hi
can someone out there please help me. i have been playing the accordion for 10 years now and have decided to treat myself to a new accordion. i recently tried out a cairdin and instantly fell in love with it however there prices are fairly steep and so can someone assure me that a cairdin is worth the money
The Cairdins I've tried have been really nice. They seem to be in the same ballpark as the higher-end ("expensive") Italian boxes like Saltarelle, Castignari, Serenellini et al, and they probably have mostly the same innards and, if anything, nicer cabinet work.
Paddy Clancy And Micheal Searson, the original partners that built Cairdin have split up; one of them kept the Cairdin name, and the other is building boxes under his own name. What this means for the quality of boxes labelled "Cairdin" is anybody's guess.
I'd recommend spending some time researching exactly what you want and what's available in your price range. Keep an eye on eBay as well - some nice boxes show up there from time to time.
A friend of mine has a Cairdin, and it is a very nice instrument. When I bought an accordion, I myself settled on a Saltarelle B/C Irish Bouebe, which is a very nice entry level instrument. But my advice is don't go the cheap route. My first accordion was an inexpensive, Chinese-made instrument, and I found that a penny saved can buy a pound of problems--even though it was half the price of a better box, it was not worth what I paid for it.
Al Brown
You should check out Mengaschini. It's not as well known as most of the ones mentioned here, but like most Italian boxes, it is a quality instrument. I think they make both a 2 voice and a 3 voice. I tried out a 2 voice a while back at O'Neill's in Dublin and fell in love with it. The 2 voice felt and sounded nicer than the Saltarelle Bouebe, but in the same price range. I think pricewise, the Mengaschini is a better value than Cairdin, Saltarelle, Castagnari, etc. Good luck.
cairdin accordion
cairdin accordion
hi
can someone out there please help me. i have been playing the accordion for 10 years now and have decided to treat myself to a new accordion. i recently tried out a cairdin and instantly fell in love with it however there prices are fairly steep and so can someone assure me that a cairdin is worth the money
# Posted on October 28th 2004 by wannabeaccordionist
Re: cairdin accordion
Well worth the money
# Posted on October 28th 2004 by banjaxbanjo
Re: cairdin accordion
The Cairdins I've tried have been really nice. They seem to be in the same ballpark as the higher-end ("expensive") Italian boxes like Saltarelle, Castignari, Serenellini et al, and they probably have mostly the same innards and, if anything, nicer cabinet work.
Paddy Clancy And Micheal Searson, the original partners that built Cairdin have split up; one of them kept the Cairdin name, and the other is building boxes under his own name. What this means for the quality of boxes labelled "Cairdin" is anybody's guess.
You might want to try asking this question on the Yahoo "irishbox" group:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/irishbox/
I'd recommend spending some time researching exactly what you want and what's available in your price range. Keep an eye on eBay as well - some nice boxes show up there from time to time.
# Posted on October 28th 2004 by Gzeg
Re: cairdin accordion
A friend of mine has a Cairdin, and it is a very nice instrument. When I bought an accordion, I myself settled on a Saltarelle B/C Irish Bouebe, which is a very nice entry level instrument. But my advice is don't go the cheap route. My first accordion was an inexpensive, Chinese-made instrument, and I found that a penny saved can buy a pound of problems--even though it was half the price of a better box, it was not worth what I paid for it.
Al Brown
# Posted on October 29th 2004 by AlBrown
Re: cairdin accordion
I play a Cairdin "mini-deluxe" and to me it's worth it's weight in gold.
# Posted on October 30th 2004 by Conanicus
Re: cairdin accordion
You should check out Mengaschini. It's not as well known as most of the ones mentioned here, but like most Italian boxes, it is a quality instrument. I think they make both a 2 voice and a 3 voice. I tried out a 2 voice a while back at O'Neill's in Dublin and fell in love with it. The 2 voice felt and sounded nicer than the Saltarelle Bouebe, but in the same price range. I think pricewise, the Mengaschini is a better value than Cairdin, Saltarelle, Castagnari, etc. Good luck.
# Posted on November 12th 2004 by dancemasteraccordion