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Author Topic: Scarlatti G/C Melodeon Wood  (Read 5264 times)

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Kristof

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Scarlatti G/C Melodeon Wood
« on: November 21, 2013, 09:21:38 PM »

Hi,

I found a wooden 2-row G/C-Meldodeon made by Scarlatti on Amazon (.de) for less than the price of the Scarlatti Nero. I thought about lower price but wood vs. bass coupler but black "plastic". The wood won :-) "Less the price" means in this case: I payed € 305,- because of "little mistakes on the surface" that I haven't found yet …

First I have to say that I started playing the melodeon a few weeks ago on a very (very) old "Galotta" in G/C that I got at eBay for € 30,-. I didn't expect much. It was a bit out of tune, was not completely air tight … but I was able to learn the first tunes from the melodeon school of Yann Dour. So all comparisons are based on this Galotta - and on the sound of "Naragonia" and other groups. And I'm also a professional opera singer and also play swedish and german bagpipes, guitar, ukulele, flute, recorder, singing saw and a little hurdy gurdy. For a few years I used to play the saxophone, too. That makes no melodeon expert of me, but I know a bit about instruments    ;)

The wooden Scarlatti is a really nice instrument. I didn't find any plastic pieces exept the buttons (and the bass strap wheelythingy), the feet are from rubber - it's good in tune, air tight, not too heavy … Also on the inside there is no plastic, the bellow frames are made from wood, too. I opened it for two reasons: If I would have found pieces that I dont like, I would have sent it back - and in case everything is fine I wanted to tape the third of the e major chord, what I did. Why do they have e major chords anyway? There is no g# on the instrument, but a lot of g's …

I'm going to take pictures and a little video the next days. Especially the low bass of the C is vibrating throughout my whole body - i hope that i can put that into the vdieo, too :-)

So - I try to strike a blow for the wooden Scarlatti!
« Last Edit: November 21, 2013, 10:57:29 PM by Kristof »
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Cooper

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Re: Scarlatti G/C Melodeon Wood
« Reply #1 on: November 21, 2013, 11:58:00 PM »

.. and in case everything is fine I wanted to tape the third of the e major chord, what I did. Why do they have e major chords anyway? There is no g# on the instrument, but a lot of g's …


Congratz on your buy!

And why the E major? Because then you can play Am-harmonic, if you flip your first button reed from the innerrow, you have a g# to go with it. Sous le ciel de Paris anyone?

Also, you can fake Em by combining your E-bass with your G-chord, so you dont really need the Em, but you cannot fake Emajor.... well, apart from removing your third alltogether, then you can fake them both.
Many people do so,...i miss that third when it is not there. Especially when the rest does have thirds. matter of taste i guess ;-)
W
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Kristof

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Re: Scarlatti G/C Melodeon Wood
« Reply #2 on: November 22, 2013, 09:48:37 AM »

 :D

I know that it fits in Am ... but until now all songs in the Yann Dour book sound terrible with e major. It's obviously made for instruments with bass coppler.

When I play good enough to alternate chords maybe I go for the Em7-version with E-bass and the g-chord.
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Kristof

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Re: Scarlatti G/C Melodeon Wood
« Reply #3 on: November 22, 2013, 03:38:39 PM »

Here are some pictures of the Scarlatti - and a YouTube-Link at the end:













If I could have chosen it would have been something else than flowers  ;)






And here is how it sounds - it's the most difficult piece of music I can play until now  ;D but I'm working my way through the book.

Main de Velours (Yann Dour in: Diatonic Accordion Pt. 1)
http://youtu.be/EKQv-jITAc4
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dunlustin

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Re: Scarlatti G/C Melodeon Wood
« Reply #4 on: November 22, 2013, 04:03:13 PM »

That sounds like a real bargain.
Good luck with the learning!
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Rog

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Re: Scarlatti G/C Melodeon Wood
« Reply #5 on: November 23, 2013, 07:47:18 AM »

It's an attractive looking box. If it was mine I'd want to know how easy it is to play. Melodeons on the cheaper end of the scale sometimes make you work hard, because they are a heavy to carry or to work the bellows. I once owned a Delicia which had a nice mellow sound but which was hard work; the thing is I only realised this when I picked up a better box. Next time you get a chance, try playing, for instance, a Hohner Pokerwork. Mostly these boxes are both light and have a nice light keyboard and bellows action. Then you'll know if you want to keep your Scarlatti or if you want to trade up a step. Anything that makes the effort less, especially when you are learning, is to your advantage. Believe me, there is no shame either in buying another box or from selling one that does not suit you. You will discover that people on this forum tend to own several and buy and sell them frequently.
« Last Edit: November 23, 2013, 07:52:07 AM by RogerThomas »
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Nick Collis Bird

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Re: Scarlatti G/C Melodeon Wood
« Reply #6 on: November 23, 2013, 08:04:17 AM »

Wot Roger said.  ;D
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Steve_freereeder

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Re: Scarlatti G/C Melodeon Wood
« Reply #7 on: November 23, 2013, 08:41:05 AM »

As I understand it, the problem with Scarlattis and similar cheap Chinese instruments (with the exception of Chinese-made Hohners, which are generally good) is that although they may play alright at first, as soon as anything goes wrong, they are awkward to fix due to the construction methods and poor-quality components.

However, I cannot truthfully speak from experience here, as I've never taken one of these apart. Maybe Theo, Lester or one of the other repairers on this forum could comment?
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Theo

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Re: Scarlatti G/C Melodeon Wood
« Reply #8 on: November 23, 2013, 02:55:03 PM »

I rarely get asked to repair them.  The only Chinese built boxes I tend to get in fir repair are Sandpipers, which in my experience are prone to air valves breaking.
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Ebor_fiddler

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Re: Scarlatti G/C Melodeon Wood
« Reply #9 on: November 23, 2013, 11:51:43 PM »

My Scarlatti D/G is certainly not perfect and has needed quite a bit of care and attention to improve it to the standard it ought to have left the factory in, but I've found no awkwardness inside it, so I don't think you have too much to worry about on that score. Mine came very stiff to pull and is indeed heavy, but they seem to have cleared this problem with their current D/G model (I tried one at Pikey's Workshop, earlier this month). Enjoy it.
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My other melodeon's a fiddle, but one of my Hohners has six strings! I also play a very red Hawkins Bazaar in C and a generic Klingenthaler spoon bass in F.!! My other pets (played) are gobirons - Hohner Marine Band in C, Hohner Tremolo in D and a Chinese Thingy Tremolo in G.

Kristof

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Re: Scarlatti G/C Melodeon Wood
« Reply #10 on: November 24, 2013, 12:10:02 AM »

My Scarlatti D/G is certainly not perfect and has needed quite a bit of care and attention to improve it to the standard it ought to have left the factory in, but I've found no awkwardness inside it, so I don't think you have too much to worry about on that score. Mine came very stiff to pull and is indeed heavy, but they seem to have cleared this problem with their current D/G model (I tried one at Pikey's Workshop, earlier this month). Enjoy it.

There has to be a difference to a € 1500,- instrument - it would be terrible if there wasn't  :D

The bellows are a bit stiff indeed. I have to focus on playing the pulled notes as loud as the pushed. But I think that it will loosening by the time. And I don't find it very heavy. I haven't tried an expensive instrument yet, but it's not as heavy as a saxophon and the straps are much more pleasant then the sax-strap. It's all what you and your body is used to.

I really like playing it and even start to change the tabulature in my Yann-Dour-book and to use the second row more to get a nicer phrasing.

But I'm glad that I'm used to ready music scores with more than one or two lines. For someone who is new to that it must be confusing with all those letters, numbers, apostrophes  :D
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dunlustin

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Re: Scarlatti G/C Melodeon Wood
« Reply #11 on: November 24, 2013, 10:17:04 AM »

I should have said that I found your review very helpful - a concise description, good photos, a recording and your personal opinion.
Scarlatti seem to be upping their game. Add in Black Diamond and perhaps we'll see some welcome competition at the budget end.
I don't know about others but I'm really looking forward to following your progress.
Naragonia again - they really do play thoughtful music.
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Kristof

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Re: Scarlatti G/C Melodeon Wood
« Reply #12 on: November 24, 2013, 01:04:50 PM »

:D

I know that it fits in Am ... but until now all songs in the Yann Dour book sound terrible with e major. It's obviously made for instruments with bass coppler.

When I play good enough to alternate chords maybe I go for the Em7-version with E-bass and the g-chord.

And thinking further about the m7-possibilities I just found out that I can fake the Dm with D and f for a Dm7. I just found a song with Dm - wich I didn't finde in my basses.

I begin to understand the chances in the restircted possibilities  :D
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Kristof

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Re: Scarlatti G/C Melodeon Wood
« Reply #13 on: November 27, 2013, 06:39:42 PM »

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