melodeon.net links

LINKS TO MELODEON MAKERS

Bernard Loffet
A maker of high quality melodeons based in Brittanny, France. This site shows all his models but also has some really useful links to French melodeon pages and a good explanation of melodeon tablature and many good tunes in this format.
Bompezzo
Another Italian accordion factory with a range of melodeons. Rarely seen in the UK - the instruments are fairly similar to the Saltarelle range. Played by Roger Watson of Boka Halat.
Cairdin
(Pronounced COR-DEEN) Cairdin is the Irish word for accordion! Started in 1996, this Irish maker produces hand-made boxes designed for B/C style primarily but also make D/G models.
Castagnari
From Recanati in Italy, Castagnari are known for their high-quality, sweet sounding melodeons. Considered by many to be the best. Played by Andy Cutting, Tim Van Eyken, Riccardo Tesi, Sharon Shannon.
Delicia
The main Czech manufacturer of accordions. They make budget instruments which are cheaper than Hohners but sound much more "woolly", they are also slow to play.
Dino Baffetti
From Castelfidaro, Italy, this accordion factory produces a nice range of loud, punchy, strongly built melodeons which are ideal for gigging ceilidhs or playing for morris dancing. Played by Simon Care of E2K, Tickled Pink and The Morris On Show.
Hohner
Hohner is a massive German based international company making most instruments, historically it is an accordion company. The Pokerwork, Erica, Corona and 1 row models were for a long time the only melodeons freely available in the UK. Played by .... well everyone, but notably John Kirkpatrick, Pete Coe and Tony Hall.
Hyde Accordions
Maker Peter (Stormy) Hyde is based in Adelaide, Australia. He makes a range of boxes using Australian timbers and the designs are unique. Notably his latest design, the Flutina is a beautiful small single voice instrument which is currently being played by Sharon Shannon, other models played by Tris Glover of The Chipolatas.
Marrara
Based in Calabria (the toe bit of Italy). Completely dedicated to producing custom built Organetti - the 1.5 row 2 bass boxes as used in Calabrian/Italian traditions.
Noud Martinali - Makes customised Dutch style instruments. A very specific style of instrument, with a very profound and deep toned bass.
Mengascini
Small Italian accordion factory which make 2 or 3 models suitable for the UK market and many other larger instruments. They are typical Italian boxes.
Oakwood
The only English maker of melodeons at present (and also makers of fine stringed instruments). Their melodeons are real luxury items, they feel a bit like Castagnaris to play but have a much punchier sound more suited to English style playing. Unfortunately the demand exceeds supply and there is a long waiting list. Played by John Spiers, Luke Daniels.
Marc Savoy
Cajun accordion builder.
Udo Schneeberg
Genuine Saxony made squeezeboxes. The Wiener (Vienna) Harmonika is a sweet but powerful little 2 row - and check out the Bandonikas and Mini Steyrishes for
something ‘different’...
Marc Serafini
Very individual instruments, with beautiful casework. A variety of useful configurations such as 2.5 row models with either 19+6 or 21+4 layouts, or 3 rows with 16/18 basses.
Paolo Soprani
Although historically very popular especially for their Irish B/C instruments, the Paolo Soprani factory no longer makes instruments. The name is owned by Suoni who continue to make some branded instruments but they are not the same as the fondly remembered older instruments. Formerly played by Bob Cann.
Saltarelle
French melodeon company. Instruments very popular in the UK, Ireland and France. The boxes are generally well made although the reeds take an above average time to bed in and sound sweet. The general sound is harsher than a Castagnari giving a bit more edge to the music. Played by - Brian Peters, Chris Parkinson, John Spiers, Tim Edey, Luke Daniels, Mairtin O'Connor.
Serenellini
An Italian accordion factory - their melodeons are very similar in design to Saltarelles, but they sound completely different.
Streb
How many other melodeons can you plug in headphones and practice in to the wee small hours?? Yes it's a midi melodeon. Self contained with internal speakers and battery supply. Can be transposed in to any tuning and has hundreds of sounds to choose from!!!! The website is worth a look.
Frans Van Der Aa
Dutch maker who produces beautifully finished continental style melodeons - they are generally on the larger side and sound fantastic. The bigger boxes are more suited to row-crossing than playing up and down the rows due to the weight, but he also makes a mean 1-row 4-stop full of power for the push-pull minded!
Karel Van der Leeuw
A wide variety of very distinctive Art Nouveau or Cajun styled boxes- with
some extremely odd but useful note and bass layouts available.
Weltmeister
Based in the former East Germany and formally branded Gallotta, Weltmeister instruments are made by the Harmona company in Klingenthal. Similarly priced to Hohners, these are good German instruments.

LINKS TO SHOPS SELLING MELODEONS

Accordions of London
356a Kilburn High Road, London NW6 2QH Tel: (020 7624 9001)
Surely one of the largest accordion shops in England, run by accordion virtuoso John Leslie. I'm amazed that I can't find a website for such a big company!! The business deals mainly in Piano and Continental Chromatic systems with a good range of midi instruments for the Classical market. There are always some diatonic instruments available but you always feel that they are sneered at by the classical people working there.
Allodi Accordions
Lewisham, London
An accordion shop mainly, but a well established one of 50 years standing. Some melodeons available and a good repair & tuning service.
Birmingham Accordion Centre
Birmingham
An accordion dealer who has some melodeon stock - usually available Serenellini, Hohner & Delicia.
The Button Box
9 East Pleasant St, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA
Based in the NorthEast of the USA, The Button Box is the place to go for all your squeezeables. Also the makers of Morse Concertinas and the organizers of The NorthEast Squeeze-In workshop & session weekend for all free-reed instruments.
Hobgoblin Music
Crawley, Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, London, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Nottingham and Wadebridge
The oldest and largest folk instrument shop chain in England. Hobgoblin started off as a market stall selling concertinas and has grown ever since with an emphasis on free-reed instruments. As many of the shops are franchises, the melodeon range varies with the best selections in the London and Crawley shops. Main lines are Castagnari, Delicia and Scarlatti (Chinese import) plus others and second-hand.
Melodions Online
Derbyshire, UK
Previously known as Castagnari Express, this web-based melodeon shop has now expanded it’s range to include Weltmeister, Serenellini, Verde (a range which look like Mengascini models) as well as Castagnari.
The Music Room
Cleckheaton, Oxford, Nottingham
Formerly Dave Mallinson Music, The Music Room is now run by John Turner and Martyn Banks. Essentially a folk shop, but melodeons are a great speciality with good service, advice and a large range - plus a tuning and repairs service.
All makes & second hand. Dealers for Saltarelle, Dino Baffetti, Hohner.
PJ Music
Botesdale, Diss, Norfolk tel 01379 890088
PJ, aka Pete Cunningham can usually be found at festival stalls up and down the country when not at his shop near Diss. He always has some melodeon stock.
Rolston Accordions
Based in Bellshill, Lanarkshire and Sauchen, Aberdeen
A Scottish Accordion dealer since 1984. The company sells mainly Piano Accordions but deal in Cavagnolo, Excelsior, Hohner and Fisart melodeons and B/C button accordions.
The Box Place - Theo Gibb
Gateshead
Theo is primarily a restorer and repairer of free-reed instruments, although he normally has a few restored instruments for sale at any given time.
Thrift Music
Frinton-on-sea Essex
Run by Jon & Pam Fitzgerald. Their melodeon range covers many popular makes but they specialise in Weltmeister and new for this year, the Bernard Loffet range.
Wesson Accordion Company
Welshpool, Wales
Rees Wesson is a melodeonist who plays in Country Dance and Cajun bands. His business deals mainly through festival stalls and mail order. The main lines are Castagnari and Gabanelli although Rees often has other makes and some second hand stock.

GENERAL MELODEON & RELATED LINKS

The abc home page
abc is a fantastic way to share tunes over the internet. This page is a comprehensive resource on the system with links to software packages and tune lists too.
Accordionlinks website
A huge internet resource for all things squeezeable.
Christian's Bandoneon page
Lots of information on the Bandoneon including history, keyboard layouts etc.
CONCERTINA.net
Similar to these pages, but dedicated to the concertina with a North American slant and based in Canada. A fantastic resource for the Concertina Player.
The Concertina Novice (Chemnitzer concertina)
A very useful guide introducing this exotic squeezebox variant. Chemnitzer concertinas are mainly played in the USA and are closely related to the bandoneon.
East Anglian Traditional Music Trust (EATMT)
Based in Suffolk, England, the EATMT is run by Katie and John Howson to increase awareness and promote the playing of East Anglian folk music. Along with other events, EATMT runs the "Melodeons in mid-Suffolk" workshop day. They have a stock of instruments for hire too.
E.F.D.S.S
The English Folk Dance and Song Society. With HQ at Cecil Sharp House in London this organization not only houses the Vaughn Williams Memorial Library, a rich heritage resource of folk manuscripts and literature but also put on many events, both for entertainment and education.
Folking.com
A UK based news site dedicated to folk music, full of reviews and all the latest news & gossip.
Folkworks
Now housed at The Sage, Gateshead, Folkworks is a highly successful educational arts project focussing on traditional music. They run the University of Newcastle's Folk Degree course and also have a full calender of educational teaching weeks and weekends.
De Harmonikahoek
The Dutch online website for players of the trekharmonika (melodeon!). This links to the English pages but if you can read Dutch then there is a more in depth site - click on the dutch flag on the left.
Martin Nail's English Folk Music website
A very comprehensive directory of web links to English and Traditional music on the internet.
Melodeons at Witney
Run by Dave Townsend of Hands On Music, this annual teaching weekend is a great way to meet other melodeon players, learn from experienced teachers and browse the melodeon stalls for your next model.
Musical Traditions Website
Run by melodeon and English traditional guru, Rod Stradling. Mustrad is full of information, reviews and strong opinions!
The Mudcat Cafe
A US based website with the most mind-boggling array of information on traditional music. Home of the Digital Tradition song database and a very well established folk and traditional forum.
The Pretty Complete Guide to Squeezeboxes
Some very useful information about all instruments in the accordion family. Originally published as a book by Wendy Morrison, but now out of print.