Fraud".
But, like many others I have read Mr. Savoy story as written by himself and for many years I have been under the impression that Mr Savoy builds,and tunes himself the accordions that bear his name.

I mean, you are a journalist living and working in the heart of cajun culture,and reporting on it,and I'm sure that you would rather be accurate in your
assesment(s)of one accordion builder's professional practices, so it would seem important to me to "verify" what "kind" of cutting goes on in the farmhouse. , obviously you do not know, yet, you "assume" that there is wood working activity there, or do you know for a fact that to be the truth?.
Look, on one hand you states that your'e well aware of Marc's practice of assembling accordions from pieces he neither cut.......and then you mention later that what wood he does cut is done at the farmhouse, sorry your'e confusing me, Ganey.
And the reason that the two accordion builders you know do not have callouses on their hands is because they dont practice their craft often enough, or they use parts as supplied by jobbers, and as such have to "simply" put together an accordion, witch doesn't requires that much cutting or hardly, and certainly wont give hand callouses , even if they do the tuning,as opposed to the practice of making the "all" accordion like Mr. Ortego used to do.

Respecfully,

claude.

One of the builders I am referring to is a so called "jobber." He cuts out corners, makes paddles and reed blocks for several builders. Marc Savoy and Randy Falcon are among his customers. He is a relative of mine, and he has shown me the differences in their specifications.

To clear up the confusion, for a number of years, Marc assembled pre-cut accordions which he bought from John Gabbanelli in Houston, TX. I know this because I have in my possession one of the kits which was provided to me my Mr. Gabbanelli prior to his death. I have also had two accordions that were a product of this relationship between Marc and Gabbanelli. It continued until they had a falling out, and Marc found another supplier.

Marc did this because he couldn't keep up with the demand, and he saw a way to do it. They are identical to authentic Acadian accordions but "Made in Italy" is engraved at the bottom of the endplate.

I didn't mean to imply that you were calling Marc a fraud, but I see it often enough on here.

1. Marc doesn't build his own accordions: If Marc approves it before it leaves, who cares?

2. Mitered corners are stronger than butt corners: This is true, but the fact that an endplate is glued around the entire perimeter of the frame makes the joints at the corners almost irrelevant.

3. Stops should be left in the up position: Builders who say this are concerned with the fact that prolonged use of the stop can loosen the fit and cause them to drop. The stops are there for a reason. Yes, they assist in tuning, but they also change voicing. Chris Miller is the best verification of this.

4. Change your top "G" to an "A" because its redundant: In the days prior to electronic tuners, the top G note provided a root note to tune the notes of the pull. Yes, there is a G on the bass side of the accordion, but the bass side isn't attached while tuning. Nobody tunes this way now so put whatever note you want there.

The fact remains that none of it really matters. Watch players, listen to players, ask questions, try your own thing. Just play.

It seems that more people respond to the "drama" posts than the genuine posts. When Aaron was encouraged to drop the drama and be more helpful, he did, and he got little response.

I have read this board for a number of years, but I post a lot less these days. I've been in and around Cajun music for a long time. I know a lot of people. But it is getting more and more apparent that what I know doesn't matter because the people paying thousands and thousands of dollars to attend Augusta and Balfa Camp are surpassing me in their knowledge.

I try to be helpful when I can. I am a realist, and I don't beat around the bush. In person, I am very matter-of-fact, and I realize that my posts come across as blunt and sometime harsh. For that I apologize. To my face to face friends, Doc Gene, Big Nick, Neal, Jude, Ed and Chris keep up the good work. Chris sometimes reminds me of a Clifton Chenier quote, "You gots to be who you is!"

Thanks, Ganey, for clearing up the confusion.

Claude.

Bien dit neg.

I have to agree! Too many people commenting here have little knowledge about accordion quality and when those who have knowledge try to keep things in prospective give correct information they are critisized. There are several not too well known builders who do quiet a good job. Besides the overiding comments show that the majority want to pay as little as possible, nothing wrong with that, but then worry if a certain builder is turning his own knobs for the stops. Modit!! So hey, if you want a cheap price, grab yourself one of those Chinese things and shut up. Who knows, it may be just what you need for now.

Personally I still prefer those mitered corners. They look so much better and professional. IMHO!!

soo.. that explains my 1990's..Savoy box in D..

It was far different than ones I'd had in the past.. and looked "pieced together".. it reeked of DYI.

Sound was weak, lighter than most D boxes, it was not varnished but a clear silicon "plasticised"... and the reed blocks had "Re" pencilled in in Italian calligraphy...

When compared with others of the same make I'd tried/owned ( total of 4 ) .. there was no comparison. It was most definitely inferior.

Not a question of fraud.. a question of meeting demand..but some shortcuts are costly in other ways perhaps.

It was originally bought in Canada.. don't know if that has anything to do with it.

G.

respectfully, this has to be one of the weirdest comments ever posted on this forum, and there've been a few. Tu rigoles,non?
Jean-Pierre

My apologies that you didn't like my posting.

Claude.