Hi All!
As incentive to finish my dissertation (one chapter left!), my father has bought me a button box which he’s going to present to me after my oral defense (I’ll be hard pressed to not turn to my committee and say, “Look, here’s my reason for finishing!”)
It’s a used/refurbished Bell B/C button accordion, not sure of the age but the finish has a nice patina from use, and I think it’s made by the Borsini company (is that right?) A family friend who’s becoming a buttonbox fanatic picked it up at the Buttonbox on the East Coast.
What can anyone tell me about this instrument/company? I’m a tinwhistle player, so this will be new territory for me, but I love the sound and have to learn to play it! I don’t know whether it’s “dry” or “wet” tuned (can someone help me with this?) and it’s got McKomiskey bass, which I hear is a different layout for the bass buttons that makes 'em more amenable to Irish music? Any info. would be greatly appreciated! I’m not looking to become a virtuoso; I just want to play at home and have fun with it…
i play whistles myself, and i love my saltarelle nuage in C#/D!!
i don’t know much about the B/C layouts, it’s best to ask a good B/C player if your layout is any good.
this can still be changed, it’s very important to start out with right kind.
if your box sounds like a concertina, then it’s dry tuned, there shouldn’t be any vibrato or so in the sound. but it’s hard to get a box tuned very dry, and nothing can be changed how it’s tuned after the box is made, except when it’s out of tune, then it can be tuned right agan.
here’s something about how to take care of your box http://www.hobgoblin.com/info/freecare.htm
and yep, the bells are made by borsini alright
http://www.musicmagicusa.com/bellacc.html
so find out about your layout with a guitar tuner first and then ask a good B/C player if anything needs to be changed,
an e-mail with your lay out will do, don’t forget the basses.
a teacher to get you started is a good idea too.
hope this helps 
a couple of places to look and ask:
Han Speek’s Irish box pages
http://home.hccnet.nl/h.speek/irishbox/
includes this discussion on basses.
there are a couple of e-groups at Yahoo which discuss boxes; i’m a member of both, and i’m sure they would be happy to discuss any of your questions at length.
http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/irishbox/
http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/IrishTradAccord/
good luck on your defense, and happy squeezing 
Thanks to both of you for the info!