I think accordion is not de-rigeur here, but this guy is amazing!

[miden]

Michael Bridge plays the 1812 on a digital accordion - they have come a long way! All on the accordion live! No trax.

 

Just wanted to share, in case it hasn't been before...goes for about6 minutes -well worth a full listen imo.

 

 

[Leroy C]

I absolutely intend to learn accordion at some point, but right now all I have is a beat-up one that scares the cats when I try to play. 

 

That Roland V-Accordion is amazing though.  It might be my next big purchase ...

[CEB]

Anyone who can play one of those things well has my deepest respects. 

[SamuelBLupowitz]

Thanks for the share. I started gently incorporating accordion into my arsenal late last year, and I've been having a blast getting to know it. Don't expect to be able to play like this guy anytime soon, but it's nice to have a new axe to explore, and a new color in my musical palette. It's such a complicated machine, but you can cover a lot of ground even without touching the bass button side (unless you're the guy in this video and just play one of those accordions with buttons on BOTH sides... wow).

[Leroy C]

Plus, it makes busking a hell of a lot easier! 

[D. Gauss]

my friend Brian plays one.  Often does killer Hendrix tunes on it.  Here's a fun Rufus song with his band (Clark from Springsteen on sousaphone and Shawn from SNL on kit)

 

 

and with Little Feat

 

[Lou_NC]

Do they make accordion models with piano keys on both sides?  Might be cool to learn to play one, but no way am I going to tackle that sea of identical buttons at this point in my life!  😂

 

[Leroy C]

1 minute ago, Lou_NC said:

Do they make accordion models with piano keys on both sides?  Might be cool to learn to play one, but no way am I going to tackle that sea of identical buttons at this point in my life!  😂

 

Not that I've heard of, but that's a very cool idea.  Patent pending! 

[David Emm]

That was impressive. It gives all of the MPE controllers a meaningful challenger. I'm sure he was knocked out to discover the V-Accordion. I KNEW that thing had a much larger remit than oomphing out polkas. There's an instrument that should be brought out more often, to make the rubes' jaws drop.  

[Mighty Motif Max]

V-Accordions are interesting. I played one of the smaller models about 8 years ago or so - they can't really replace an acoustic accordion fully, but they are lots of fun and can have advantages in band situations. I've played accordion for nearly 13 years now, and it's an instrument that has become very underappreciated over time. It's a hard draw whether I enjoy playing keys or accordion more.

 

Roland hasn't updated their flagship FR-8x in a long time; they did a midrange update with the FR-4x several years back. But a lot of the non-accordion sounds and such lag behind their current generations of keyboard models.

[MPN21]

3 hours ago, Lou_NC said:

Do they make accordion models with piano keys on both sides?  Might be cool to learn to play one, but no way am I going to tackle that sea of identical buttons at this point in my life!  😂

 

The so-called Stradella bass system on most accordions is not really bad at all.   It is as if there was only one key/scale to learn.  A keyboard player will learn to play a piano accordion rather fast.    Besides, there is a Biblical approach to accordion playing that's very effective; don't let the left hand know what the right hand is doing!   Kidding aside,   I picked up the accordion some years ago again just in time for the Roland digital accordion.   I find a midi accordion to be a versatile, powerful midi controller.  

[CEB]

Smurfette was turned on to accordion in pop music after John Mellencamp's 'The Lonesome Jubilee' album.

[miden]

I've got the piano-key version of the FR-8...and I am really diggin it for playing  - I have actually changed over to it for all my gigs now....I can play solo piano pieces as well as combo (with electric/acoustic bass and pno chording on the left) and the ability to use and layer drum sounds to go with either left hand or right hand is really cool! Just got to not go overboard as it sounds a bit naff when you have too  much going on. I tend to use just a kick and hi-hat/ride combo.

 

My history on accordion goes way back as it was the instrument I studied music on as a kid (up to about 15). Not sure what prompted me to get one or even LOOK at one, but these digital babies are so, so, soooo much more interesting to play than a traditional acoustic.

[miden]

1 hour ago, David Emm said:

That was impressive. It gives all of the MPE controllers a meaningful challenger. I'm sure he was knocked out to discover the V-Accordion. I KNEW that thing had a much larger remit than oomphing out polkas. There's an instrument that should be brought out more often, to make the rubes' jaws drop.  

 

For sure as a controller!!...You can send on a different MIDI channel on the right hand for each of the sections -Accordion. Organ, Orchestra 1 (all the piano/EP/synth etc sounds) and orchestra 2 - then on the left you can send on a different channel again for the chords and bass.

[MPN21]

2 hours ago, Mighty Motif Max said:

V-Accordions are interesting. I played one of the smaller models about 8 years ago or so - they can't really replace an acoustic accordion fully, but they are lots of fun and can have advantages in band situations. I've played accordion for nearly 13 years now, and it's an instrument that has become very underappreciated over time. It's a hard draw whether I enjoy playing keys or accordion more.

 

Roland hasn't updated their flagship FR-8x in a long time; they did a midrange update with the FR-4x several years back. But a lot of the non-accordion sounds and such lag behind their current generations of keyboard models.

Probably no more new models by Roland as they folded up their Europe operation.   The Italian man responsible  for the very first Roland FR7 accordion started Dexibell.   So Dexibell has the capability to come up with a digital accordion.   Another former Roland Europe employee named Marco who has license to put the 8x electronics in a real acoustic case/wooden keys came up with a new model, but it doesn't sound too good.  I will say Casio needs to build inexpensive digital accordions besides a 73 weighted key.     

[Mighty Motif Max]

21 minutes ago, MPN21 said:

...Another former Roland Europe employee named Marco who has license to put the 8x electronics in a real acoustic case/wooden keys came up with a new model, but it doesn't sound too good.  I will say Casio needs to build inexpensive digital accordions besides a 73 weighted key.     

Are you referring to the Bugari Evo? Looks good, better keybed, but at a premium price from what I gathered.

 

Also they raised the dealer cost up to $9000 last year...at that point, for 2013 tech with no new models on the horizon, that's a bit steep. The $6,000 they used to be was much more reasonable given that they are decidedly not a hand-assembled fine acoustic instrument.

[bfields]

I've borrowed old accordions from friends a few times and found them heavy and uncomfortable.  I don't know whether I need to try a lighter model or whether I'm doing something wrong.

[D. Gauss]

21 minutes ago, bfields said:

I've borrowed old accordions from friends a few times and found them heavy and uncomfortable.  I don't know whether I need to try a lighter model or whether I'm doing something wrong.

lighter? here ya go.   

 

 

[stoken6]

The opening of the Tchaikovsky in the original video made me realise what a good controller a MIDI accordion makes for string parts. 

 

Cheers, Mike.

[Outkaster]

My cousins played. These guys were beasts on the according. All the guys in Niagara Falls that got married had my cousins Italian dance band play at their receptions.  My regret is never learning. 

[MPN21]

15 hours ago, Mighty Motif Max said:

Are you referring to the Bugari Evo? Looks good, better keybed, but at a premium price from what I gathered.

 

Also they raised the dealer cost up to $9000 last year...at that point, for 2013 tech with no new models on the horizon, that's a bit steep. The $6,000 they used to be was much more reasonable given that they are decidedly not a hand-assembled fine acoustic instrument.

No, not really.  The Evo is basically an FR8x without the stepper motor in a real acoustic shell.  The wooden key feels nice but the bellows are still stiff like all Roland digital accordions.  Roland tried to do too much for the 8x - bulky and not well balanced at all.  I had the 8x Dallape model.  Got rid of it real quick.  The new model by Marco is called Proxima.  It sounds like a GM module from the 80s. 

 

As for the pricing,  I have an Italian friend whose father had an accordion shop in the SF area years ago.  He always says accordion dealers priced themselves out of business.   If Casio or anybody else can build an accordion controller with a good midi implementation at an affordable price, I'd say it would sell very well.  

 

 

 

 

[miden]

3 hours ago, MPN21 said:

If Casio or anybody else can build an accordion controller with a good midi implementation at an affordable price, I'd say it would sell very well.  

 

Totally!!

[uhoh7]

I generally prefer my melodeons dry.....

 

 

The Irish, like the Columbians, and a number of very specific traditions which adopted the diatonic accordions..not least tango...are deep deep into the history of em now....above is a period instrument, likely played by a former virtuoso. 

 

Limitations focus expression. Obviously Michael Bridge shreds digital or acoustic. But the free reed in it's many forms and combinations..live, is something I've come to appreciate lately.....although I used to pound the family pump organ, sadly undirected  I wish I had that thing now LOL

[ksoper]

The 1812 video was killer.  Thanks for that. 

 

My sister sent me this a while back.  Also worth your time to listen. 

 

 

[Mark Schmieder]

On 2/15/2023 at 11:03 PM, bfields said:

I've borrowed old accordions from friends a few times and found them heavy and uncomfortable.  I don't know whether I need to try a lighter model or whether I'm doing something wrong.

You're doing something wrong. 🙂 My first guess is that you're going for a large piano accordion. Try a button accordion. Not as hard to learn as you might think, but definitely not a direct transfer of knowledge from keyboard playing. They're much more ergonomic overall.

[Mark Schmieder]

V-Accordions are very expensive, so I don't see the point. Whether buying new or used, one could buy three different accordion types, from top vendors, properly adjusted (use the right shop!), for less. But if someone is primarily an accordion player and they want to trigger trumpet sounds (sampled) vs. trumpet stops, it makes sense. I didn't know Roland had folded their Europe division.

[PianoMan51]

As this thread winds down, I’d like to remind folks about the music that can be played using old fashioned bellows and reeds…

 

[piano39]

This is great stuff.  The musicianship on "Begin the Beguine" is incredible.  These guys are really responding to each other- I love the solos, but better yet is how the other instruments support the soloist.  The phrasing and the articulation on the accordion solos -- sublime.

 

I dabble with accordion.  Can't get used to the bass buttons.

[CEB]

[Leroy C]

2 hours ago, PianoMan51 said:

As this thread winds down, I’d like to remind folks about the music that can be played using old fashioned bellows and reeds…

 

Haha, indeed.  I would like to get a V-accordion for practice and other fun things, but I will definitely what an acoustic accordion as well.