A Few Questions about Serenellini Accordions
Dan Sheffield
Does anyone out there have much experience with Sernellini
Accordions? I'm considering purchasing a Model 214 Button Accordion in
C#/D. The 214 has 12 bass, 21 buttons, and four reeds on both the treble
and the bass. Is $1000 or so a decent price to buy this box? How do they
play? Is the action fast enough for Irish music? Anyways, any information
you can provide would be most valuable. Thank you,
Dan Sheffield
--
/------\ Dan Sheffield /------\
/ ***** \ anglo concertina, mandolin, cittern, oboe, / ***** \
\ ***** / flute, english horn, pipes, whistles, bassoon, \* ***** /
\______/ glastonbury pipe, clarinet, ocarina, tenor banjo \______/
Orest T Lechnowsky
On 7 Jun 2000 17:01:39 GMT gat...@d-and-d.com writes:
>Really-Reply-To: av...@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (Dan Sheffield)
> av...@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (Dan Sheffield)
>Really-From: av...@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (Dan Sheffield)
> Does anyone out there have much experience with Sernellini
>Accordions? I'm considering purchasing a Model 214 Button Accordion
>in
>C#/D. The 214 has 12 bass, 21 buttons, and four reeds on both the
>treble
>and the bass. Is $1000 or so a decent price to buy this box? How do
>they
>play? Is the action fast enough for Irish music? Anyways, any
>information
>you can provide would be most valuable. Thank you,
I'm not familiar with the 214 specifically, but all the Serenellini
owners I know have been very satisfied with their instruments. The Cloud
model, for example, has a very nice sound, and I have no reason to
suspect that the action wouldn't be fast enough. The four treble reeds
might make for a relatively heavy box, though speed is more often a
function of the bass weight than the treble weight. Still, the old
Sopranis had 4 treble reeds as well, and they were very popular for
Irish. If the box is in pretty good condition, I would say that $1000 is
a very reasonable price.
Orest
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alvaro barsi
you may get a few comments from Mr. Ventura on this. :)
BTW, when in Italy next May, I am giving some thoughts to bringing back
a Serenellini C-system.
Alvaro
Dan Sheffield wrote:
>
> Hi,
>
> Does anyone out there have much experience with Sernellini
> Accordions? I'm considering purchasing a Model 214 Button Accordion in
> C#/D. The 214 has 12 bass, 21 buttons, and four reeds on both the treble
> and the bass. Is $1000 or so a decent price to buy this box? How do they
> play? Is the action fast enough for Irish music? Anyways, any information
> you can provide would be most valuable. Thank you,
>
Vabo...@aol.com
Hi,
I'm sending this off list because I didn't really want to publicly bad mouth
Serenellini instruments. I had a "Cloud" model in D/G. Although the action
was very good and it was a full featured box with stops for every reed bank,
I found it to be a totally gutless accordion sound-wise. Someone else I was
talking to said that in their opinion, Serenellinis "didn't have any soul". I
also found that to be an accurate description. After about a year, I traded
it in on a Castagnari which I like much better.
Bob
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alvaro barsi
Darn it...if I get a Serenellini next year, I won't be able to play any
Soul music on it. Ah well..hehe... I actually have not tried one, and
would base a choice
on the actual feel and sound of the particular instrument; I think each
differs.
Alvaro
Steve Keen
sound and action. The reed leathers are plastic -- which I am told will not
last as long as leather. I have had no problems with them. The tuning was
accurate - I specifically requested extra attention to tuning when I order
the instrument. The standard "Irish" wet tuning is very pleasant and
consistent from top to bottom. I recently compared this to the Irish Boebe
model and found the Serenellini reeds noticeably less responsive, less easy
to play fast passages but not alot less. If I were buying again I would go
for the best reeds you can find at any cost. The push pull diatonic playing
requires this. steve
JOCK
Steve Keen <ne...@burgoyne.com> schreef in berichtnieuws
8hnkc6$8m9$1...@jaffa.itower.net...
mention it here) that Serenellini are more or less the same as Santarelle
boxes except that Serenellini uses plywood for the box and they also budget
on many other parts. Your posting has just confirmed what i have heard last
weekend. I was thinking of getting a Serenellini myself but now i know for
sure i will save a bit more for a custom made box (frans vd aa, or Karel vd
Leeuw) maybe the Saltarelle or Castagnari.
Jock
Orest T Lechnowsky
Somehow this ended up on-list instead of off....but thanks for the effort
anyway. At any rate, the only Cloud I have heard live and in person was
a few weeks ago at the Midwest Morris Ale. I heard it played both
indoors and outdoors and it had plenty of guts everytime. It blew some
of the Castagnaris and Hohners out of the water, in fact. In our massed
dances where there were a multitude of accordions of every type...this
Cloud drove the whole band. I'll admit that the player of this
instrument was _very_ physical with it, but still it had guts.....and it
stood up to his abuse without complaint. The owner used to have a Nimbus
(which he replaced with a Cloud when the Nimbus was stolen from his car)
which he said was just as good a model except heavier. Other people may
have other opinions, and they are welcome to them. I have no personal
experience with Serenellini.
Now, Serenellini _used_ to make accordions for Georges Roux under the
Saltarelle name. Thats why certain Saltarelle models look almost
identical to Serenellini models. I believe that Saltarelle has since
switched suppliers and now gets their accordions from Dino Baffeti (or is
it Bompezzo....I think its Baffeti) However, Jock, I think that if you
check closely, most Saltarelles are also constructed of plywood rather
than solid wood. I'm not sure about Castagnari using solid or ply wood.
I think that only the very top end boxes or boxes from custom makers use
solid wood anymore (and even a lot of the custom makers use plywood)
because it is more expensive, prone to cracking in low humidity and
warping in high humidity, and requires more thickness for equivalent
cross grain strength....which results in a larger box. Bernard Loffet
would know more details about the Serenellinis, Saltarelles and the use
of plywood in accordions.
Orest
On Wed, 7 Jun 2000 19:12:53 EDT Vabo...@aol.com writes:
>Hi,
>
>I'm sending this off list because I didn't really want to publicly bad
>mouth
>Serenellini instruments. I had a "Cloud" model in D/G. Although the
>action
>was very good and it was a full featured box with stops for every reed
>bank,
>I found it to be a totally gutless accordion sound-wise. Someone else
>I was
>talking to said that in their opinion, Serenellinis "didn't have any
>soul". I
>also found that to be an accurate description. After about a year, I
>traded
>it in on a Castagnari which I like much better.
>
>Bob
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alvaro barsi
youo mean someone actually stole his accordion from his
car?...Hahaha...this debunks the theory that someone would instead want
to quickly put another one next to it! Great news eh?
Alvaro
Michael (Misha) Berenstein
> Thanks Bob, your attempt to privacy was gentlemanly.
> Darn it...if I get a Serenellini next year, I won't be able to play any
> Soul music on it. Ah well..hehe... I actually have not tried one, and
> would base a choice
> on the actual feel and sound of the particular instrument; I think each
> differs.
And I just tried Serenellini 3 row, four reeds yesterday.
What a wonderful machine it is! Action is a breeze, I was playing on one row
push/pull manner on this big and heavy instrument and it was easier than on my two
row Castagnari. The Castagnari does sound stronger though, but I would not
attribute it ot "soulfulness". Serenellini was sounding pretty soulful to me and
more elegant than Castagnari.
Vabo...@aol.com
I definately agree that each instrument is different. I think I found the
bass side to be the least satisfying aspect of the instrument I had.
Obviously there is some differing opinions about the Serenellini instruments
and so far sounds like I'm in the minority. I certainly had no problems with
the quality of the instrument although I wasn't really crazy about the
plywood body. I do love my Castagnari "Tommy" tho'.....
Bob
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Ventura
> experience with Sernellini Accordions?
> I'm considering purchasing a Model 214 Button Accordion .........
Hello Dan,
Regarding Serenellini Accordions
here are some reasons to like Serenellini:
They are readily available... several dealers who frequent our
Newsgroup, Jim, Kimryck, and Chris handle their Button Boxes
The dealers who handle them seem to be quite a nice
bunch of people, with very reasonable markups...
none of these guys is trying to pay for a vacation
just on the profit from your purchase.
You can also deal direct with the factory for special
requests and features, and still finish the order through
your favorite dealer. This way you get the benefit of
a direct connection to and understanding with the
people who design and build your instrument, but can
still just put it on your charge card and let Coogan, Smythe
or Moran handle the importing.
Sabrina (Luciano’s daughter) understands English quite well,
and is a pleasure to deal with. She is there full time.
The factory itself is a modern, clean, and friendly
facility. This is not a huge operation, but they do more business
than some of the more famous name makers. That translates
into great values for us, because we are only paying for what
the instruments are really worth... not for the emblem on the
grille or the name on the label. It’s a good factory to visit,
as Luciano is a hands on kind of guy, and he is very
proud of what he has achieved. So he is happy to show you around,
popping a box apart on his workbench to show you the innards, or
letting one of his technicians explain a process. He is constantly
experimenting, and listens to his customers... consider his new
Piano Accordion with the no-wax reeds and the special chamber
designed specifically to the needs of his Western European clients.
Also, he has been here for awhile, and he will continue
to be here for quite a few more years, so your ability to get
parts, repairs, even complete overhauls is safe.
Finally, I give you my word, personally, that you will absolutely
get your moneys worth out of a Serenellini. I had an
extensive look at their operations earlier this year, and
played every Piano accordion in the place while I was at it.
All the products coming from Luciano’s hand are decent,
well built, well designed, and some are even fantastic.
You WILL get what you pay for from this house, and that
is more than can be said for a lot of the
smoke and mirrors, pretty pictures on a web-page,
mark it up 150% kind of places that are out there today.
Ciao Ventura
Greg Hooper
<dr...@maxinter.net> wrote:
>> Dan Sheffield wrote: Does anyone out there have much
>> experience with Sernellini Accordions?
>> I'm considering purchasing a Model 214 Button Accordion
........
>
>Regarding Serenellini Accordions
>here are some reasons to like Serenellini:
>
>They are readily available... several dealers who frequent our
>Newsgroup, Jim, Kimryck, and Chris handle their Button Boxes
>
>The dealers who handle them seem to be quite a nice
>bunch of people, with very reasonable markups...
>none of these guys is trying to pay for a vacation
>just on the profit from your purchase.
I'll second that - I just bought an "Irish Cloud" B/C through
Chris Moran, and I'm pretty darn happy with it. I'm hoping that
Chris at least made enough for a couple of pints down at the pub!
This is a very nice box, IMHO. Because I can't resist taking
things apart, and because I've rebuilt a couple of cheaper boxes,
the first thing I did was to have a look inside. Everything
looks to be high quality, and very carefully put together. My
understanding is that the reasons for the laminated (or "plywood"
if you prefer) box were as much for lightness and manufacturing
consistency as for sound quality or cost reduction. The key
mechanism looks like it is a standard part either made for
Serenellini or used by several manufacturers, and again, very
high quality. I was expecting something a bit less high tech,
but it looks to be well-designed and manufactured, and should
last longer than me.
As far as I'm concerned, this box *sounds* great too. The basses
and treble side are very well balanced, the three voices sound
really nice in all combinations, and the action and response are
superb.
My box-playing friends in Ireland and Scandinavia seem to think
that Serenellini is, on the whole, better quality than the recent
Saltarelle boxes.
Finally, Chris was very helpful throughout - from the early
questions to the time I got my accordion (and beyond...), he went
out of his way to make sure I got great service. Thanks Chris!
A few months back, Han Speek posted some useful comments in this
ng about Serenellini/Saltarelle and who's who in the Italian BB
world. A dejanews search should turn that up.
Hope this helps!
Greg Hooper
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mizca...@gmail.com
> Hi,
> Does anyone out there have much experience with Sernellini
> C#/D. The 214 has 12 bass, 21 buttons, and four reeds on both the treble
> and the bass. Is $1000 or so a decent price to buy this box? How do they
> play? Is the action fast enough for Irish music? Anyways, any information
> you can provide would be most valuable. Thank you,
>
> Dan Sheffield
> --
> /------\ Dan Sheffield /------\
> / ***** \ anglo concertina, mandolin, cittern, oboe, / ***** \
> \ ***** / flute, english horn, pipes, whistles, bassoon, \* ***** /
> \______/ glastonbury pipe, clarinet, ocarina, tenor banjo \______/
Ike Milligan
I fix up antique accordions from that time period and play them,
occasionally selling one. In unrestored condition it is worth a lot less
than when it has been restored. Anything that old needs to be
overhauled. Think about it: A full-sized piano keyboard accordion has
more reeds, than a grand piano has strings, yet a grand piano needs to
be tuned and serviced every year at least. An accordion though it might
not need actual reed tuning, or might depending on how much and how it
was used, still needs to be eventually maintained just from sitting
idle. The more it is played, the more work it will need.
An accordion that age needs at least 20 hours of restoration work to be
really useful. So unrestored it is probably worth between $100 and $250
depending on a few things that I can't tell without a picture and more
information. however, paying to have it restored would likely not
increase the value more than the cost of having the work done. Also the
market for restored pre WWII accordions is thin, and to sell a restored
vintage accordion, you need to know how and whom to sell it to. I can
get 4 figures for one like over $3000 or half that depending.
>