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[Grape Ape]

And if so, what were your thoughts?

Also thoughts on Serafinis in general are welcome.

I have always enjoyed their sound....

[Falconer]

I thought long and hard about buying one, but from what I can ascertain none of them have 3rds in the chords. (I assume this is a weight & space saving measure.) And since the most pleasing sound on the melodeon to me is the full triad, I have passed. But I can see that for someone playing quick, complex songs with 18 basses, that loss is probably not so important.

[Winston Smith]

Here's one for sale! (No connection etc etc.) Strange that it should come up for sale just after being mentioned on here, unless it's one of our members.

https://www.gumtree.com/p/accordians/diatonic-accordion-serafini-darwin/1351113848

[Theo]

I enquired about that shortly after you posted that.  Today I’ve had an email from Gumtree warning me that the seller was “not complying with Gumtree conditions”  which I think is code for “he was a scammer”

[playandteach]

And if so, what were your thoughts?

Also thoughts on Serafinis in general are welcome.

I too like the sound. On the Wensleydale weekend Pascale Rubens made a point of asking me about it, as it doesn't carry a badge. (It was the box she liked, not my playing).
I've got the cheapest model he made, but I don't think it was made to a lower standard. I'd love to know if the reeds can be tweaked to be more responsive at lower volumes - that is my only bugbear.
I did have an issue with it when it arrived several years ago, and he was first rate in sorting it. Also, a couple of years after buying it I thought that 2 of the higher notes just didn't have the same quality of sound as the others. I emailed him, and he asked me to ship the blocks back. He had rethought the making of the blocks on later models. He reworked the blocks for free (way out of warantee) and now I can't even remember which notes were weak. Good man to deal with, and apart from the speaking of the reeds at low volume, it is every I'd want from a 2 row box. You have to realise too, that I am very fussy indeed about these things.

[Steve_freereeder]

I'd love to know if the reeds can be tweaked to be more responsive at lower volumes ...

I would think this would be possible.
First thing would be to check all the valves are working properly and replace any which are curled. As it is a fairly new box from Marc, a highly reputable maker, I suspect that the valves should mostly be OK.

Then, assuming all the valves are working as they should, it ought to be a case of adjusting the reed tip gap.

At the moment, if the response is not right, is there a definite delay at low bellows pressure before the reed speaks, perhaps with a slight hiss of air before the note sounds? If so, then the reed tip gap is probably too high. Adjusting the gap to be fractionally narrower may well improve the response. It is a delicate job to do and needs a lot of patience and determination to get it just right to find the 'sweet spot' for each reed. There will probably need to be some slight tuning readjustments after resetting the reeds. Overall, this is a job best left to an experienced fettler. There is a very good one who lives not a million miles from you 

[Roger Howard]

Also thoughts on Serafinis in general are welcome.

I’ve had a three row, two voice, eighteen bass Serafini for a while now, and I think it’s a lovely box. It’s one of his standard C3PO boxes - ie no frills, and low cost, but without compromising the build - with a Milleret-Pignol layout. The build quality is excellent, and I haven’t noticed any problems with responsiveness - and the keyboard is very quick. I had a very minor problem with the bass end when it arrived, which I was able to solve myself, but Marc was prepared to pay for a UK repairer (eg Theo) to sort it out if necessary. If you like the sound, I think that they are super instruments that are good value. He now makes his C3PO with bandoneon voicing and a register - when I got mine, he did MM with no register.

ps I’ve no experience with a Darwin, I’m afraid - but it’s only the bass side that’s different, isn’t it? Marc thinks it’s easier to learn than standard 18 bass.

Roger

[Roger Howard]

Marc has recently posted some demonstration videos of the Darwin on his Youtube channel. There are some new videos of his Millenium series, too.

https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCWQdUXcxNaL5bKO8wpHyA1w?itct=CCYQ6p4EIhMIwYqyvoaM5QIVTuYVCh3PnADZ&csn=ti6cXYnqLMKOV4WZgZgO&wlfg=true

Lovely sound!