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Musical Saw: Andy plays standard crosscut handsaws with a viola bow. He creates pitches by bending the saw into an S-shape and bowing the high point of the curve. He produces vibrato by wiggling his legs, and learned how to play from improvisational musician Todd Whitman.
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Giulietti Free Bass accordion: This instrument has an 18 1/2 inch treble keyboard and single note bass buttons. We use it for playing modern classical pieces. It has a mellow, balanced sound and opens up whole new worlds of voicing possibilities. However, it has taken years for Karen to get the hang of the layout of the bass buttons: there is no oom-pah to fall back on here. We bought it in a suburban development near Chicago from Peter Zheng of Accordion Labs. It's Karen's all-time favorite accordion. |
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Giulietti Bass accordion: This model has the unusual combination of low-low-middle (LLM) reeds. In fact, we've never seen another one like it. It only has a right hand keyboard (no bass buttons) and makes quite a deep rumbling noise. Andy purchased it from the Caballero Accordion & Dance school in Los Angeles, just down the street from Club Tee Gee on Glendale Boulevard.
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Monterrey 72 bass stroller: Andy got this one because it's so shiny. It's survived icy road wrecks, multiple bicycle portages, and tiny airplane compartments. It does need a few more right hand notes. Purchased from Castle Accordion in Minneapolis.
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Hohner Amica/Pirola: Karen jimmied this instrument together after working at Hohner Accordions in Richmond, VA for a few years learning accordion repair. The right hand side is from Hohner's most recent Chinese era and features a very solid keyboard. The left hand side is from a 1950s Hohner Pirola model and has one of the best mass manufactured bass mechanisms ever made. It has handmade reeds that are from an old La Tosca that Dale Wise of Virginia gave Karen. The result is a loud & versatile, if somewhat blatty sounding, instrument which seems indestructible.
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Excelsior, ca. 1930s. This accordion is in remarkably good condition for being about 80 years old. Very sparkly and loud, it is our accordion of choice for dress-up events and dinner gigs.
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"Pinky" pump organ: We got this single reed Japanese pump organ from our friend Dean when we were living in Milwaukee. Dean customized this instrument with a paint job and lush lambswool foot pedals just before moving on to Montreal to work in organ building & restoration. We use it for accompanying silent films. |
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Mason & Hamlin Piano: Andy rescued this early 20th-century instrument from a Minneapolis porch one winter day. This one is 100 years old and has iron bass strings.
Hammond Transistor Organ: This organ probably cost as much as a car in the 1970s, but people just give them away now. It was one of the first synthesizers and is still impressively packed full of crazy sounds and beats. It's also got a lot of pretty lights, a dynamic nighttime ambiance, and plenty of bass.
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Percussion Instruments. Courtesy of Ryan Billig. |
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Estey 2 manual, 10 rank reed organ. A former chapel organ from St. Paul, the Estey
is powered by a very old cast iron motor and still smells faintly of incense.
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