To satisfy my curiosity, and to try and fix one reed that was
not responsive at low bellows pressure, I opened up the
treble side of my Pigini Peter Pan chromatic button accordion.
This is a small and light (5 kg) instrument, with a single reed
per note. A similar piano-accordion model is also available,
with presumably very narrow keys. But the chromatic version
has standard (19mm) button spacing. It is available in either
white or black. Ernest Deffner Inc. are USA dealers.
The construction is a bit unusual, with a plastic sleeve that slides
over a wooden body. To open it up, remove the screws that
seem to hold the bellows (but don't), and anything else that is
attached with screws, e.g., the strap attachment hardware. Note
the 3 holes in the picture.
Once all screws are removed, the outer plastic sleeve can slide
just a small distance, then the integrated grille is blocked from
further movement by the top row of buttons. Note the tactile
marking of all the C and F buttons, a handy aid for the beginner
chromatic player.
To proceed, the buttons in the top row need to be lowered. Using
something like a ruler on the bottom row of buttons (which are
linked to the top row) can help with this, and also the edge of the
grille needs to be gently lifted over the buttons.
The plastic sleeve can now slide all the way off.
Note the fifth step of the keyboard, where a fifth row of buttons
could conceivably fit? I wish they included a fifth row! The grille
would have to be made so that it's edge is closer to the sound board
in order to leave room for a fifth row of buttons.
The fourth row of buttons is not simply extra buttons on
the same levers, as that would result in rather different button travel
distances in the first and fourth rows. There are instead two pivot
pins and separate but linked levers. Presumably a fifth row could
connect in the same way.
To reach into the bellows, remove the 8 screws
on the edges of the soundboard. There is a felt gasket under them.
The bellows do not detach at their edge from the wide wooden
frame.
We can now look inside the bellows.
The bass side has both a 60-bass Stradella mode and
a chromatic freebass mode. I have not opened the bass end yet,
although I'm curious as to how that converter mechanism works.
In this photo the reed side of the bass end is visible. There
is one single-sided reed block for the 12 bass reeds, and one
two-sided reed block with 11 reed plates on each side. The
latter are used to construct the chords in Stradella mode,
and in the freebass mode combine with the 12 low bass reeds
to yield a 34-note range on the 3 "chord" rows of buttons.
The bass and counterbass rows do not convert.
The treble side does not have the typical reed blocks that are
perpendicular to the sound board. Instead, two flat reed blocks
are apparently glued flat onto the sound board. 17 reed plates
are waxed onto each block. The flat arrangement may contribute to
the somewhat concertina-like sound of this instrument.
Some gentle blowing of air (from a can) and pushing on the reed
(with a plastic tool) seem to have cured that non-responsive
reed, for a while at least. This instrument is a joy to play
since it is so light. My left arm no longer hurts, it does not
feel like wrestling, and it is easy to quickly affect the
dynamics. Keep on Squeezing!
