opinions are like *******s, everyone has one. people born and raised in cajun country know what an authentic cajun accordion is.

Sure, the ones with Italian reeds and Italian bellows which design was originally German. Right?

You might want to reconsider your desire for ethnic purity. It has such a frightenly familiar ring to it.

not to stir up the gumbo too much or anything..

Hal

You need to add "and they all stink" to your quote.

OK here we go again.. shades of another Cajun Accordion forum

The "Cajun" accordion is not a Cajun design , it was developed by Austrians/Germans/Bohemians/Czechs only later to be made in Italy and much much later by Cajuns.

The German instruments were brought to the US by Germans ,, so were these Cajun accordions.?. no these were single row diatonic bisonoric button accordions

I have seen post after post after post saying that if you want a "real " Cajun accordion you have to get one from a Cajun builder.

In that the "Cajun" accordion was not designed by Cajuns then what makes the Cajun Accordion a Cajun Accordion.?. especially considering posts by others, not me, that to get a "real" Cajun accordion it must be made by a Cajun.
By your (their) definiton not mine.. a "real" Cajun accordion is made by a Cajun and since it is a virtual recreation of the German originals again what makes a Cajun box a Cajun box.? if not made by a Cajun
ergo the basis for my observation and statement. Any other single row 10 button (or 9 or 11) diatonic bisonoric button accordion whether built in Italy or the Czech republic,or Quebec is NOT a Cajun accordion.. by "your" defintion, not just mine.

So who are you criticizing but yourselves based on posts right here on this forum ?

I did not rewrite the history of the accordion, this is all available to anyone, do the legwork 1829 in Europe not the US and before that the Sheng in China thousands of years ago,, the origin of the free reed instruments

Marc Savoy, and others preceeding him ,dissected German made accordions and recreated them.. I see very little difference in my late teens Bb Saxon box and anything that comes out of Cajun builders. Possibly excepting the quality of the materials.


I suppose it is to much to ask that you recognize I was offering recognition to the Cajuns as building something unique assigning them a specialized position in the world of accordion building history..I have seen and owned Italian and German built "cajun" (no capital letters) boxes and they are not like Cajun built boxes.

As to the person who posted the completely offbase inappropriate ethnic purity comments.. in my opinion your own bigotry and xenophobia are like a neon bill board.

I appreciate the history of the Cajuns and am sympathetic to their ejection from Canada and the exodus that followed...but
many ethnic groups around the world also suffered injustice and banishment
Hugonots(sp), Mennonites, Doukhobors,Hutterites, Africans..read a little history about Bohemia and Bohemians. Good bet that won't happen
Bohemians aren't Germans, but you knew that.

On that note I am out of here and you can wallow in your ignorance and prejudice.

Bohemian is correct in regards to the historic origins of "Cajun" accordions. The main reason Cajun accordions (whether built in LA, Europe or China(!) are called Cajun accordions is because the vast majority of HANDMADE, one row, 10 key boxes ARE built by Cajuns in LA or Texas. Gabbanelli calls their Italian made one row boxes Cajun King, but they are not "cajun" accordions. The Irish and Canadians play melodeons, although some Quebec and two Irish artists do use Cajun handbuilt accordins).
The Chinese Hohner Arriette accordions are called Cajun accordions, but these also are not Cajun accordions. ALL single row diatonic accordions are melodeons. The Cajun TUNING only is what separates a Cajun accordion from the melodeon. Oh, and being hand built (from Italian parts).

Playing Irish

Guys, yawn!!!!!,

Wake me up, when there is a debate on Miters .

Respectfully.

Krazy.

Hi. Can anyone help me please. No supplier I can locate in Oz and I need a spare set of Shoulder strap BRACKETS of same size as those on the Hohner Ariette melodeon.

In studying the history of the melodeon I don't remember seeing that the Italians made one like the Cajuns copied. They did make a single row instrument but it had 4 bass buttons. It seems that at the time the Cajuns and Quebecois were adopting the two bass single row instrument it was slowly falling out of favor with others because of its limitations.

Look at the German made Sterlings and Monarchs. The Germans introduced the melodeon to the region.

I know about that guy but after WWII accordion production shifted to Italy but the 2 bass single row instrumnet did not have enough demand for them to manufacturer it profitability so they concentrated on other types of accordions.