A Brief, Comprehensive History of the

Cordovox and Other Electronic Accordions

by Fabio G. Giotta

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 The text and dozens of photos contained in this article
cover the history of the project and the people behind the
World’s foremost electronic accordion, the Cordovox, along
with the histories of electronic accordions made or marketed
by other important accordion and organ companies such as
Farfisa, Iorio, Elka, Petosa and others.

This is a work in progress that is subject to ongoing

revision, expansion and enhancement. This version of August
4, 2013 is a revised, expanded and enhanced version of the
original published in October, 2012.

Copyright 2013-Fabio G. Giotta. All Rights Reserved

On the cover: The Cordovox CG-7/Super V accordion; the last

of the REAL Cordovox accordions.

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INTRODUCTION AND SOURCES
Many technical and musical geniuses poured their hearts
and souls in to the design and production of these amazing
instruments whose electronic technology originated in the late
1950’s, 60’s and 70’s; the Ages of Technology, Space and Jet
Travel. The acoustic accordion technology (typically 5,000
parts in a full size instrument) spans from roughly 1900
through the age of its electronic counterparts.

This article’s text and its Photo Gallery endeavor to

correct some of the rampant inaccuracies and invalid opinions
about the Cordovox and other electronic accordions found on
the World Wide Web and elsewhere, including some of the
statements posted at Google Answers, and errant statements
by some Ebay sellers and non-accordion oriented retailers,
including musical instrument shops. As a matter of
foundation for the electronic accordions, also included herein
are condensed histories of related acoustic accordion models
such as the Scandalli Super VI, the factories that produced
them, and the families who owned and founded these
important firms, such as Scandalli and Crucianelli. Herein, I
opine and make a combination of declarations, observations,
and well-educated guesses based on my own personal
experience with these instruments, available, corroborating
print and Internet factual information and continuing
interaction with accordion industry experts such as:

Mr. Gordon Piatanesi - Colombo & Sons Accordions-San

Francisco, California

Mr. Joe Petosa Jr. – Owner, Petosa Accordions-Seattle,

Washington www.petosa.com

The curators of the Museo Internazionale Della

Fisarmonica - Castelfidardo, Italia (International Museum of

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the Accordion), including Paolo Brandoni (Brandoni & Sons
Accordions-General Accordion Co.), Fabio Petromilli (Comune
of Castelfidardo), Beniamino Bugiolacchi-Museum Director,
and colleagues

Maestro Gervasio Marcosignori - concert accordionist,

arranger, recording artist, and former Director of Instrument
Development for Farfisa S.p.A.

Amedeo “Al” Iorio - Syn-Cordion Musical Instrument

Corporation, New Jersey

Wikipedia-Italian
http://it.wikipedia.org

The instrument repair firm of Claudio Capponi, Osimo-

Ancona, Italia – www.claudiocapponi.com

Chronache Anconetane online newspaper

www.chronacheanconetane.it

‘Sound On Sound” magazine July 2001

“Spiritual Enlightenment” - www.soundonsound.com

Legal Force (USA) web site - www.legalforce.com

“Su La Testa” web site – Osimo, Italia

www.sulatesta.it

PDF of article from “Strumenti Musicali” magazine,

June 2011 www.suoniestrumenti.it

Viscount International - www.viscount.it

Generalmusic Corp. USA – www.generalmusic.us

Ahlborn-Galanti - www.ahlborn-galanti.com

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Suoni S.r.l. – www.scandalli.com

Pasco S.n.c – www.paolosoprani.com

www.contemporacorner.com

Arnold Berlin interview - www.namm.org

Business and Economic History On-Line, Volume 8, 2010:

“The Day the Music Died”

PDF: “Lowrey History” by Frank Pungo and Bil Curry,

www.lowreyforum.com

www.harmonycentral.com

http://moogarchives.com

Mr. Alessio Gerundini, C.E.O of Zero Sette Accordions,

www.zerosetteaccordions.com

Organ electronics experts such as *Dave Matthews, *David

Trouse, *David Tonelli and *Peter Miller, and study of
written, official documents such as books, brochures,
advertisements, owner’s guides, service manuals, and
historical accounts, inlcluding the following:

The Golden Age of the Accordion—Flynn-Davison-Chavez,

Super VI Scandalli…Una Fisarmonica Nella Storia--Jercog,

Per Una Storia Della Farfisa—Strologo

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Left to right: Paolo Brandoni, museum curator and former C.E.O.
of Brandoni & Sons Accordions/General Accordion and Angela
Alioto, Esq. in August, 2012, during the famous “Round Table
Discussion” with him and the other curators of the International
Museum of the Accordion, Maestro Gervasio Marcosignori, and the
author.

Special thanks to my “fidanzata” (Love of My Life) Angela

Alioto, for the many trips to Castelfidardo, her photographs,
and for inspiring and encouraging me in my accordion-
related work.

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BACKGROUND:
CHICAGO MUSICAL INSTRUMENT COMPANY, LOWREY
ORGAN COMPANY AND FARFISA/SCANDALLI partner to
develop, produce and distribute the CORDOVOX

The Cordovox line of electronic accordions was imported

and marketed by Chicago Musical Instrument Co. which was
also the parent company of Lowrey Organ Co., among other
American musical instrument makers such as Fender, Gibson,
Epiphone, Maestro, The Olds Horn Company, F.A. Reynolds
Band Instruments and others. “CMI” was one of the oldest
and largest musical instrument firms in the USA.

Founder Maurice H. Berlin was born in Romania in

1895, immigrated to the US in 1900 and went to work for
Wurlitzer in Chicago circa age 13-14. This prompted him to
take up a small bore horn (trumpet of cornet), and he played
in th US Navy Band while serving aboard the USS Arkansas
during WW1. CMI had been under the capable direction of
“M.H.” Berlin since the 1930’s and CMI had been an importer
and distributor of Scandalli, Settimio Soprani and Dallape
accordions since its early days and decades later would import
Farfisa organs.

In 1969, Ecuadorian Corporation Limited bought a

majority share of stock in CMI. This company’s primary area
of business was a beer brewery in Ecuador that was followed
by cut flowers, and other Agricultural/Food products and
commodities. Headed by Hope Norton Stevens, ECL now had
controlling interest in CMI. Soon later, CMI’s name would be
changed to Norlin Music Incorporated, an acronym honoring
Norton Stevens, head of ECL, and M.H. Berlin.

Approaching the time of the introduction of the fourth

generation Cordovox (circa 1974), M.H. Berlin allowed his son
Arnold Berlin to assume increasing control of CMI/Norlin,

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and ECL endeavored to add many of Arnold’s Harvard MBA
colleagues to the management team. This younger and
completely inexperienced crop of executives was aggressively
focused on profit, and the new company tenet would kill many
of the CMI held instrument companies such as Reynolds and
Olds and would ultimately help to kill Norlin itself.

Later, ECL would become the target of hostile takeovers

in 1981 and 1984, leading to the eventual sale of Lowrey
Organ Co. in October 1984. I’m please to say that Lowrey is
alive and healthy and remembers its involvement in the
Cordovox project. Lowrey was purchased by Kawai Piano Co.
in 1988 and continues to produce fine organs today.

AUTHOR’S NOTE: For more information about the

development and debut of the 1st generation Cordovox and
further anecdotes from Gervasio Marcosignori (August 2012),
please see my bilingual article “Pilgrimage to Accordionland”
& “Pellegrinaggio Alla Terra Della Fisarmonica”, available
at the “All Things Accordion” page at:
www.caffetrieste.com and elsewhere on the World Wide Web

SCANDALLI accordions…“Fratelli Scandalli”

Silvio Scandalli and his brothers Enrico and Dante co-

founded their “basement” firm in 1900 in Camerano, Italy,
sometimes referred to as “ditta Scandalli”. These revolutionary
instruments are often (rightfully) the standard by which all
other accordions are judged. Scandalli invented and patented
hundreds of mechanisms that were exclusive to his
accordions, such as “strapless” bellows closure, and a two
switch mechanism that generated 5 different registers with
“window” type register indicators on the side (top) of the
instrument, seen only by the player, and a modular, slide-out
bass key mechanism. The attention to detail, materials,
design, workmanship and level of refinement seen in their
Super VI accordion as well as the pre-WW2 top of the line
Scandalli instruments such as the 4/5 hand-made reed model

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142R are unsurpassed to this day! AUTHOR’S NOTE: My
1939 Scandalli 142R (see photo gallery) was given to me by the
original owner in the early 1970’s. Otherwise original, the
bellows have been rebuilt and the bass strap has been
replaced. It still sports its original black velvet straps. This
“Art Deco” style beauty was Scandalli’s top model and also
featured rounded piano key edges. It sold for $550.00 in 1939
and continues to play beautifully to this day.

The Soprani family firms (Paolo Soprani, Settimio

Soprani) in Castelfidardo and Scandalli in nearby Camerano
would make this small area the accordion capital of the World,
forever overshadowing Mariano Dallape’s accordion firm and
others further North in the once competing “accordion city” of
Stradella, Italy.

The companies of Scandalli, Settimio Soprani (Settimio

was the younger brother and former partner of Paolo Soprani,
the Father of the Italian accordion in Castelfidardo) and
Frontalini (this company withdrew from the merger after 1
year or so) merged in 1946 to form FARFISA (Fabbriche
Riunite Fisarmoniche Italiane, translated: United Italian
Accordion Factories), which would go on to pioneer reed
organs (air/mechanical type: Microrgan, Pianorgan, etc) and
later (++about 1-2 years after the development of the 1st
generation Cordovox) designing the World's first reedless,
transistorized accordion, the Transicord, in the early 1960's.
It used only organ electronics-no reeds, yet used its accordion
bellows as a volume and sustain/legato control. This concept
has been used in 21st century digitial-reedless accordions such
as the Petosa Millenium (electronics built by the now defunct
firm Logic System), the best and most accurate sounding,
reedless, digital-sample based accordion to date. It was and
also used, to a lesser degree, in the Iorio K Series
Accorganette).

Based on the Transicord, the follow-up was the

introduction of the famous "Compact" and "Compact Duo"
combo organs which would launch Farfisa as one of the

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World’s premier organ makers and one of the largest Musical
Instrument companies in the World. Celebrated classical
accordionist/virtuoso Gervasio Marcosignori joined Farfisa in
1947 as exclusive demonstration artist for the firm (and
recording artist for Farfisa’s record label), soon becoming
Director of Instrument Development (accordions, organs). His
first technical involvement was with the development of Silvio
Scandalli’s perennial masterpiece: the Super VI model, first
built in 1948, advertised in firm brochures commencing circa
1951-52.

++At the time, young Marcosignori was told by Chief

Operations Officer Paolo Settimio Soprani (grandson of
Settimio Soprani) that, were he to take on this ambitious
project, he should focus on making the Super VI an accordion
that could not be beaten by any competitor, like an
indisputable championship-winning Ferrari race car meant
only for the race track ((and to worry about production issues
and other pedestrian concerns later))….++per Gervasio
Marcosignori interview in August, 2012. Marcosignori’s
colleague, classical accordion music composer Gianfelice
Fugaza joined the firm in 1956 as technical consultant and
composed many works that would be recorded for the Farfisa
record label and published under Farfisa’s music publishing
arm (renamed “Berben” by new owner, Maestro Bio Boccosi
circa 1956). Both Marcosignori and Fugaza were centrally
involved in the Transicord project.

CORDOVOX: Roots and Pedigree

The first 3 generations of Cordovox outfits/sets were

made by Farfisa (Scandalli acoustic accordion section and
organ tabs), and Lowrey Organ Co. (outboard organ tone
generator, amplifier, pedal, cables, etc). Some of the patented
designs for the electronics were licensed from the Iorio
Accordion Co. of New York (designed by Amedeo “Al” Iorio,
grandson of founder Augusto Iorio, who immigrated to New

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York City from Castelfidardo, Italy). Well-later, Iorio became
known as the Syn-Cordion Musical Instrument Corp.
++Gervasio Marcosignori was sent by Farfisa to Chicago
to visit the Lowrey Organ Co. and its engineers to develop the
Cordovox CG-2/CG-3. The Cordovox organ section was based
on the Lowrey “Holiday Deluxe” model spinet organ introduced
in 1961, a follow-up to the original “Holiday” model of 1957.
The tone generator was reconfigured to fit in a portable
cabinet, and the amplifier was of an entirely new design in a
second, portable cabinet, needed to make the instrument self-
contained, like an electronic organ. Farfisa would later send
the accordions to Lowrey for U.S. distribution of the Cordovox
outfits, while CMI would send tone generators and amplifiers
to Farfisa for European distribution. Lowrey actually had an
organ engineer originally from Castelfidardo by the name of
Gastone Baroncini who would perform minor pre-delivery
repairs, adjustments, tuning of the organ, and even minor
repairs and adjustments to the accordion itself.

The first generation Cordovox is clearly Marcosignori’s

“darling”.

++Maestro Marcosignori was also a great fan of what

would become a Cordovox exclusive feature for quite some
time: the “Glide” control, actuated by a switch in the upper
right side of the instrument’s volume pedal (an exclusive
Lowrey innovation introduced in 1956). When the player
moved his foot to the indicated area on the pedal, the organ
would suspend any vibrato and sustain while bending the
instrument’s organ pitch ½ step downward for emphasis.
Releasing the slight pressure on the glide control let pitch,
sustain and vibrato (if actuated) return to normal in an
instant. (Tastefully used, this feature could be used to great
amazement to mimic the Hawaiian Guitar, among other
instruments or ensembles). Inexpensive and simple to include,
the Maestro could not imagine why this feature was not
routinely incorporated by future competitors (such as Elka) for
many years, if at all.

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 ++Marcosignori returned to Chicago as demonstrator for
the World debut of the Cordovox, which took place in a large
hall. The Chicago audience, which included CMI founder M.H.
Berlin (Note: Marcosignori was taken with the fact that, at the
time, CMI owned guitar-giant Gibson), was flabbergasted at
the variety, complexity and completeness of the sounds
produced from this relatively small instrument. “With only five
organ tabs, the instrument produced all these magical
sounds”. Marcosignori was also taken with the quality and
integrity of the Cordovox’s “piano” sound: “we added the neon
lamps to the tone generator to produce the proper “sustain”
(one lamp per voice tab, per note). Marcosignori enjoyed
touring the U.S.A. to demonstrate the new, revolutionary
Cordovox, and especially enjoyed his stays in San Francisco.

All early Cordovox accordions were fairly well-balanced,

not overly heavy for their category, and used 3 reeds for the
right-hand keyboard and 4 for the left. Right Hand: LMH
configuration, that is, Low-Medium-High; the premium model
with the Bassoon and Clarinet reeds in the tone chamber and
the Piccolo outside the chamber. The standard version
accordion, later to be referred to as the Super IV, would carry
the lower outfit model number of the generation (example: CG-
2 of the CG-2/CG-3 series), had no tone chamber, and used
standard Scandalli reeds. It had a noticeably smaller body, a
differently shaped organ tab control panel, a bass keyboard
with black keys on a white background, and was slightly
lighter in weight than the premium model accordion. Though
there was nothing super or exceptional about it, the CG-2
outfit’s “standard” accordion was a solid, service-able
instrument and was generally in sonic character with the
premium version accordion, the Super V. It outsold the more
expensive Super V by a healthy margin, and today’s
marketplace of examples and audio recordings illustrates this
fact.

The premium version accordion (Super V) with double

tone chamber, hand-made reeds, and white bass keys on a
black background panel would carry the higher outfit model

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number of the series (example: CG-3). The electronics used
with both the standard and premium accordions were
identical; only the outfit model number changed to designate
which of the two accordions came with the outfit. The CG-
2/CG-3 outfits offered only dry tuning in the accordions.
Subsequent generations (CG-4 and forward), in addition to the
standard/dry tuned accordions, would also offer musette-
tuned versions (example: CG-4M/CG-5M) using two clarinet
reeds tuned differently to achieve the Musette sound and
eliminating the Piccolo reed (LMM configuration, that is, Low-
Medium-Medium).

The premium accordions for the first three series also

carried a special nameplate near an added, arched inset or
recess in the nameplate section on the front of the instrument:
“Super V”, and were slightly larger and differently shaped
because of the tone-chamber. The Super V designation
defines this special Cordovox model as a junior version of
Scandalli's World-standard, the acoustic accordion model
“Super VI”. The Super V is a junior version because, among
other differences, the Super V uses 3 reeds for the right-hand
and 4 for the left, while the Super VI uses 4/5 respectively. It
is important to note that the reed blocks for both these models
are identical, save for the Super VI’s emblazoned marking:
“SCANDALLI CONCERT INSTRUMENTS”. ++The Super VI and
Super V accordions were made in a separate, purpose-built,
small facility (“Special Instruments”) at the front of the original
Scandalli factory grounds using exclusive craftsmen, parts
and materials. For example, Scandalli carefully and
meticulously aged their own, top-choice woods such as
mahogany, maple, walnut, and beech for 10-15 years, and
used the most select Goatskin chamois for the reed leathers,
along with Swedish Blue Steel for the hand-made reeds.

The importance of the World debut of the electronic

accordion with the Cordovox CG-2/CG-3 circa 1960/1961 led
me to closely examine the internal components of my Super V
accordion; I became almost certain it was made right along
side the Super VI rather than in the main Scandalli factory,

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though it is possible the electronics may have been produced
and/or installed in the main factory or perhaps at Farfisa’s
then new, large multi-instrument factory at Aspio Terme.
++Maestro Marcosignori confirmed this undocumented fact
about the Super VI/Super V combination production line
during a meeting at the Museo Internazionale Della
Fisarmonica-Castelfidardo in August, 2012, declaring to me:
(….other than by knowing what you know and doing what you
did…”How is anyone supposed to figure it out?”

Not incidentally, CMI used the USA’s foremost

“Hollywood Dreamboat”, razzamatazz, TV and recording star
accordionist, Dick Contino, to advertise the original Cordovox
in magazines. Contino had previously been advertising CMI’s
imported Settimio Soprani and Dallape’ accordions. His first
“endorsement” was for magazine advertisements for Excelsior
Accordions in the late 1940’s. Contino would later become a
long-time, faithful Petosa Artist, which he remains to this
day. He continues to perform around the USA on his Petosa
Artist Model. ++Because Farfisa did not have much in the
way of in-house resources for advertising the Cordovox across
Europe, they took one of the early ads with Contino and
simply pasted Marcosignori’s face over Contino’s!

With each successive generation, the organ control

panels on the Cordovox accordions would expand and change
to accommodate a growing number of “voices”, effects and
other controls. From the beginning, the control panels were
well configured and thought-out, and in the case of the
Cordovox, usually sported color-coded, grouped sections of
organ tabs for easy and fast on-the-fly identification (some of
the 2nd and perhaps 3rd generation instruments had tabs were
predominantly white, following the 1st generation tabs). The
same was true for the Farfisa electronic accordion models,
whose tabs were always color-coded and grouped by “family”.

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First generation CORDOVOX- circa 1960-62: CG-2/CG-3

This was the only generation with the legendary, vacuum

tube organ electronics, a two row firing cable, and accordion
reeds dry tuned only; no musette tuning was yet available.

Vacuum tube organ tone generators and amplifiers have

been long-hailed as having the best tonal qualities, and
Lowrey was known for its incomparable, superior, substantive
and highly distinguished organ sound, which became part of
the 1st generation Cordovox. Given the proper respect
required by tube electronics, these outfits were extremely
reliable and easy to repair, even by the user-even on the job!

The CG-2/CG-3 amplifier used 2 full-range 12” Jensen

Special Design speakers that put out an indefatigueable,
deceivingly large, warm sounding 35 watts rms.

The optional, compact Cordovox CL-10 tone cabinet, a

Leslie-clone, was available as a third electronic
component/cabinet ( “Leslie” type amplifier: a Doppler
effect/gyroscopic type speaker system that creates a huge
vibrato (ala Wurlitzer theatre organ) that is flung around the
room by its motorized rotor speaker system, invented by Don
Leslie in 1937 and closely associated with Hammond organs).

The CG-2 was later facelifted with dark, thin grill cloth
and marketed as the “Electra” outfit, to be offered
contemporaneously with the 2nd generation Cordovox outfits.

Not a full generation:

In circulation, there are also a few Cordovox amplifier

and tone generator cabinets of an earlier, simpler (sans-
silhouette) external design, sometimes referred to as a CG-1
outfit. Along with a prototype Cordovox accordion with a
different, 1960’s Scandalli type block-letter font, the “CG-1”

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accordion and cabinets are seen in early magazine ads with
Dick Contino in Down Beat magazine. Likely little more than
a polished prototype, the CG-1 outfit was a fraternal twin
sister to the CG-2. Later ads for the CG-2/CG-3 outifts
featured bandleader Fred Waring and his accordionist, Betty
Ann McCall (see photo gallery).

++Recently, Maestro Marcosignori was contacted by an

Eastern European accordionist who still played his severely
crippled 1st generation Cordovox and was seeking repair
assistance. The Maestro enlisted the help of a local
(Castelfidardo area) organ technician who, with some minor
repairs that included a few new vacuum tubes, had the
instrument running at 100% yet again. The accordionist was
in 7th Heaven with the renewed, full functionality of his vintage
Cordovox, now about 50 years old! Some of us are fiercely
loyal to our early Cordovox outfits; my two CG-3/Super V outfits
are scheduled for full restoration during the next two years.

Second generation: circa 1967: CG-4/CG-5

This generation used the CAG-1, a solid-state

combination tone generator/amplifier in a single cabinet
which had a solid-state amplifier rated at 85 watts rms and
the best sounding speaker complement of its category: two 3”
tweeters, a 9” x 14” midrange, and a 15” woofer that
occasionally vibrated electronic components loose and
knocked the instrument out of tune, though it generally held
together well and sounded great. A three row firing cable and
solid-state electronics became standard from this point
forward. The accordion cables for the first three generations
were custom made by Bell Laboratories. The CG-4/CG-5
accordions carried an updated design and offered more organ
tabs (“voices”) than the previous generation, including
keyboard Percussion, Wow-Wow, and 2 organ stop “Presets”
(pre-combined voice tabs). The CG-4 standard version
accordion was now referred to as the “Super IV”, though it had
no “super” characteristics and was not marked as such. The
new transistorized Lowrey organ section used in this series

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had an exceptionally sweet, smooth, and well-rounded sound
for its solid-state category. The Super V accordion still carried
its unusual inset/recess on the front of the instrument.

The newer, larger Cordovox CL-20 Leslie-type amplifier

was available as a third electronic component/cabinet,
probably manufactured by Fender, which marketed its own,

similar Vibratone “Leslie clone”. It was rumored that this

model was more “effective” than the smaller, original CL-10
model.

Third generation: circa 1971: CG-6/CG-7

The new outfits reverted to a tone generator and circa

200 watt peak power amplifier in large, separate cabinets with
a different array of smaller speakers (the CXG and CXA,
respectively). At this time, the Super V accordion was again
revised and somewhat awkwardly moved its Super V
nameplate in to the active center-grill area on the front, thus
now making it awkwardly surrounded by the grill. Its
characteristic, extended “arch” recess/inset on the front of the
instrument remained unaltered, but the right hand body
(cassa armonica) shape, control panel shape and depth and
under-keyboard panel shape had changed and can be traced
directly to the Farfisa Transivox TX-1 which would debut only
a few years later. Even the model and serial number plate
style and graphics mimic those of a standard production
Farfisa instrument. The organ tab control panel remained
largely the same as that of the 2nd generation.

To summarize:

All these outfits offered two acoustic accordion choices;

the lower number outfit designation (ex: CG-4 in the CG-
4/CG-5 series) is the standard accordion model (no tone
chamber, standard reeds, slightly smaller body, bass keyboard
with black keys on white background). Any Cordovox

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accordion carrying the Super V designation will have a double
tone chamber and hand-made reeds, with white bass keys on
a black background panel.

These Lowrey/Farfisa/Scandalli built Cordovox outfits

are the only ones considered REAL. The next generation
models would bring severe, negatives changes to the Cordovox
line.

The fourth generation CORDOVOX accordions (circa 1974)

CMI’s new ownership under the new name of Norlin

Music Inc. brought the 4th generation outfits to market. The
CRD-A 210, 241, and 251 accordions were made by
Excelsior, mostly using their medium quality reeds, while
Lowrey continued manufacturing the organ sections based on
the CG-6/CG-7, using the same generator and amp and
cabinet configuration. These instruments were monstrous in
size and bloated in appearance (see photo gallery), didn't
sound nearly as good as the Scandalli instruments, and were
quite undependable. The 251 had a full-organ section and
4/5 sets of hand-made reeds but did not offer a tone chamber.
The hand-made reeds were only marginally better in quality
than this series’ standard reeds. The organ section debuted a
feature known as E.B.O., a bellows expression concept
invented and well executed in the early 1960’s by Farfisa for
their Transicord. The Cordovox version of this feature was
strangely configured and quite ineffective.

The updated electronic components in the tone

generator, and especially those in the accordion, didn't hold-
up well, and the organ’s tone was a bit harsh and slightly out-
of-character with the previous Lowrey electronics. It is
important to note that some of the newly added and replaced
components used in the 200 series were made by the “newer”
Japanese electronics firms of the 70's rather than by American
electronics companies such as ITT. This was likely a Norlin
directive to Lowrey in order to cut costs.

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 The model 241 included the tone chamber but only
provided 3/4 sets of standard reeds (the opposite of the 251).
Unlike the Farfisa Super Transivox, neither model offered all
of the options in one instrument. The tone chamber made the
241’s Musette and Master registers sound lifeless. The organ
tabs on the accordion’s organ tab control panel had long,
rounded edges and protruded further outward than those of
the Scandalli units and were so noisy they could be heard
through the amplifier. Moreover, they were difficult to push,
that is, they did not pivot (turn on and off) easily compared to
the early Cordovox units. Simply stated, they felt “clunky” and
insecure. The 241 and 251 models came with an outboard
volume pedal. Starting with the 1st generation CG-2/CG-3,
the accordion's firing cable had been made by Bell
Laboratories (except for the 210) and was connected to the
tone generator. As always, the accordions themselves
contained only a small part of the organ electronics.

Most importantly, during the 3 years of ownership of my

Cordovox 241M, I never finished a musical engagement with
the outfit fully operating!!! The introduction of this series
spelled one aspect of the beginning of the end for both
Cordovox and Norlin.

In all fairness, I must say that I found the CRD-A-210

with its downsized organ section to be decent and service-able,
though considered a “junior” to the 241/251 organ section.
Like the Farfisa Transivox, it had its organ tone generator
built-in to the accordion and used a small metal cabinet (well
smaller than a shoebox) for the power supply, which also
housed the volume pedal. The under-keyboard panel had
tuning ports that allowed tuning of the organ section without
disassembly.

The follow-up model to the 210 was the CRD-A 215.

Extremely rare, these accordions used the same general layout
as the 210, but used only black and white for the organ tabs
(like the early Iorio Accorgan, Series A through F), rather
than the color coded groupings previously used by Lowrey.

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The accordion registers remained in the same lower center
panel location used by the 210, the register shift tabs were
taken directly from Excelsior’s model 940. These tabs do not
enjoy longevity and consist of a wood block interior glued to a
plastic shell with small tabs that engage with the metal
register shift slides. The tabs bend and break, and the wood
blocks separate from the plastic shell.

Because of the erratic qualities and inconsistent service

records of these instruments, the 200 series is impossible to
grade as a whole, though it’s safe to say it would definitely not
be well rated. However, I would categorize the CRD-A 210
somewhere between a C+ and a B- grade instrument. More
about grading later.

The 5th generation CRD-A 2000; a “swan song” for

Cordovox

The rare, elusive and bizarre model 2000 electronic

accordion was likely introduced in 1979 and was a poor design
attempt by ELEX of Castelfidardo (ELEX stood for Elletronica
Excelsior, somehow related to Excelsior Accordions (more
about ELEX later). It appears to be based on Cordovox 200
series Excelsior accordion platform but was a complete
electronics layout departure from the 200 series. The 2000
used a round 30 pin firing cable and detent type round
switches as organ tabs. It included Cordovox’s first rhythm
section and had an extensive Preset section organized by
colors and instrument groups. This bottom half of this
instrument’s organ control panel strangely angled inward and
the panel itself was a psychedelic nightmare. Moreover, the
detent switches that functioned as organ tabs (push to engage,
push to release) must have caused their share of anguish for
those who played it. Finally, gone are all the conventional
under-keyboard and center panel accordion register shift tabs;
the presumed “standard” 5 registers are now operated by 3
organ style tabs at the top left of the control panel marked L,
M and M+. The outfit consisted of an ouboard tone generator
and a foot pedal/power supply assembly.

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 By this time, the Elkavox 77 and Farfisa Transivox
models had acquired substantial parts of the market formerly
ruled by Cordovox. My educated guess is that the model 2000
attempted to aggiornate the Cordovox line in relation to the
impending debuts of the Elkavox 83/Iorio Accorgan H
Series and the Farfisa Syntaccordion (more about these
models later).

It is peculiar that “in-house” organ producer Lowrey was

not used for production of the organ section. Based on
information presented at the beginning of this article, I
speculate this was an intentional move by the young and
inexperienced MBA laden management team at Norlin as a
way to seek a better bottom line on the Profit and Loss
Statement.

Myths and little known facts about the CORDOVOX:

Electronic Accordions: there is no such officially and

publicly designated Cordovox electronic accordion outfit model
as a CG-10, Super VI, Super VII. Finally, the only Cordovox
Leslie-type tone cabinets produced were the CL-10 and CL-20.

Cordovox keyboards: Norlin distributed Cordovox

keyboards and Moog synthesizers and combo organs,
combining them in the brochures used during the late
Cordovox/Norlin Music era when some Cordovox CDX series
keyboards were produced. Norlin had purchased Moog in
1975. In collaboration with Moog, some Cordovox
synthesizers may have incorporated certain Moog features.
Keyboard models CDX-0612, CDX-0622, CDX-0632 and CDX-
0642 were all built in Italy by CRB Elettronica; the Cordovox-
Moog CDX-0652 was built EME of Recanati, Italy, one of the
“accordion hamlet” hilltop towns near Castelfidardo. EME was
owned by the Thomas Organ Co. Finally, models CDX-P425
and CRD-P423 electronic pianos and the CRD-0610 organ
were built by ELEX of Castelfidardo, likely a direct affiliate or
perhaps even a division of Excelsior Accordions. As we know,

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ELEX produced Cordovox’s swan song CRD-A 2000 accordion
and it also produced keyboards for Hohner.

FARFISA in the 1970’s

In 1974, to compete with the fourth generation Cordovox,

Farfisa launched the Transivox series models which paralleled
the early Cordovox-Scandalli accordions but utilized a full-
compliment, updated, miniaturized tone generator on hinged
panels installed in the accordion, behind the right hand
keyboard. The only piece needed besides the accordion was
the small Farfisa ATX power supply and volume pedal, and an
amplifier of your choice. There was much less to carry, but
the accordion was heavy and the generator access door behind
the right hand keyboard could make for a somewhat
uncomfortable fit against the player's chest during use. The
Transivox TX-1 had Bass and Chord “Brushes” (as
Rhythm/Percussion) and a full complement of organ tabs, but
no presets. In addition, Farfisa included the Lowrey “Glide”
feature and added vibrato and sustain features as part of the
pedal actuated glide package, controlled by a 3 position knob.
The updated TX-2 with “retro” style chrome piping on the
sound grille (originating from the 1939 Scandalli 142R
accordion) deleted the Brushes and added Wha-Wha (same as
Wow-Wow on the Cordovox), along with a few other, minor
changes. The TX-2 electronics later became available with a
tone-chamber in a hand-made reed version accordion: the
Super Transivox. Along with the TX-1, Farfisa also
introduced it’s Leslie-type amplifiers: the solid-state RSC-180
(Rotating Sound Cabinet with a modern, coaxial
bass/midrange driver and a separate tweeter, all using a
single rotor), followed by the larger, tube-amplified, RSC-350
circa 1976 (with three discrete speakers and twin rotors). The
RSC-180 sounded unusually sweet and smooth for a solid-
state amplifier, was well designed and built, dependable, and
easy to service. ++Gervasio Marcosignori was the lead in the
Transivox and Syntaccordion projects, and is quite proud of

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the end-result of both these projects. The Syntaccordion
would be his last electronic accordion project for Farfisa.

Later in this decade, with the dawn of analog

synthesizers looming, Farfisa introduced the Syntaccordion
series. The organ tab layout and coloring changed
substantially, presets were added, and the beginning of player
programmability arrived. Many of these survive today, though
I am not familiar with the timbral characteristics of this
instrument or the details of its operation.

Both the Lowrey and Farfisa organ sections produced

exquisite tones with superior timbre, with the Lowrey organs
generally exhibiting the “fuller” sound of the two (Flute
section), while the Farfisa generally had a somewhat sweeter
sound. The Cordovox Bass section, specifically the 8’ bass,
sounded extraordinarily realistic, like a bass violin (upright
bass), and the Transivox mimicked this bass sound very, very
closely.

Of the “pure” electronic organ based accordions where

the player would flip organ tabs/stops on the fly ala electronic
console organ, with few or no presets (pre-synthesizer era), the
first three generations of the Cordovox and the Farfisa
Transivox TX-1, TX-2 and Super Transivox were outstanding
acoustic and electronic instruments; the ultimate incarnations
of the electronic accordion that pioneered the class. I rate
them as Grade A; the highest grade achievable per the
original general grading standards of my youth.

CRUCIANELLI, ELKA, CRUMAR AND GALANTI/GEM

BACKGROUND: Through the Generations: Crucianelli

Accordions, Galanti Accordions and their spinoff companies

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Family Patriarch and Accordion Pioneer: Cavalliere Sante’
Crucianelli

During the early years of the boom created by the Paolo

Soprani firm, Crucianelli Accordions was founded in 1888
by accordion pioneer and former Paolo Soprani employee
Sante’ Crucianelli in Castelfidardo. The firm later started to
produce acoustic and electric guitars, likely in response to the
advent of “electric music”, a.k.a. Rock and Roll.

A collaboration was established between Crucianelli and

the circa 1948 spinoff accordion firm PANcordion of New
York, founded by former Excelsior Accordions-NY co-founder
Roberto Pancotti and his brother Archimede. Accordion
master Pietro Frosini’s brother Natale, and famed
accordionist Charles Magnante’s brothers, John and Angelo
were also involved in this important venture. The
collaboration would bring a renewed and expanded presence of
Crucianelli accordions to the USA by the late 1950’s under the
brand names/model lines PanItalia, PanJet and Crucianelli.
Roberto left his well-established, famous company and his
brother, Excelsior co-founder Egisto Pancotti to set-up
Pancordion’s manufacturing facility in the former Wurlitzer
accordion factory in Long Island City, New York. Pancordion
premium model American made instruments such as the
Baton were endorsed and played on television by Myron
Floren and Lawrence Welk and were also played by other
famous accordionists.

Crucianelli founder Sante’ died in 1970; the Crucianelli

firm was active until 1971. Sante’s son Mario will revive the
family name as part of an entirely new venture in the next few
years.

There is much more to Pancordion’s history, but we will

save that for another article.

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MORE BACKGROUND:

Galanti, G.E.M/Generalmusic and L.E.M

Galanti Accordions of Mondaino (Rimini) was founded by

brothers Antonio and Egidio Galanti in the late 1800’s and
remained in business until 1974.

In 1959, Egidio Galanti and his sons Matteo and Marcello

founded “G.E.M” (Galanti Egidio-Mondaino) in San Giovanni
in Marignano to produce electronic organs. The eight person
firm also produced electric guitars and amplifiers. GEM would
go on to produce electric guitars for Eko and electric organs
for Thomas, Baldwin and Vox. In 1969, GEM started a new
brand called L.E.M. (electro musical laboratories) expressly for
marketing mixers and Public Address equipment. GEM will
become a staple professional brand in Europe.

Son Marcello Galanti’s spinoff: INTERNATIONAL

ELECTRONICS S.p.A AND VISCOUNT:

In 1969, not long after the launch phase of GEM, son

Marcello Galanti left the organization to form International
Electronics, specializing in portable electronic organs. This
firm did well in the U.S. and Holland markets. In 1999,
Marcello’s children Mauro and Loriana would change the
name to Viscount and continue the music-related family
tradition that dated back to Galanti founders Antonio (Great
Uncle) and Egidio (Grandfather). The firm has produced
liturgical organs, P.A. equipment and other items and remains
alive and well as of this writing (www.viscount.it).

BACK AT GEM:

At the beginning of the 1980’s GEM acquires Schulze-

Pollman pianos and starts production of these pianos at
Bolzano. In 1989, GEM, also known as Generalmusic will
acquire Elka from majority stockholder Piero Crucianelli.

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 GEM started to fail in December of 2008 and fired all its
employees in February 2009, letting all its brands disappear
from the market, including GEM, LEM and Elka. Bankruptcy
was finally declared in 2011.

As of this writing, an American importer/distributor in

Bensenville, Illinois maintains a web site under Generalmusic
using the GEM logo and lists GEM instruments (Genesys
sythesizer workstations, Promega Digital pianos, and other
models) but provides no historical background information,
direct or international contact information, but does provide
an email address to allow interested parties to inquire about
the location of a local GEM dealer. Ahlborn-Galanti (liturgical
organs), which at its History web page amiguously traces its
roots back to Galanti Accordions via GEM and its American
counterpart, is currently an active division of Generalmusic
USA. Daniele Galanti, great grandson of Egidio Galanti, is
the President of Generalmusic USA.

ELKA AND CRUMAR:

A Family Affair with more spinoffs

ELKA is an acronym for “elletronica” (electronics) and

“Castelfidardo”, phonically pronounced with a K. The
company was born in 1965, founded by Sante’ Crucianelli’s
son, Mario Crucianelli and his sons, Sante’s nephew Piero
Crucianelli (60% shareholder), heirs of Filippo Crucianelli
(Mario’s brother), and Nazzareno Orlandoni (who also
founded “Orla” in 1965, manufacturer of all classes of
electronic organs and now digital pianos and MIDI units).
ELKA was located in Via Mateotti, near the antique archway
“Porta Marina” leading to Castelfidardo’s historic hilltop town
center, in part of the very same building which housed Family
Patriarch Sante’s “Crucianelli Accordions”.

The ownership was focused solely on the expanding

electronic organs and sector, attempting to follow in the
progressive footsteps of the giant: Farfisa. Elka would go on to
be a major World player in the keyboard sector with their

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Violin keyboards, Rapsody piano, Synthex and other models
which would become popular in the Rock music sector.

Elka’s first electronic accordion was the model 60, which

was born in 1960, complete with 100 conductor firing cable
(similar to the Cordovox). After a large gap in models, the next
electronic accordion was the Elkavox 77 (sister models Iorio
G Series (identical accordion, organ sections), and Petosa
Series II (electronics only), followed the the Elkavox 83 (circa
1980), which incorporated rhythms (same as Iorio H Series,
with the same electronics as the Petosa Series III). The next
Elka models were the F3 (introduced in 1984, likely the sister
instrument to the Iorio Accorgan Syntara), the S10 and the
S11, followed by the new-era Midi 1 (2 digit display) and

Midi 2 (3 digit display) models. Total electronic accordion

production is thought to be a whopping 35,000 units
worldwide.

Apprehensive of ongoing foreign competition and

changing market conditions, Piero Crucianelli spearheded the
company’s sale the GEM in 1989, at which time he finally
stepped down as company President.

As previously stated, GEM gradually found its own way

in to a severe downward spiral by late 2008, taking down with
it all its brands, and bankruptcy was finally declared in 2011,
after a period of inactivity that started in February 2009.

Piero Crucianelli passed away in January 2012 at age 76.

CRUMAR

In 1971, Piero Crucianelli’s “Uncle Mario”, co-founder of

Elka, would leave the firm due to family differences and would
co-found CRUMAR with partner F. Marchetti; the acronym’s
origin is obvious. Marchetti soon left the management team,
entrusting the entire company to partner Mario Crucianelli.

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 With respect to Piero, his uncle Mario’s firm started out
manufacturing two manual portable organs, electric pianos
and string synthesizers, combining the two in 1977 with the
Multiman. Crumar worked on polyphonic synthesizers
toward the end of the 1970's, (models Stratus and Trilogy).
At one time, the company employed as many as 300 people in
three or more distinct departments (research and
development, body assembly-one platform with multiple
models, organ, synthesizers,). The company would also
collaborate with Robert Moog the the Crumar “Spirit” model.

In 1983, Crumar started producing “Bit” synthesizers,

which would become an important and successful product line
for the firm. These would be marketed in the US under the
name “Unique”. The company would eventually license the
rights to the Bit 99, Bit 1 and the Crumar logo to
Galanti/GEM’s “L.E.M.” division. Finally, Crumar also
produced analog electronic accordions and later, synthesizer-
era electronic accordions which incorporated a rhythm
section.

During the late 70’s and 1980’s, the firm would also
produce electronic accordion/synthesizers under the
CRUCIANELLI name, the Magicvox, and would supply the
same electronics to other manufacturers and
importer/distributors such as Excelsior, Castiglione
(Michigan), and Bell-Duovox (New York-New Jersey).

In the 1980’s, Crumar also produced an electronic Baby

Grand piano that had been conceived by patriarch Sante
Crucianelli specifically for the overseas markets.

Trademarks owned by Crumar

Previously held trademarks were likely transferred to

Crumar by Mario Crucianelli. All were filed in 1968 and
registered in 1970. It is clear that Mario was prepared for a
possible and later imminent exit from ELKA.

F.LLI CRUCIANELLI (Crucianelli Bros.)

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CRUCIANELLI & C. (Crucianelli & Co.)

CRUMAR
(Logo is a “C” with a small k inside formed by electronic
components. This logo was used on instruments they
produced, including the Iorio Accorgan)

Crumar would cease operations in 1987.

In 2008, an unrelated adjacently located firm, “BG’s”

s.r.l. revived the Crumar trademark.

MANUFACTURER BRANDS VERSUS

IMPORTER/DISTRIBUTOR BRANDS

My analysis of the facts, such as they are, dictates that

Elka produced the Iorio Accorgan Series A, B and C (see
photo gallery). The accordion bodies were still directly related
to Iorio’s acoustic instruments, and the small, angled rocker
switches are consistent with a 1960 design; the Elka 60.

The CRUMAR built Iorio Accorgan models

Beginning with the D series, the new Iorio body with the
small, flat, Cordovox shaped rocker switches appeared. The
Iorio E Series remained in production longer than the other
series and included several variants based on the type of
accordion section (example: Symphonic). The D, E and F
Series were almost identical and very difficult to identify from
one another, save for the introduction of a few more organ
control tabs and related features of each series. These
accordions were marked with a huge Crumar logo on the
under-keyboard panel and were built by Crumar between
1971 and 1975-76. Crumar built these instruments in their
entirety, likely having taken over some of the manufacturing
facilities and staff of the original Crucianelli Accordions, which
went out of business within months of Crumar’s launch.

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Back to Elka:

With the introduction of the Iorio G series in 1977 (and

parallel introduction of the Elkavox 77), a clear departure
from the Crumar layout takes place; it was evident that Elka
again produced the Accorgan! Iorio would remain with Elka
for the successive, rhythm section equipped H Series (same as
Elkavox 83), would introduce more programmability with the I
Series. The Accorgan would even more fully enter the
synthesizer era and MIDI era with the J Series (same as
Piermaria Stage 1), which, like the fully digital, reedless Iorio
K Series Accorganette (KSR-15), was manufactured by
neither Elka nor Crumar, but rather by two of the newer
generation, digital electronics and accordion firms, Musictech
and S.E.M. (Societa Europea Musicale), respectively.

The Newer Generations: Trying to Maintain Traditions

Iorio also brought other K Series models to market, built

under the previously mentioned collaboration: the KM Series
(acoustic accordion plus Midi) and the KS Series (acoustic
accordion plus synthesizer plus Midi). Based on my best
information, this was last Iorio Accorgan series produced.

Classical accordionist Mirco Patarini’s firm Menghini

would acquire S.E.M. in 2005 to form Suoni S.r.l. Menghini
had previously bought out Farfisa’s inventory and intellectual
interest in Scandalli and hired the last remaining Farfisa
employees to continue the production of the Scandalli Super
VI and other models in 1995, later also acquiring the Paolo
Soprani trademark. Suoni S.r.l. has stopped directly
marketing Soprani recently, and the Paolo Soprani name is
now in the charge of a new firm named Pasco S.n.c. All these
firms are or were located in or near Castelfidardo.

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Influence

It is clear that both Mario and Piero Crucianelli had

much influence over their customers such as Syn-
Cordion/Iorio and Bell, and that original Elka customers such
as Iorio and Bell moved to Crumar and then back to Elka. In
both the keyboard and electronic accordion fields, Crumar
catered to a downmarket client who could never even consider
purchasing a Grade A instrument. With Crumar’s lower price
tag came lesser quality. The Crumar designed accordions rate
a solid Grade C, the designs and finish work done by the
“body and assembly department” at Crumar illustrate this.
Some of the Crumar produced electronic accordions, such as
the Iorio E series, might approach a B minus.

Though included in this section, the Petosa Series II

and Series III accordions are really in a class by themselves,
given they are exclusively Petosa designed and built
accordions fitted with Elka 77 and Elka 83 electronics,
respectively. More about these instruments later.

GRADE B INSTRUMENTS

In 1977, now under the continued direction of Piero

Crucianelli sans uncle Mario, Elka entered the brand name
mix by manufacturing and introducing their Elkavox 77
electronic accordion, and it’s sister instrument, the Iorio G
Series Accorgan, marketed by Iorio Accordions of New York
City/Syn-Cordion Musical Instrument Corp. Elka
manufactured the complete instrument for their Elkavox line
and for the Iorio Accorgan line. As previously stated, earlier
Iorio Accorgan Series D, E and F (along with “sister”
instruments under the name Crucianelli and Crucianelli
Magicvox), circa 1971 through 1975/76, had been built by
Crucianelli/Crumar until that company’s change of
production focus toward synthesizers and later, digital
keyboards, followed by their imminent demise circa 1986-87.
This change may have been one reason that prompted Iorio’s

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move from Crumar back to Elka with the advent of the all new
77/G Series. These newer Elka-built Accorgan accordions
were bulky and somewhat awkward looking, similar to the
Cordovox 200 series. Both the accordion and organ sections
were well-more than decent in quality and were quite service-
able, but the organ tab control panels were not configured as
well and the instruments did not sound as good as their
Lowrey/Farfisa/Scandalli counterparts. The very early Iorio A,
B and C series Accorgans (based on the early Elka model 60),
the later E and F series models built by Crumar and the H
series Elka-built Iorio Accorgans’ white and black, undersized
organ tabs used a small font, were more difficult to identify
and find, and did not pivot (turn on and off) as easily as those
of the early Cordovox and Farfisa units. Perhaps the most
popular series, the Crumar built “E”, widely illustrated this
problem. This situation was temporarily improved with the
introduction of the G series, but reverted with the H series
introduced circa 1980.

The Elka tone generator, power supply and pedal were

housed in one small, rectangular cabinet that lies flat on the
ground, approx. 28” long x 19” wide x 9” high. The organ
sounds were bold, dark and somewhat rough; they did not
“sing” out as well and were not as refined as those of the
Cordovox or Farfisa units. Finally, the organ bass these
instruments produced sounded much more like that of their
1980’s Keyboard contemporaries: unrealistic, relatively harsh,
boomy and bottom-heavy, most of which can be partly
remedied with a good equalizer, thus, the lower grade of B.
However, like the pre-Excelsior era Cordovox and Farfisa
units, Elka 77, 83 model electronics (same as Iorio Accorgan G
and H series) did seem to be quite dependable and service-
able. The Elka 77/Accorgan G was the last model considered
to be a “pure” electronic accordion. The H series Accorgan
with its small, stand-up generator (about 2’ x 1 ½’) introduced
the synthesizer to this line, as Farfisa had done earlier with
the Syntaccordion.

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Petosa’s Unique Approach to the Electronic Accordion

Famed Italian-American firm Petosa Accordions of

Seattle, Washington borrowed the Elka 77/Iorio G Series
electronics (arguably the best voice tab combination and organ
control tab layout of all Elka pure-electronic, pre-synthesizer
organ sections), adding it to their own, custom-made
accordion platform; thus came the Petosa Series II. Like the
early Cordovox, the handsome looking Series II offered a
standard version accordion as well as a premium version with
tone-chamber and hand-made reeds. The limitations of the
organ electronics, not the accordion, keep this instrument’s
overall rating from being higher than a solid Grade B+.

Like all of Petosa's exquisite quality, Italian made/in-

house finished accordions (which very closely mimic their in-
house, fully hand-made instruments), the Series II and Series
III accordions were made by Zero Sette (“zero seven”) in
Castelfidardo, a firm started by seven colleagues and friends
with zero capital just after WW2 (at that time in Castelfidardo,
you were either a farmer or an accordion artisan/craftsman),
thus the clever and unique name. In fact, Zero Sette has been
producing most of the Petosa instruments for several decades.

Many of the strong points typical of a Petosa were

incorporated in to the Series II and Series III: excellent overall
build quality, agile/properly sprung keyboard, good weight
balance when played, quality assembly, materials and finish.
While Zero Sette produces truly good instruments under its
own brand name, it is important to note that a Petosa
Accordion is anything but a rebadged standard production
instrument. Only Petosa designated and approved parts and
materials go in to a Petosa accordion, and only the most highly
qualified, designated craftsmen at the Zero Sette factory are
allowed the privilege of working on a Petosa accordion. Petosa
and Zero Sette have mastered their longtime collaboration to
produce elite acoustic accordions that are second to none
being produced today, and both firms are still run by the
founders’ family members.

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 The Petosa Series III incorporated the Elka 83/Iorio
Accorgan H series electronics which had progressed
substantially toward the synthesizer class. As part of founder
Carlo Petosa's tradition since 1922, Petosa produced in-
house, hand-made accordions until a few years ago. Today, I
dare say that Petosa likely sports more highly-accomplished,
long-time, documented artists than many major accordion
brands combined. There are scores of loyal “Petosa Artists”
such as Dick Contino, +Anthony Galla-Rini, my esteemed
colleague Ron Borelli and, of course, yours truly…..

GRADE C INSTRUMENTS

Other contemporaries of the early Cordovox with much

less technical, audible and visual verve and integrity…..
the Bell Duovox and the later Bell Programmer model,
probably their entry to the synthesizer era, very similar to the
awkward Elkavox, was distributed by Bell Accordions of New
Jersey and New York. Another was the Hohner Electravox, a
vanilla-flavored, garden-variety, everyday, Chevrolet-grade
electronic accordion. Though Hohner is alive and well, the
reedless and bellowless Electravox is no longer produced. It is
not clear whether a conventional version was available in the
1970’s

Allegedly, one of the men who was thoroughly involved

with the development of the Cordovox for CMI later left the
firm and went to Bell Accordions to initiate the Duovox
project. The earliest Duovox seen likely consisted of a Bell
produced accordion section with Crumar organ solid-state
electronics, akin to the Iorio E Series Accorgan. Little else is
known about the obscure Duovox, but Bell enjoyed a solid, if
not nationwide reputation for their American-made (New
Jersey, New York), acoustic accordions. Neither of these
electronic accordions enjoyed the popularity of the Iorio and
Elka model lines.

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 34

BIOGRAPHIES

The Author:
My earliest experience with a Cordovox was at age 4 ½,
during my stage debut in a 1967 concert with Domenico
“Volare” Modugno, backed-up by San Francisco Bay Area
accordionist Val Valente and his CG-2, which was used for
rehearsals, concerts and my first recording session (2 vocals)
at major West Coast studio “Golden State Recorders” in San
Francisco in 1968, at age 5 1/2. My first playing experience
with a Cordovox, after only 3 months of lessons, was an
impromptu New Year’s Eve performance of an Italian waltz on
my accordion teacher’s Cordovox CG-5M “Super V” in 1971 - a
3 minute performance that changed my life, cementing my
destiny as an accompanist, soloist, band leader, collector,
restorer and perpetual student of the accordion. Broadly
categorized, I have owned 8 electronic accordions since 1974,
and still own some of these: a Farfisa Transivox TX-1, a
Farfisa TX-2/Super Transivox, a Cordovox CRD-A 241M, two
Cordovox CG-3/Super V outfits with extra components, a
Petosa Millenium and a Petosa Series II. In addition, I
currently own Scandalli, Excelsior, Petosa, Galanti, and
Fratelli Vaccari acoustic instruments in full playable
condition, and two keepsakes: a Sonola, and a Carmen
(Hohner). I plan to purchase another Super Transivox to
replace the one stolen from me, and perhaps a Cordovox CG-
5M.

I credit two Italian immigrants, Michele Corino

(accordionist, formerly with “Orchestra Angelini” and Cetra
Records) and Nick Sfarzo (guitarist, mandolinist, father &
“early” music coach of accordionists Angelo Sfarzo, an
Excelsior Artist, and Ron Sfarzo) for the vast majority of my
early instrumental study (1971-1976). Affectionately called
“Nikki”, Sfarzo coached me in the areas of rhythm, tempo,
chord progression and ear training throughout the years I
performed with him in the 1970’s. Since then, I have been
self-taught and continue to study both accordion and voice,
believing in the ongoing space and continual need for

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 35

improvement and enhancement. I am also a member of the
historic American Accordionists’ Association and San
Francisco Accordion Club.

My instrumental repertory has covered Opera to Jazz,

Country & Western to Show Tunes, Italian and other
European Folk and semi-classical material, American
Standards and even Oldies Rock and Roll (specifically on the
Cordovox). I am also an operatically trained vocalist, but now
specialize in Great American Songbook, Show Tunes and
Italian ballads.

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 36

The author (center) on his Cordovox CG-3/Super V, as he
leads the band, accompanying Caffe Trieste founder “Papa
Gianni” Giotta during the Caffe Trieste Saturday Concert, circa
1990. The accordionist at right is Ron Sfarzo.

The author (left) and brother Gianfranco (center), Caffe Trieste

Saturday Concert, circa 1998

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 37

Caffe Trieste Saturday Concert circa 1972, my very early
days in the band (at right). Nick Sfarzo on guitar. Photo by
Pulitzer Prize winner Joe Rosenthal

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 38

 Finally, as a vocalist and accordionist, I’ve been graced
with the opportunities to perform on film, television, radio,
internet and stage with and for singers such as Claudio Villa,
Luciano Pavarotti and Frankie Laine, with my own bands and
backed-up by bands and orchestras such as those of Sal
Carson, Ernie Heckshire, Dick Bright, and the San Francisco
Opera in the top hotel, auditorium, theater, club and show
venues in Northern California, including Candlestick Park and
Davies Symphony Hall.

My behind-the-scenes experience includes that of record

producer and recording engineer. I am also the youngest
member of the Giotta Family, (based in San Francisco, CA)
which founded the first Espresso coffee house on America’s
West Coast in 1956: Caffe Trieste (now a growing retail chain
with wholesale and online distribution under the direction of
my sister and myself.) My father, founder “Papa Gianni
Giotta”, together with my brother *Gianfranco, established
what continues to be the longest running musical show in San
Francisco, the Caffe Trieste Saturday Concert. In addition to
my father and brother (*1944-1999), our cast also includes my
mother Ida and sister Sonia, along with a roster of guest
singers and instrumentalists. Under my direction, our show
covers a wide range of repertory, and the band is replete with
two accordions. The family also operates a large recording
studio (Trieste Recording Studios), has produced record
albums and videos under the TRIESTE RECORDS label, and
has made thousands of appearances in all types of media, film
and on concert stages since 1953.

*Experts, from page one:

Dave Matthews: independent organ repairman for Bob Berry’s

World of Organs-Santa Clara, CA, last based in Fresno, CA as
Organ Repair Service. Dave worked on my 1956 Allen S-12-S
Rondo organ and was extremely knowledgeable of Allen,
Thomas, Lowrey and other organs. After my introduction of

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 39

the Cordovox to him, he became an expert with my CG-3
outfits. Dear Dave passed-on suddenly, in the mid 1990’s.

David Trouse: Road tour audio engineer for major, veteran

rock and roll acts, digital and analog keyboard repairman
associated with Zone Music in Cotati, CA, home of the famous
Cotati Accordion Festival.

David Tonelli: Former senior electronics teacher at College for

Recording Arts-San Francisco and recording engineer at
Golden State Recorders/Sonic Arts Corp.-San Francisco,
among other S.F. Bay Area studios. Tonelli personally built,
operates and broadcasts from vacuum-tube driven KRKD-
FM…Jazz 103 in Oakland, CA and repairs, rebuilds and
restores musical instrument electronics, microphones and
analog and digital audio equipment (both consumer and
professional, antique, vintage and modern) as Aquarius Audio
Service - Oakland, CA.

Peter Miller: Former junior electronics teacher at College For

Recording Arts and a contemporary of David Tonelli at the
College, founder of CAE Sound in San Mateo, CA. As a
certified service technician for dozens of manufacturers, he
rebuilds and repairs electronic keyboard instruments of all
vintages both analog and digital, and associated amplifiers,
including Leslie-type. Loudspeaker restoration, professional
and consumer audio component repair, inventor and marketer
of specialty musical instrument accessories. He has earned 2
gold records for his work on two Arista Record’s Grateful Dead
albums and counts among his long-time clients The Grateful
Dead, Huey Lewis, The Doobie Brothers, and others.

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 40

The timeless, smart looking Cordovox logo uses the same font
style as Farfisa’s “Compact” and “Compact Duo” combo
organs…..not a coincidence.

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 41

Castelfidardo, August 2012: The author (left) in deep discussion
with Maestro Gervasio Marcosignori. Photo by Angela Alioto

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 42

Cordovox ad with Dick Contino, February 28, 1963-Down Beat
magazine. Notice the prototype CG-2 accordion with the same
style of nameplate used concurrently on the Scandalli Super VI.

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 43

Very rare Cordovox CG-1 tone generator and amplifier/power
supply cabinets, as seen in ad with Dick Contino

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 44

Cordovox Price List, April 1, 1966

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 45

Cordovox Price List, April 1, 1966

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 46

CG-2 outfit The CG-2 was later marketed as the “Electra”
contemporaneously with the CG-4/CG-5)

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 47

CG-2/CG-3 tone generator

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 48

The legendary 1st generation Cordovox Super V accordion (CG-3)
I purchased this accordion and outfit in 1980 and in circa 1993
purchased a second, identical outfit as a parts set from Colombo
& Sons Accordions; it became a fully operational back-up outfit.
The second Super V accordion is now on display (as of July 11,
2013) at the Museo Internazionale Della Fisarmonica in
Castelfidardo; it was the first true electronic accordion added to
the Museum’s collection of 420 accordions. Photo by the author

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 49

Castelfidardo, July 10, 2013: Left to right: International
Museum of the Accordion Director Beniamino Bugiolacchi
unpacking the newly donated Cordovox Super V with the author.
Photo by Angela Alioto

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 50

Cordovox CG-2-standard version accordion (Super IV)

CG-2/CG-3 amplifier and tone generator, with optional CL-10

“leslie” at right. Cordovox nameplate was pasted in to this
photo.

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 51

Cordovox CG-2 with Fred Waring & Betty Ann McCall circa 1964

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 52

Cordovox magazine ad showing a CG-2, circa 1966

Advertisements such as the one shown above (full size

version on the next page) were trying to put over the concept that
with the amazing technology and versatility of the Cordovox, it
was again “hip and cool” to play the accordion. Some of the
Rock and Rollers understood this; John West, “electronic
accordionist” for Gary Lewis and the Playboys played a
Cordovox CG-2 on the bands hit songs such as “This Diamond
Rind”, as evidenced by the album covers.

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 53

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 54
Cordovox CG-4 organ control panel

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 55

CAG-1 combination tone generator/amplifier, for CG-4/CG-5
outfits

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 56

Second generation leaflet - CG-4/CG-5 and CG-2 Electra,
circa 1967 Panel one

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 57

Second generation leaflet - CG-4/CG-5 and CG-2 Electra,
circa 1967 Panel two

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 58

Second generation leaflet - CG-4/CG-5 and CG-2 Electra,
circa 1967 Panel three

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 59

Second generation leaflet - CG-4/CG-5 and CG-2 Electra,
circa 1967 Panel four

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 60

CXA amplifier for third generation CG-6/CG-7, also used with
200 series

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 61

CXG 3rd generation tone generator, used with CG-6/CG-7 outfits
and 200 series

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 62

CXG control panel (CG-6/CG-7, 200 series)

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 63

Above: Cordovox CL-20 “leslie”, for use with 2nd and 3rd
generation outfits and forward

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 64

Cordovox CG-7, the last Super V accordion and the last REAL
Cordovox

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 65

Cordovox CG-7M Super V (musette version)

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 66

Cordovox CG-7M Super V organ control panel

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 67

Cordovox CG-7M Super V, 3 treble reeds/4 bass reeds

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 68

Cordovox CRD-A 251 from the Norlin/Excelsior era. Notice the
girth, right hand grille height, the absence of the inverted color
(white on black) bass keyboard and the typical Excelsior style
flare of the bass side “cassa armonica” (body). Even the superb
Cordovox logo was inaccurately reproduced.

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 69

Model 251 alternate view

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 70

Model 251, 45 degree angle view. Notice the Excelsior built
models’ keyboard silhouette, the narrower black keys and the
more prominent arc on the white key ends; these are all typical
of Excelsior built accordions. Notice also the shape of the organ
tabs.

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 71

Model 251 - 4 RH sets reeds plus 5 LH sets, all hand made.
Notice the oversize body, as highlighted by the white closure
gasket.

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 72

Model 251 – the fifth set of bass reeds is clearly visible.

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 73

CRD-A 241 organ control panel (identical to 251 panel)

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 74

CRA-A 241 - 3 sets standard RH reeds in a double tone chamber
plus 4 sets standard LH reeds

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 75

CRD-A 210 single sided cut sheet brochure, the only piece of
customer literature available; the same was true for the other
200 series models. The Farfisa/Lowrey era color + black &
white, large 4 panel leaflets passed in to history with the last of
the REAL Cordovox accordions, the CG-6/CG-7.

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 76

The CRD-A 215, the follow-up model to the 210, circa 1980/81,
likely introduced in parallel with the CRD-A 2000.

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 77

Model 215 – Profile: notice the deep under-keyboard panel that
house the built-in tone generator and the typical Excelsior style
flared bass side body.

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 78

The model 215’s control panel.

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 79

The middle of the model 215’s control panel; notice the register
shift tabs borrowed from Excelsior’s 940 acoustic model
accordion.

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 80

Model 215 – 3 sets of standard RH reeds and 4 sets of standard
LH reeds with no tone chamber.

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 81

The bizarre Cordovox CRD-A 2000

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 82

The model 2000 control panel, left half

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 83

The model 2000 control panel, right half

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 84

The model 2000 profile-notice the inward slant of the control
panel

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 85

The model 2000 tone generator

CRD-A 2000 foot pedal and power supply

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 86

August 2012-Museo Internazionale Della Fisarmonica, just
before the famous “Round Table Discussion”. Front, left to right:
Gervasio Marcosignori, Paolo Brandoni-curator, the author. Back
row: Fabio Petromilli-curator, Paolo Petromilli. Photo by Angela
Alioto

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 87

Farfisa Transicord TD-50 (first model), the World’s first
transistorized “accordion”, actually an organ in the body of an
accordion, since it was “reedless”.

TD-50 control panel

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 88

Farfisa Transicord TD-54 “de Luxe” model with Percussion, etc

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 89

The handsome Farfisa Transivox TX-1

Farfisa TX-2 version-chromatic/button type (also known as the

TX-5)

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 90

Farfisa Transivox outfit

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 91

Farfisa TX-2/Super Transivox

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 92

1939 Scandalli 142R

The legendary Scandalli Super VI (third grill style, 1960’s

nameplate style)

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 93

Farfisa RSC-180 Rotating Sound Cabinet – Left: Front view with
foot switch panel, Right: rear view

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 94

Farfisa RSC-350 Rotating Sound Cabinet

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 95

Iorio Accorgan A Series (Elka 60) with wedged, rocker-type organ
tabs

Iorio Accorgan B Series (Elka 60)

Iorio Accorgan C Series “Symphonic” (Elka 60)

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 96

Iorio Accorgan F series (built by Crumar)

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 97

Iorio Accorgan G Series (same as Elkavox 77)

Iorio Accorgan H series (same as Elkavox 83)

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 98

The Iorio Accorgan Syntara (likely directly related to Elka F3)

The Syntara’s control panel

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 99

Iorio Accorgan I Series

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 100

Piermaria Stage 1 (same as Iorio Accorgan J Series, electronics
by Musictech, accordion section by SEM)

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 101

Iorio K Series Accorganette KSR-15 (believed to have been built
by Musictech and SEM, same as Accorgan J Series)

Elkavox 77 (same as Iorio Accorgan G series)

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 102

Zero-Sette Accordions-Castelfidardo. Private, factory tour July
10, 2013. The author (left) examines a premium Petosa reed
block at the factory’s reed mounting and tuning section. Factory
C.E.O. Alessio Gerundini (right) is clearly proud of his factory’s
work. Photo by Angela Alioto

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 103

Castelfidardo, July 10, 2013, a chance meeting with one of the
“magnificent seven” founders of Zero Sette Accordions, Guido
Guidobaldi, who is also the uncle of the company’s current
C.E.O. Alessio Gerundini. Left to right: Guido Guidobaldi,
Museum Director Beniamino Bugiolacchi, the author, and
Museum Curator Paolo Brandoni. Photo by Angela Alioto

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 104

Petosa Series II

Petosa Millennium (visually similar to the Petosa AM-1100)

Petosa Millennium Midi unit control and rear panels

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 105

Petosa Series II with stones and engraving

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 106

An early Bell DuoVox (probably a contemporary of the Cordovox
2nd and perhaps 3rd generations, likely a Bell accordion platform
with electronics by Crumar)

A later model, Bell DuoVox “Programmer” (built by Crumar)

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 107

Bell DuoVox follow-up model to early DuoVox shown on page
104, a likely contemporary and competitor of the 3rd generation
Cordovox CG-6/CG-7, circa 1971. Panel one

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 108

Bell DuoVox, circa 1971-panel two.

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 109

Bell DuoVox noteworthy, but not necessarily positive
characteristics:

In panel two on the previous page, notice the overly formatted

(combined organ “voices”) organ tabs (pre-combined organ
stops or “voices”) and the lack of a full Flute section with the
normal range of footages (ex: Flute 16, Flute 8, Flute 4, etc),
along with the three strange, organ-like accordion register
shift tabs at the top left of organ control panel. About a
decade later, Cordovox would copy these for their “swan song”
model, the bizarre CRD-2000, built by Excelsior and ELEX.

Panels one and four:

In an opposite scenario, Bell decided on a single cabinet tone
generator/amplifier design that the 2nd generation Cordovox
CG-4/CG-5 had previously used and abandoned.

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 110

Bell DuoVox, circa 1971. Panel three

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 111

Bell DuoVox Amplifier/Generator unit, circa 1971. Panel four

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 112

“Crucianelli” Crumar Magicvox-early model, circa 1971-1972
(sister intrument to Iorio Accorgan D and E series)

“Crucianelli’ Crumar Magicvox- (same as above) frontal view

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 113

“Magicvox” by Crumar, likely sister intrument to the Iorio
Accorgan E Series and one or more of the Castiglione models

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 114

“Magicvox” by Crumar, akin to Iorio Accorgan E Series and
one or more of the Castiglione models

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 115

The reedless and bellowless Hohner Electravox N. The
Electravox has changed very little since the early 1970’s.
ELEX of Castelfidardo built keyboards for Hohner at one time
and likely built some or all of the Electravox models.

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 116

Cari Signori, questo e tutto, per adesso!
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, this is all, for now!

That is, this is THE END…..for now. To share any additional

facts, questions, comments, suggestions or materials, please
email the author at: [email protected]. To see this
and other articles and resources in both English and Italian
language versions, please visit the Home and Trieste Music
pages at our web site: WWW.CAFFETRIESTE.COM

This is a work in progress that is subject to ongoing

revision, expansion and enhancement. Version August 4,
2013.

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 117

Copyright 2013-Fabio G. Giotta All Rights
Reserved. Unauthorized use or exhibition of this
content is prohibited.

*see biographies at end of article. Second Edition, Version 8-4-2013 118