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[tirpous]

In a moment of MADness, I've become owner of this 1920-30 Paolo Soprani.  It's a G/C 3 voices, with 3x10 Stradella bass (bass, major and minor chords, C# and Ab missing).  I was half-expecting the treble to be chromatic, say B/C, for a streamlined 'mixte' layout.  As it stands, many of the chords would be unsuitable for G, C and related keys so I'm a bit puzzled.  Anyone know if this was a standard layout, and if so, for what kind of music ?         

[Stiamh]

Is there anything to suggest that it was converted to G/C from another tuning?

Regardless of the answer, you might consider a conversion job (I haven't tackled my project yet).

[tirpous]

No, it's quite original and while there are a few odd things (how about the 4 lowest reedplates on one side of the G block fitted with the reed tips at the bottom!), it  doesn't look like it has been converted.  Maybe I will be the one to do it !! 

[pgroff]

Here's another old accordion with a two-row GC melody layout and a stradella bass (see pdf attached at bottom of this post) and discussions quoted and linked below:

The Keshel accordion (pics below) is a 2 row G/C built into a body that may have been intended for a PA.  It has 6 dummy buttons - levers are there, and trimmed off aluminum pallet levers, but no holes in the soundboard or in the reedblocks.


PG

And another similar box discussed here:

http://forum.melodeon.net/index.php/topic,23504.msg280053.html#msg280053

Will try to take some fresh photos of the Keshel box next time I'm working in my storage space.

[Winston Smith]

"4 lowest reedplates on one side of the G block fitted with the reed tips at the bottom"

I seem to recall doing this on one of my Frankenstein conversions. There just wasn't room for the lowest couple of treble reed tongues to swing back and forth in the top end of the newly extended chambers. I don't remember any problem with a change of sound at all.

[trikitilari]

I have also seen two examples of trikitixas with 40 (4x10) stradella basses. The one in the photo is in a museum in Zumarraga (Gipuzkoa). It is a Larrinaga-Guerrini, made in Donostia in the 1930s, and it is (I think) in C/F.