( I attempted posting this before, so sorry if there is a double of this post anywhere)
I’m looking at an old Paolo Soprani that I am considering purchasing and this is the information I recieved upon asking about the reeds/tuning:
Hi! - the instrument has four set of stainless
steel reeds, tgree sets playing at middle pitch
and one at low - the first register activates the
three middle sets, while the other one activates
them all - it does produce a vibrato, but not the
French musette type - I’m attaching four photos -
please tell me if you receive them all right
I’m not sure if this is the dry Irish tuning I am looking for that most Paolo Soprani’s have as a second voice, or a wet sound. Tell me what you guys make of this. Here’s a picture. http://img239.imageshack.us/my.php?image=paolosopranigp9.jpg
I hope the dots on the register’s assist you. Thanks,
-Sean
I suspect the tuning is wet with the second register just adding the lower octave. Doesn’t look like you can select anything other than the three middle reeds going at once, and usually the three middle reeds are tuned fairly wet. I suspect you’d get a Tony Macmahon kind of sound (rather than say a bone-dry Sharon Shannon kind of sound). This is assuming it’s in the standard Paolo tuning and hasn’t been re-tuned.
If it’s a good buy, you could always get it re-tuned to suit you.
I do play on a dry box, but I am not turned off at all by the wet/tony macmahon sound. I play mostly solo/duo (accordion and bodhran, accordion and guitar) due to lack of musicians in my area. Would this sound be difficult to use in sessions, difficult to tune to or offputting in big groups of musicians? I have heard mixed opinions…share yours.
-Sean
I don’t think it would be off-putting at all, but ultimately it’s a matter of taste. Dry tuning is the fashion now, but for social playing I like how a wetter tuning blends better.
I have to weigh it out. I am a student and am going off to college very soon, meaning I have to save some money for simple living requirements. In other words, if I buy a Paolo Soprani new, can’t afford cold medicine and die in college, I’ll never get to play it. I simply may have to settle. The wet sound does not bother me at all, infact I’d rather have it for solo and duet (accordion+rythem), but some prefer the dry sound in session. We’ll see. I have been told that this specific accordion is not one of the desirable 1950’s paolo sopranis, but I may simply have to settle. I am having trouble deciding if this is a good option for me. The price is fantastic (under $1000) and it is in beautiful condition…and if it sounds good (I’ll call to hear the sound of it) it seems like it’s a good option. Here’s what I’m asking:
You’re about to embark on your freshman year of college with your twin brother. Your parent’s are putting out a huge amount of money and you will need some yourself to support living. You also know that not being able to play a single note triplet on your chinese-harmonicareed-box will cause you frustration, so you need a new box (for many reasons). You can spend under $1000 (which may be pushing it or asking to borrow a bit). What do you do? A used Paolo? A dance master? What would you do?
-Sean
I’d get a Dancemaster from Doc, http://irishflutestore.com/Dancemaster.html
if you don’t like it you can always send it back, you can’t go wrong that way.
Maybe sell it again by the time you’re a better player, tried out a lot of boxes and really know what you prefere.
If you can play the Paolo first, it would be ideal; verify that there’s no issues that need to be addressed and end up costing more money.
Also, though i haven’t played one, my understanding is that those four-voice Paolos are on the heavy side (though the two-coupler ones are less so than the nine-couplers).