Chromatic button-piano Accordion, or something?

September 15, 2011

Martin at Tempo Trend sent me pictures of this rather bizarre instrument they just aquired.

Not a bit garish. We ponder it’s origin and history. Is it a concept car – to promote a maker’s crazy skilz? Or a special request commissioned by a wealthy player who couldn’t make up their mind what they wanted? Were they colour-blind? Or have the colours changed with age? (maybe the white keys were whiter once? Maybe the blues were…less teal?)

Apparently inside it’s exquisitely well-crafted, so it’d definitely playable, but damn, who’s going to play it? Probably somebody like me who’s got the perfect accordion in mind. But “perfect” has never been commercially available, so I don’t have to learn to play! This person finally had to put up or shut up and quit talking like “they’d play the accordion if only they could find one that had….” No excuses now, there aren’t any more features you could ask for.

Unless… Does it have a free-bass left-hand?

2 Comments leave one →

Oliver O'Connro permalink

October 1, 2019 3:11 pm

Hi fantastic website, thanks for all the material you publish! It looks to be a Swedish built accordion. These accordions were very popular in Sweden during the 1940s. It is difficult to tell who began making them or why they were popular, but it might possibly be for the following reason: Pietro Frosini, a famous American-Italian accordionist, developed a custom chromatic button accordion with a “Dummy ” piano keyboard because the piano accordion was popular in his lifetime. So he had to disguise his chromatic button accordion. In pictures of him, Frosini plays a three rowed chromatic accordion with piano keys. His music developed in Sweden in a big way, so it is possible that he brought his design to Sweden with him during his lifetime.

I am not entirely sure myself but just thought I’d like to share it with you.

Reply