@keys @tuftyindigo
[edited that post to show a vid with one of his (older?) Giuliettis that’s more similar to the layout of yours

He left a ton of videos on that channel. Quite a legacy

I remember downloading a bunch of online posts and things from him and trying to figure out how to cite him in my book after he died

Wish I could have interviewed him or given him a copy

Each #accordion company pushed their own free bass style and none caught on

Debate continues:
https://www.accordionists.info/threads/which-freebass-layout.7751/

@keys @tuftyindigo
William Cosby played Giulietti accordions for years built that way with three rows of free bass on top of the regular stradella

Long fingers I guess

He used to be extremely active in the American Accordionists Forum, led the US Army Band, extremely knowledgeable about accordion history. Sad loss when he died
#accordion
https://youtu.be/ClSD1-4B4cA

@tuftyindigo @keys
If you’re really lucky that 3&3 rectangle bass arrangement would be set up in the old “Belgian bass” style, so it’d be upside down

With three bass rows and three chord rows going ADGCF instead of the regular FCGDA

https://www.reddit.com/r/Accordion/comments/eu7t9k/can_anyone_tell_me_how_to_play_this_type_of_bass/

@manelu_de @r007 @andijah
Yeah, that makes me think/fear it might be something more like the earlier generation’s Chordovox where they sent proprietary signal to the organ electronics that then output to amps (including mini spinning Leslie loudspeakers now coveted by guitar and other players)

Folks have dedicated a lot to getting the fragile old workings going. Yours looks a lot less complicated than the innards of the valve or solid state Tone Generators at least!
#accordion #keyboard

@r007 @manelu_de @andijah
If you wanted to consult someone who’d know, but isn’t here really, I’d ask @squeezyjohn from Bellowhead over on Bluesky
https://bsky.app/profile/johnspiers.co.uk

He programmed his own custom MIDI melodeons note by note so might be familiar with something like that
#accordion #melodeon #FolkMusic #synth

@r007 @manelu_de @andijah
Regardless, if there’s also those 1/4 audio outputs on both sides that probably means there’s a few things inside the #accordion

1 is mics on each side to provide audio to make the output

2 is a flexible cable attached across the bellows between the sides

So when the sides are opened it’s important to be careful so the cable doesn’t break

I am not a repair person. But I think sometimes they have clips for easy separation, and sometimes they don’t so it is harder

@r007 @manelu_de @andijah
Usually today the old literally “space-age” Chordovox electronics are uselessly outdated, with thick cables custom made by Bell Labs and impossible to replace, much less the many other kilos/pounds of electronic components you’d need to not only source and repair, but then cart around and protect from harm

Meanwhile, the mature 200 year old acoustic technology still plays pretty well with a bit of a tune up

#accordion irony

@r007 @manelu_de @andijah
The first similar instruments were popular Cordovoxes made by Farfisa, who took Lowrey organ electronics and crammed them into a functional Scandalli #accordion, with an external “tone generator” that contained 70 vacuum tubes

These evolved into solid state versions with the same electronics as Farfisa’s organs, usually still inside heavy acoustic accordions

Later came “midified” acoustic accordions, which might be what you have?

@r007 @manelu_de @andijah
Earliest I’ve seen a diatonic version of such a thing

There’s a history of electronic #accordion going back to at least the 50s with the Farfisa Chordovox organ accordion and the Hohner Electronium analog synth accordion you mentioned

I did a video presentation on that history a few years ago at an electronic accordion festival

Electronic Accordion History, Bruce Triggs, IDEAS Presentation, 2020.mp4
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/8wozwzwzpj1rqlmu1ycai/Electronic-Accordion-History-Bruce-Triggs-IDEAS-Presentation-2020.mp4?rlkey=t7gpalxchz0d2oq6whymkfi4v&st=2stspu7v&dl=0

@AccordionBruce @mayor @djsundog @FediThing The last dedicated #accordion shop in #london #uk closed in May this year. I bought my first accordion (a Delicia Arnaldo) from them about 10 years ago to learn on and made sure to buy a better one (a Hohner Virtuola) from there once I knew I was going to stick at it. Emilio was incredibly patient guiding me through the options and answering my at-times extremely noob questions. Sad times.

https://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/24463812.allodi-accordions-lewisham-close-50-years/

@andijah tagging #accordion #electronic #repair #maker #MakerMonday

@mayor @djsundog @FediThing
There’s not enough money in fixing these mechanical boxes with more parts than your laptop (maybe some more than a grand piano)

If people get an #accordion for $300 off eBay, but fair cost of repairs would be $500, who will pay enough to support rent in a big city?

It’s hardly a viable business for every town or even region. Which is what we need to keep the instruments up and running as more than novelties

Rough squeezebox world out there

@AinsleyLowbeer @William3rd @GottaLaff
Ok rabbit hole

So the Soviets had their (upsetting?) satellite nuclear reactors which apparently included a TOPAZ II

Which implies yes a TOPAZ I reactor

No idea how secretive they were in their aerospace labs, but I first heard the name because of the era’s awesome TOPAS I analog synth accordion

Envy of every Soviet youth in the 80s
https://youtu.be/L_FHtjrpkcA

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/TOPAZ_nuclear_reactor