Hohner has been building accordions since 1903. That’s a lot of accordions and a lot of history. Fortunately, we’ve kept track. Since 1930, every accordion which left our factory bears a serial number and we maintain an extensive library, documenting shipping.
Apr 12, 2017 Write down the accordion’s serial number, brand name, model number and the manufacturer’s name. All this information is located on the accordion. Take photos of the accordion. Take a photo of the front and the back of the accordion. Two photos are sufficient. Make sure the photos are clear and of good quality.
A Settimo Soprani piano accordion in original carrying case, together with a Chemnitzer Konzertina, engraved 'Ernst Bassler, Grunberg' and a cased Parrot piano accordion with treble range from G to C, 32 bass (major, minor and 7th chord).
In 1946 to meet the challenges and opportunities of new markets, F.lli Scandalli of Camerano and Settimio Soprani of Castelfidardo combine to form Farfisa (from Fabbriche Riunite Accordion). This company in turn was to become one of the worlds' biggest musical instrument factories and at this time was producing 180 accordions a day.
BELL 4511 - Scandalli Super VI - 1960s Original The BEST Accordion
Dear Accordion Friends,
There are many nice instruments that can keep us satisfied and inspired. However, once you come across an exceptional quality accordion you know it from the first chord you play! We all deserve to find our ultimate accordion, the accordion we will never part with. Fortunately, we have different preferences and this makes the accordion world as exciting and colorful it is. I have found MY sacred accordion and I know how great it feels to be able to hear that dream sound each time you play. I am sure someone will soon feel the same way about the accordion I am presenting to you now.
Silvio Soprani Accordion Value
In my opinion the Scandalli Super VI from the 1950-60s remains the best accordion ever made. It combines the ultimate precision in mechanics (still not surpassed) with the most responsive reeds producing the perfect blend of treble and bass sounds. The tonal power, the rich harmonics, the warm clarinet sound, the deep chest-vibrating bassoon, the clear piccolo, the magic violin - all the reed combinations have their distinct charm! I will not spend much time describing the Super VI. To people who know accordions the pictures will tell the complete story.
Why am I talking about Scandalli Super VI while presenting a BELL 4511? Here is your answer: This particular instrument is one of only a few Super VI models Scandalli made for Aldo Mencaccini. Aldo is the founder of BELL accordions and a legendary accordion master-technician. He was on the original design team for the Super VI. (His American made Bell 4516 was used as a prototype for the early Scandalli Super VI models, often referred to as 2S and 4S models because of the grill ornaments at the time.) He was so impressed by the Scandalli factory and team the company put together for the development of the Super VI line that he had his Bell 25xx series accordions made by Scandalli. In addition, Scandalli released several Super VI models as BELL 4511. The only difference was the use of Bell treble switches caps and grill design. The actual switch mechanism is the same Scandalli used on the Super VI. So are all other components. See the pictures below for this amazing and little known collaboration between two of the best accordion manufacturers.
Serial Number N 384/970, Made in Italy in the mid-1960's
Excellent Hand Made SCANDALLI CONCERT REEDS
4 sets of treble reeds - LMMH
Concert Tuning
DOUBLE TONE CHAMBER (CASSOTTO) - Bassoon and Clarinet
5 sets of bass reeds
41 keys, 19-3/8 ' keyboard - the best keyboard design in the world! Ivory key tops, American walnut keys and key bed
13 treble switches
Palm Master switch
120 bass - ivory buttons - 11 (!) bass registers
Special valve-decoupling switch allows for unique bass sounds (tuba bass effect)
This particular accordion las low-A bass reed configuration
Stereo Condenser Microphones with Tone and Volume controls on the grill
MusicTech MIDI for the bass side allows for full accompaniment while using any MIDI module (Solton, Ketron, Orla, Korg, Roland etc.)
New excellent quality padded shoulder straps
Like new, clean and air-tight bellows
New bellows protector
28 lb
New hard-shell case with internal padding
Thisinstrument has been serviced by the Accordion Gallery and is in excellent condition, a dream for any accordionist. The tone is live and strong, vibrant, eager to flow out of the instrument and captivate the audience. It is such a pleasure to play well voiced and tuned accordion! Once you experience the magical power of the Super VI you are hooked for life..
The N-series Scandalli Super VI and Settimio Soprani Artist VI (the same accordion) were made in the mid-1960's. The picture below shows a close-up view of the valve decoupling shift located next to the air valve button. Normally, this feature is only available on converter-bass accordions. As far as I know Scandalli Super VI, Settimio Soprani Artist VI, and Bell 4511 (all these are the same instrument with a different name) are the only accordions with Stradella only bass machine that offer this feature. Sliding the shift allows the performer to play only the lowest two octaves bass reeds (Bass and Tenor) in the bass and counter-bass buttons while still having the opportunity to use the remaining 3 sets of reeds (Contralto, Alto, and Tenor) for the chord buttons. You may have seen some Bell 4518 and Sano Stereo 50 accordions that would have 1 or 2 bass switches that would produce a deep low sounds but there would be no sound on the chords. Having a valve decoupling shift solves the problems of the 'missing chords'.
Recently, thanks to Chris Moranof The Erin Breeze I became the proudowner of an 'older' Paolo Soprani box. It was definitely built before 1960, andexperts have dated it as early as 1955, which would make it one of the firstbatch of red Soprani boxes.
Since I already owned one of the last real Paolo Soprani boxes (Note:the Paolo Soprani company folded around 1983, and though the brand nameresurfaced in the early 1990s the boxes sold under that name by then were madeby another well-known accordion manufacturer, Dino Baffetti. These boxes weren'tquite a good as the originals, and since the wet tuning had gone out of fashionanyway these 'new' Paolo Soprani boxes never sold well. The brand name hassince been handed on, and the boxes currently sold under the name have hardlyanything - except for the color - in common with the great boxes of the past.),bought a few years ago from the House ofMusical Traditions which I was told dates from 1982, I though it might beinteresting to compare the two.
For starters here are the two side by side - the evolution of the big red PaoloSoprani box:
Paolo Soprani, made around 1955, tuned B/C
The older Paolo Soprani is tuned as most of these boxes are, in B/C. It has4 voices, 3 reeds in the middle octave tuned slightly apart for that old, 'wet'sound, and a reed one octave below those, which can be switched on or off bya quick press on one of the 2 couplers. This box still has a wooden soundboard,which gives it a warm, pleasant sound. Which doesn't mean it isn't loud - it isstill loud enough to be used for dances outdoors. The action is very smooth (atouch of thin oil worked miracles !) and the buttons are set really low into thekeyboard, allowing you to almost 'slide' on or off a button without having tolift your fingers - you can play this box fast once you're used to it.
Paolo Soprani, made around 1982, tuned C#/D
The newer Paolo is tuned in C#/D, a tuning that's a lot less common inthe red Paolo Soprani boxes, though there are a few older grey or greenishboxes in this tuning out there (somewhere - there are pretty rare at all, really).It's setup is much the same as the old box, 3 middle octave reeds for the wetsound (BTW it's wetter than the old one) and a low reed controlled by thepair of couplers. The construction of the couplers however is totally different,much more like a modern piano accordion, and unfortunately it does add abit of weight to the box - switching has become easier though, as you needmuch less force with this system. The keyboard action of this one is different. Not only are the spring stiffer(possibly because it hasn't been played as much as the older one) but alsothe button rise much further through the keyboard, and can travel quite far,which tends to slow you down. In all other respects the mechanism is thesame as in the older one. However, it's enough to make this a not-so-greatbox. It is certainly as loud, but shriller than the old Paolo. This is due not onlyto the higher tuning, but also to the metal soundboard this one has - afeature that many boxplayers really dislike. And another 'feature' that players dislike about the newer model is it'sweight - it's at least a kilo heavier !
Paolo Soprani Accordion For Sale
Enter the 3-voice
Quite rare they are - but I was lucky enough to locate one recently: a mid-1950s3-voice Paolo Soprani in D/D#. Odbc driver for mac.
It looks very similar to the above 4-voice B/C, as it was indeed manufactured aroundthe same time (or possibly slightly earlier). The main differences are the lack ofcoupler buttons (3-voice musette's your only option), and the depth (front to back)of the instrument. There are also a few less lots in the curved part of the grille(right in front of the logo) but that's more than compensated by the extra slots inthe area where the 4-voice has the couplers. Oh, and yes, it IS a fair bit lighter than the 4-voice !
Comparing logos
Silvio Soprani Accordion Models
Wacom dtz 2100d drivers for mac. You can even see the evolution in the logo on the two boxes. Even thoughit's still the same 'man with accordion', just slightly re-styled, the logo hasless stars around him (6 in the old, only 2 in the new) and it also no longer hasthat 'night sky blue' which makes the presence of stars a bit pointless anyway.Also the outline of the logo has changed: it's still a shield but of a totallydifferent shape. The crown at the top of the old logo is also missing - the new logohas some curly gold ornament at the bottom. Oh well, see for yourself: