[Daren]

And of course Marcel Dreux, whom I bought my first Accordina from: http://www.accordinas.com/index.php?lg=1&rbq=0

kevin, yes the tone is the same as a Clavietta. There may be a difference in expression though – it’s hard to tell. There’s some professional standard jazz accordina videos out there, in which the accordina sounds fantastic and full of character, but no jazz Clavietta recordings to compare with.

You can play as many notes as you want, just like a melodica.

Oscar, the old ones are beautiful, but very rarely come up for sale. Bizarrely though, they sell for much less than a replica! I found my original one on ebay, and it was around £350 if I remember right. It looks like it’s been restored at some point as well.

I’ve visited Claude Labourdette in Paris a few times, as he’s been working on an improved version of the Clavietta. I’ve played the prototype, and it’s very high quality. I’m not sure when this will go into production, as he’s very busy making accordinas.