Acme or Acmette accordions

[w.d.]

Yes Ike, I know that. ACME accordions were produced for ACME accordion
school owned by Mr. Deiro in New York. The school was sold in 1950-ties
and still operates in Collingswood, Haddon Twp, New Jersey.

At least till 1956 their accordions were made in New York, using the
same parts, and in the same factory as Giulietti accordions. The ACME
uses now Titanos for the staff and the students.

So, those accordions from that area are as good as Giulietti. I had
one LMMH five years ago and not knowing all about it sold it at eBay
for only $365 that was very cheap. If yours is genuine ACME accordion
from that era it's as good as Giulietti.


I have the same PA as ACME with Maggini name on it, that also was made
at the same time. It was LMH with five registers. I changed
configuration of it for LMM. The musette sound of its musette now very
nice. I put one time the sound file named "Ruchnichok" played on this
Maggini the same as ACME or Giulietti and got very nice comments about
its sound.

Enjoy it,
W.D.

[Ralph]

In the mid 40's I had an Acme accordion with catena reeds. I sold it for a
$1,000. I wish I still owned it.
Ralph Stricker

Post by w.d.
Yes Ike, I know that. ACME accordions were produced for ACME accordion
school owned by Mr. Deiro in New York. The school was sold in 1950-ties
and still operates in Collingswood, Haddon Twp, New Jersey.
At least till 1956 their accordions were made in New York, using the
same parts, and in the same factory as Giulietti accordions. The ACME
uses now Titanos for the staff and the students.
So, those accordions from that area are as good as Giulietti. I had
one LMMH five years ago and not knowing all about it sold it at eBay
for only $365 that was very cheap. If yours is genuine ACME accordion
from that era it's as good as Giulietti.
I have the same PA as ACME with Maggini name on it, that also was made
at the same time. It was LMH with five registers. I changed
configuration of it for LMM. The musette sound of its musette now very
nice. I put one time the sound file named "Ruchnichok" played on this
Maggini the same as ACME or Giulietti and got very nice comments about
its sound.
Enjoy it,
W.D.

...

[ike milligan]

Post by Ralph
In the mid 40's I had an Acme accordion with catena reeds. I sold it for a
$1,000. I wish I still owned it.
Ralph Stricker

A teacher I do repairs for, had an Acmette a few years ago, and was trying
to sell it. I tried to tell him not to. I thought I might eventually buy it
myself. But he let it go for a few hundred, I think. I could tell it was a
great accordion.

[Ventura]

had a better quality 3/4 size L-M-H black acmette a
few years ago that just needed tuning... it was in
essentially new condition. Gave it to my Brother who
plays occasionally for fun

If this box was indicative of the general quality
of their line, then i would say their brand was
a bit higher in quality than the average private label

i did stretch the piccolo's to my ear and meter just a
touch, which i mention because there is so much talk
about Meusette lately...

What is the value of Piccolo?
What is the use for straight tuning?

My nature, when picking up a different box, is to
feel it, hear it, then let it sugest to me the type
of music it wants to play. Any and every Accordion out
there, because of the wide variations of tone and tuning,
will be more suited to some things, and less to others.
Since i have an unusually broad range of Music in my
personal biological ROM, i can be comfortable with that.

That is why I feel it is only when you are coming from a
specific point of view Musically, that the sugestion that
one type of tuning or reed configuration is better than
some other is in any way valid... in other words it is only
valid in a limited context. The market may further validate
the popularity of one configuration over another, of course.

But to say that any particular niche configuration is better for
a newer player who is STILL FIGURING OUT what type of Musician
they will be and what kind of Music they like to make is not
valid IMHO. In other words, a student who is still in "Discovery"
will be best served by an affordable, handleable, reliable and
decent sounding L-M-M-H tuned "Gently Meusette" on the center reeds.
This configuration gives the widest variety and is basically
useful for most all types of Music.

The L-M-H Acmette i mentioned earlier, once tuned to my ear,
was a great little Rock and Roll box... it was tight and bold
and right on for power chords... i think the first song that
came out of it after i was finished working on it was
"Barracuda" and i played some Zepplin on it when i showed it
to my Brother

If the Low and Middle reeds are tightly tuned... no beating when
playing in unison... no artifacts when playing full chords... and
then you add the Piccolo's with their bit of brightness "leading"
the sound of your notes ever upward... pushing the sound higher
and higher... you have a tight and powerful sound that can
really cut and it moves fast in any direction like Clinton Portis
on a TD run.

Meusette, on the other hand, is by definition out of tune. The
richness of the tone produced by Meusette is by nature it's best
under perfectly controlled dis-harmony. The infinite variations
produced by the innumerable interactions of the out-of-synch
vibrations is anywhere from Delightful to Atrocious depending
upon your personal tastes, and it's usefulness is specifically
tied into the Music the tuning is intended to support. Your
Rock and Roll on a medium to strong Meusette box would be
relegated to brief passages in the mix, as taking the lead
with that type of sound is simply not valid, for example.

This is why i feel it is necessary to not dis-associate the
physical discussions of tunings and reed-configurations from
the MUSIC it is intended to produce, lest we mis-inform our
Newbies and Students and cause them confusion and dissapointment
at a later time by giving them an incomplete understanding.

Ciao

Ventura

[ike milligan]

Post by w.d.
Yes Ike, I know that. ACME accordions were produced for ACME accordion
school owned by Mr. Deiro in New York. The school was sold in 1950-ties
and still operates in Collingswood, Haddon Twp, New Jersey.
At least till 1956 their accordions were made in New York, using the
same parts, and in the same factory as Giulietti accordions. The ACME
uses now Titanos for the staff and the students.
So, those accordions from that area are as good as Giulietti. I had
one LMMH five years ago and not knowing all about it sold it at eBay
for only $365 that was very cheap. If yours is genuine ACME accordion
from that era it's as good as Giulietti.
I have the same PA as ACME with Maggini name on it, that also was made
at the same time. It was LMH with five registers. I changed
configuration of it for LMM. The musette sound of its musette now very
nice. I put one time the sound file named "Ruchnichok" played on this
Maggini the same as ACME or Giulietti and got very nice comments about
its sound.
Enjoy it,
W.D.

...

I got a request from a player to write a notarized affidavit about his
Acmette that was ruined by a tuner who suggested he have "Musette" put on it
for $125 when the player went to buy straps. Before that the player was
ssatisfied with the sound and had been using it every weekend for a
strolling gig. I saw an Acmette that a teacher owned and sold, even though I
told him to keep it.
When I was playing in San Franciso on the streets in 1979, I met Mr. Puccini
who had a 1930's Acme for sale (if I remember it correctly). I was thinking
about buying one of his accordion. I asked him if the Acme was loud enough,
since sometimes I had to go head to head vs. a Saxophone player near my
favorite corners. He said, "See that lady walking across the street?".. He
then played a chord on the keyboard and she turned to look. But instead of
the Acme I bought what must have been one of the last Guerrinis made in San
Francisco (1951). It has LMMH 4 rocker switches, one bass switch, and 43
keys. Haven't got around to restoring it yet..