Cancini-41key/120Bass Piano Accordion – Double-octave-tuned (used) with mutes and a great history! £1800 – SOLD

Cancini  –  41 key/120 Bass Piano Accordion –  with mutes and a great history! £1800 SOLD

A  41-key/120-bass Cancini accordion. Built in the Italian town of Castelfidardo probably by Nilux, this little-known manufacturer is indeed a quality instrument. Nilux made bodies for many producers who would then finish off the accordion in their own workshops. Nilux did produce instruments with their own name emblazoned on the front of their instruments too, Little is known about Cancini but they made a good choice entrusting the manufacture of their instruments to Nilux. This instrument has 4 sets of treble reeds (16’+8’+8’+4′) sets of treble reeds and 5 in the bass. It features “Tipo A Mano” reeds and has a dryish American-Swing tuning tuning on the two 8 foot sets of reeds. It is a non-cassotto instrument but features a wonderful and subtle system of grille-mutes (sordine) which means it can replicate the cassotto effect and also have all it’s registers affected by the mutes offering 22 timbre possibilities. This instrument is in very good condition and has been well-looked after. The tuning is also in good shape. Finished in an plain black 11 treble registers ensure all the possible reed combinations. The accordion also has fitted microphones and and although quite old, the system was found to be working when tested. Fantastic price. It has just been serviced by ZZ Music so is in tip-top condition. 

Hard case and shoulder straps included.

Please email info@zzmusic.uk to arrange a test drive (no obligation to purchase).

Now read the history behind the instrument

This instrument belonged to accordionist Royston Herbert. Though his day-job for over forty years was at the BBC (initially as a copyist in the popular music library then as a sound engineer, then as a radio producer) he was first and foremost a musician – and the accordion was at the heart of things. Not from a particularly musical family, somehow in his teens he had the good fortune to find as his teacher Eddie Harris, who provided expert guidance not only in instrumental studies but also in composition and orchestration. This grounding, plus success in accordion competitions, long hours at evening classes and a stint in the Royal Marines band (thanks to National Service) furnished him with the confidence and skills to sustain a broad career that spanned playing, teaching, recording, arranging and composing. He caught the teaching bug early on, spending a few years on the staff at Hohner’s accordion school in Farringdon before joining the BBC – and continued to perform and teach well into old age. After his retirement he led the Norwich Accordion Band for 5 years.

 

You can find recordings of some of his compositions (written under the pen-name Frederick Caffell) on the internet, eg. on Apple Music:

https://music.apple.com/gb/album/ma-julie/423583526?i=423583562

 

https://music.apple.com/gb/album/burros-de-bahia-instrumental/380273481?i=380273486

 

… And here are a few photos:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RANGE : 41 Piano Keys

SYSTEM : piano

PRODUCER: Cancini/Nilux

MODEL : Piano with mutes

TREBLE KEYS/BASS KEYS (/FREE BASS KEYS) : 41/120

SET OF REEDS TREBLE/BASS : 4/5

REGISTERS TREBLE/BASS: 11+5+M

If you need more info about this accordion, please call us on +44 (0) 7789 633 873 or