Accordina Update

cbwim

I am still getting emails asking me if I still have the original Borel Accordina that I listed for sale 3-4 years ago here! That one is long gone!

I am now getting back into this instrument, however. I took advantage of the strong dollar and over the summer I purchased one of Marcel Dreux's wonderful Accordinas - specifically the Ludovic Beier -designed model. Its a great instrument and exactly like the ones that he plays. Compared with the original Borels there are a few peculiarities, such as a slightly looser mechanism compared with European accordions, but in general playing these with correct playing posture on the right hand is what matters, and these differences no longer matter.

The original Borel accordinas were never meant as a performing instrument with their fragile reeds. They are a bit lighter (1000g vs 1170g) and have a slightly brighter tone with the brass reeds. These frequently come up for sale on the French equivalent of Craigslist. Unfortunately, most of the vendors do not want to ship, especially internationally. Local pickup by appointment for most! On the used instruments broken or non-functioning reeds are common.

I found an original for sale on eBay's France page and purchased it for only 360 Eu. shipping included. Again, the seller only wanted to ship to someone else in France. Thus I had the seller send this to a friend who lives there who then sent it to me. It cost a total of $415, about 1/5th of what I paid for the Dreux. Its a very early accordina (#69 out of around 2000) but in okay shape. The two bottom reeds are wonky and the middle D reed was broken. The bottom reeds will eventually play-in once these are fully adjusted. I was able to replace the middle D with a similar reed from a melodica-like instrument made in Borel's workshop called a Clavietta. This accordina needs an entire disassembly, cleaning (including removal of every particle of ancient reed wax) and adjustment. It is pitched at A-446. I will probably leave it at that pitch. Adjusting the reeds downward puts this instrument at risk.

While I have this disassembled, I will be able to measure it up completely. I do want to make a few of these myself someday. Up until now the sourcing of reeds has been the hardest part. I am now collecting these Claviettas when these come up for sale - the reeds are basically the same. The older German-made melodicas by Hohner feature reed plates that could be sliced with a jeweler's saw carefully. I will be exploring these alternatives as well.

There is one reed maker who supplies Marcel - I have yet to contact them to see what they charge, minimum quantities, etc. Their reeds are slightly longer than the Borel reeds, explaining why Marcel's accordinas are about 7mm taller than the Borels. These reeds have to be played in and are quite stiff and unresponsive compared with the ancient Borel reeds. These improve with time - and they are well up to the challenge of performing, playing at full volume and such.

Fortunately Ludovic came to DjangoFest. I had a great lesson with him that dealt mostly with the posture of playing this instrument. Its important that the right hand stays parallel to the keyboard instead of curling up around the instrument at a right angle as I was doing previously. His many videos on YouTube demonstrate this posture well. The method book that he wrote (available at Marcel's site www.accordinas.com) covers posture. His left hand grips the Accordina near the left end in such a way that the keyboard is tilted some 45-90 degrees to the horizon. The arthritis in my left hand thumb from 4 decades of flute making prevents me from using that posture. However, I have an alternative one where I hold it near the balance point in the middle, with my hand facing up and the fingers and thumb lightly gripping the instrument, and the keyboard at 45 degrees to the horizon, perfect for my right hand.

I highly recommend Marcel's instruments, especially the Signature Ludovic Beier model (note - the weigh is incorrect on his website!). See https://en.accordinas.com/product-page/ludovic-beier

During the Pandemic, Ludovic has been busy and has recorded a bunch! See https://www.youtube.com/@LudovicBeierOfficiel/videos

I am having a blast with this instrument! If anyone is considering Accordina and has questions, feel free to ask me. Cheers!

Casey

everett

I love my Marcel accordina. I have the A04 style, but really want to try the signature models, particularly Ludovic's. I was looking at the carbon fiber ones because I thought they'd be lighter, but Marcel's site lists it as the same weight...these things can be a chore to hold if you're not in shape :) . I can't really find a comfortable left hand grip, so I tend to not play it for extended periods.

I usually just play it for fun, but I've been starting to bring it out to jams and gigs. It complements the guitar nicely, especially on ballads.

btw my dog really hates the ukulele >> https://www.instagram.com/tv/CdrRotVgAXy/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY%3D