Greezy, in your Gabby, was the reed itself brass?? That would be new. Brass reeds were used in the very old boxes, and they switched to steel, at least in part, because brass reeds do not hold tuning and are not very loud. The first steel reeds were on zinc plates, which is what the old Sterlings and Monarchs had. Zinc seems similar to brass in weight.

Brass reeds are more prone to metal fatigue, main reason they were abandoned. Brass reeds are mellow compared to steel.

brass or steel on zinc gives you disparate metals and lead toward corrosion.

There is no sound like steel on zinc.. long used on bandoneons and still used on bandoneons.. a very special sound..
and the most difficult accordion to learn to play.. see Tango bandoneon..
for the way they are played and the incredible sound. Astor Piazolla (RIP) was the master and near innovator of the bandoneon as the heart of Tango.

Bryan, I opened up that "gabby" again and had a closer look. That single reed plate for the #10 button high row is brass for the plate and the reed by itself looks to be steel. Good call! And on your comment of a whole set of brass reeds adding significant weight to the accordion. We cannot have that happen! I had owned one heavy accordion. A bflat Martin. I did not like the sluggish feel of that heaviness. Needless to say, I sold it pretty quickly. I first came aware of my preference of a "light weight" accordion when I got my hands on a pine wood accordion. It was for a man I know. He let me play on it. It felt really lite and the action and sound was quick and bright. When I purchased this gabby, once again I was glad to see that it was light in weight and quick in feel. No fancy exotic heavy African babinga wood there, and I'm glad for it!

I'm much more of an experimenter and hobbyist than serious builder. Hearing some players talk about their preference for light boxes, I did an experiment to see how light I could make one. I made it out of spruce, with balsa reed blocks. It weighed about 5 1/2 pounds, and is one of the best sounding boxes I've made. Very rich and clear, and at least in my mind, did away with the commonly held believe that the reed blocks needed to be maple or some other very hard wood. I can't take credit for that, I got the idea from an Aussie builder named Peter Hyde, who used to make the whole box out of balsa, and now uses some kind of marine foam. I think the light weight boxes seem to transmit sound real well, and mellows the tone. May not be for everyone, but I considered it a successful experiment. Doesn't take bangs and dings well, though.

Well there you go, "where 2 or more shall gather there shall be a church". I'll back you up on that 5 1/2 pound accordion until the cows come home. Light is better!

Boxes with full brass reed plates are extremely bright and very heavy. Beware of installing these in the higher octaves and in higher pitch ranges.

MAUGEIN of France has always screwed or nailed their reeds on chamois (a kind of goat) leather..
Interesting Savoy does this.. as there is a way and a place to put the screws/nails.. and he doesn't do it. The middle is not the place. Nor are the extreme top or bottom edges.

Using two different brands and profiles of reeds may lead to a discordant result as they would speak differently, and at different times, and have different overtones.

I don't think so. Where I've found it has a place is that some people think Binci reeds are too bassy, and some think Ciccarelli reeds are too high, and for those people, taking one set and changing out a mid row balances it. I've taken a Binci set and changed out one mid row with Ciccarelli, and then put the Ciccarelli set with the one Binci in another box, I like the sound of both.

I've also had a box with a mano on the treble and tipo a mano on the bass...
no appreciable difference.

I've often wondered if someone set two boxes, one with a mano reeds, and one with tipo, and asked a player to tell which was which, how many could really get it right. Other than the 50/50 odds, I'd bet not many.

The notable thing about that Mr Lafleur is that "you often wonder and think". That's how things eventually change and get better if wondering and thinking are accompanied by "concern". You seem to have all three in working order unlike some accordion builders I've dealt with. Good job!

"I've often wondered if someone set two boxes, one with a mano reeds, and one with tipo, and asked a player to tell which was which, how many could really get it right. Other than the 50/50 odds, I'd bet not many."

Completely agree.. I couldn't tell especially if the reeds are well tuned.

About 10 years ago Castagnari stopped using "a mano reeds" as standard because buyers could not tell the difference. Castagnari clearly states that the reeds they now use are "tipo a mano" and aren't trying to fool anyone.
They use Antonelli tipo a mano 99% of the time. They are excellent reeds.
They now also state on their newest price lists (2016 and 2017) they no longer will fit "a mano" reeds by request. They even discontinued that.

Also one Cajun box maker of some fame, who will remain unnamed, often used a second grade of Binci reeds and not Binci Professional reeds.
He even tried to sell these reeds to other makers as if they were the top of the line Bincis. Butt that's history.

Also beware of makers that claim that their reeds are "a mano"

All it takes is a little gun bluing.. to make a "tipo a mano" looklike an "a mano". One importer rebrander in California does this with his 3 row Tex Mex/ Norteno boxes of modest quality and sells them at outrageous prices.



Also "a mano" means very little when the reed might be from one of the lesser quality reed makers (also will remain unnamed) . GAbanelli in Texas will use whoever is cheapest.

The best quality "tipo a mano" can be better than the best quality "a mano" form another maker.

About 10 years ago there was a "reed war" between some Euro box makers.. bragging that their boxes had handmade.. this following many complaints of the "dural" reds being used.. Dural is a good reed quality but below "tipo a mano" and "a mano".

This is when Castagnari went the other direction and used the best quality "tipo a mano" reed available and another maker bragged about his (cheap quality) "a mano" reeds as a selling point but not as good as Castagnari's Antonelli "tipo a mano"

You would be surprised at the sound of a well tuned "tipo a mano" reed.

I quite like them and have no need to specify.. "Binci Pro" tipo a mano.

I am a toatl novice on reeds.. there are builders (most in Europe) who have all this dialed in from years of expoereince of building and tuning..

An example would be Bergflodt in Norway, Gaillard in Brittany,France, Beltrami in Italy...

Bryan.. why not build a Cajun box with some Antonelli or other "tipo a mano" reeds and see where that goes?

Also reed origin and quality.. It is well known that the finest reeds have traditionally come form Italy, however the Czechs ( part of my heritage) are coming on strong.

The main reason Chinese boxes are inferior is the reed quality and the reed blocks and of course they are not an accordeon culture therefore are clueless.