BANDONEON Frequently
Asked
Questions
That's the most frequently asked question. I think Argentina and Uruguay are the
best places to find bandoneons, (Argentinean -"diatonic"- system only se
explications below)
In France very few old good bandoneons are to be found, mostly "chromatic"
system. Post 1945 instruments are frequent and bad
Be careful in Germany because there are many different systems there which do not
belong to Tango tradition, have different sound and tuning and nobody knows how to
play them.
Prices vary a lot following luck, ignorance, quality, decoration (mother of pearl
inlays) and condition of instruments. Among musicians bandoneon are between 2000
and 4000 US$ (4000 is really a maximum for a good old and well tuned instrument
in good shape.
(Tuning is expensive and good tuners are extremely rare)
What do Diatonic, Chromatic, Bi-sonor, uni-sonic, Argentinean
mean?
People traditionally call diatonic bandoneons which play two different
notes with one button, one note when the bellows opens and another note when the
bellows closes. They are sometimes called Bi sonic
People traditionally call chromatic bandoneons which play the same
note when you open or when you close the bellows. They are sometimes called unisonic.
On a strictly musical point of view all bandoneons are Chromatic, which means that
they cam play the twelve notes of the octave.
Diatonic instruments (folk harps, folk flutes ,folk accordions, blues harmonicas
etc.) can only play seven notes per octave. Diatonic accordions generally play a
different note when you open or close the bellows, therefore the popular musicians
called diatonic the bisonic bandoneon. In the popular tradition diatonic means bisonic
and this language ambiguity will last forever, we will have to live with it and explain
it every time.
Bandoneons that cannot play twelve notes per octave are not bandoneons although they
might look pretty much alike, they are German Concertinas.
Most post war instruments, including Arnolds are mediocre.
He builds he bandoneons which are the close to the old Alfred Arnold's.
Totally traditional wooden mechanic and steel reeds on zinc plates.
He builds both Argentinian and Peguri ("chromatic) systems
Postal address:
Krummer Weg 1a
D-08248 Klingenthal
They make exact replicas of old Alfred Arnold bandoneons,including original wood and materials.
They also use the original trade mark AA in agreement with the Arnold family
they build both Argentinian and Peguri ("chromatic) systems
aa@bandonion-carlsfeld.de
www.bandonion-carlsfeld.de
He was the first to rebuild bandoneons in the 80's he is also a bandoneon player
for a more complete list see:
http://laue.ethz.ch/cm/band/node26.html
contact other bandoneon enthousiasts and connoisseurs at the
bandoneon list
and a french speaking forum at http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/bandoneon-francophone/
more complete informations at Christian's
Bandoneon Page by Christian Mensing
see alsohttp://www.bandoneons.org