Ballone Burini wheels up

Viewing 8 posts - 1 through 8 (of 8 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • #5620
    Jerry Ballard
    Participant

    I have it on good authority that Ballone Burini has or is about to file for bankruptcy, and (hopefully) to re-open under Andrea Ballone Burini (current manager of sales.)
    Future of Vibrandoneon is uncertain, and probably low priority for them.

    New, cryptic web site at http://www.bbaccordions.com/

    Simply says
    “Thinking of the past,
    Looking to the future”

    #5625
    Melodica-Me
    Participant

    Jerry, hopefully they will return, but like you say the future of the Vibrandoneon will probably not be on the top of their list. If the Vibrandoneon will no longer be available, I can only assume that the price of the existing Victoria Vibrandoneon and the Ballone Burini “Eolina” will increase in value substantially making them even more rare and expensive. I wonder if any of the major companies such as “Suzuki” “Yamaha” or even “Hohner” is interested in a truly professional Melodica of this caliber.
    Melodica-Me

    #5626
    Jerry Ballard
    Participant

    What makes the Vibrandoneon special is that it is essentially a high quality accordion. I don’t see where a plastics company like yamaha et al can step into that quality niche.
    I’d die to to get Guido Tonini’s hit on all of this.
    But for now my focus turns to
    1) security (cable system and lock integrated into the case
    2) protecting my instrument from lung moisture
    3) identifying resources for maintenance (reed replacement, tuning etc.)

    #5628
    Melodica-Me
    Participant

    In November 2014 Guido posted a Picture of him with the new Vibrandoneon (Plastic Version) by Ballone Burini so I sent him a message via Facebook and he responded with the following:

    Message
    Guido, I love my Vibrandoneon, thank you
    Can you tell me When will the new Vibrandoneon be ready for sale, I must own one.
    Your friend in America
    Oscar Verdugo
    Monsters of Melodica

    response
    Grande Oscar …. Buona musica … Spero tra poco di saperti dire del nuovo Vibrandoneon costruito da Ballone Burini .. Ciao a presto

    Translated
    Big Oscar …. Good music … I hope to know soon about the new Vibrandoneon built by Ballone Burini .. Ciao

    I tried several times to contact him Via Facebook but no response as of yet. I shot him another Message just a short while ago to see if he will respond with any news.

    Melodica-Me

    #5633
    Melodica-Me
    Participant

    Si I received a response from Guitdo regarding the Vibrandoneon:

    Translated
    Guido Tononi
    Hello Oscar … In September, I have an appointment with Victoria Accordions to redo them with the Vibrandoneon …. Hopefully … I’ll let you know … Caio

    So hopefully the Vibrandoneon will return to Victoria.
    Melodica-Me

    #5635
    Jerry Ballard
    Participant

    That’s terrific news Oscar!
    Time to get our wish list in order.

    1) better disassembly mechanism. Ideally a quick-release for the air chamber to allow easier disassembly. If not quick releases, then at least metal threaded inserts in the screw holes.
    2) sealing of the wood on the internal chamber to prevent absorbtion of moisture
    3) I hope they do not implement the 2-way blow/draw of the Eolina, but stick with with one-way, octave reeds. (I prefer the versatility of sound over the dubious value of endless breath.
    4) a more reed-instrument type mouthpiece instead of just the raw pipe.
    5) the question-mark shaped tube with built-in spit valve. http://s355.photobucket.com/user/BigPwr/media/New%20Vibrandoneon%20BB%20Black%20Plastic/AllBlackVibrandoneonBB.jpeg.html

    In all honesty, that’s my entire wish list. The existing Victoria is close to perfect IMO, and is still a jaw-dropper on stage.
    Fingers crossed.

    #5637
    Jerry Ballard
    Participant

    That said, if all they did was pull out their old templates and just start building as-is, I’d still be thrilled.

    #5643
    Melodica-Me
    Participant

    The original Victoria Vibrandoneon was Guidos creation the one that Ballone Burini was to release was the revamped Eolina with the Vibrandoneon name. I do like the Eolina for the blow suck feature and construction but really love the sound of the Vibrandoneon. I would think that they would return to their version.
    Melodica-Me

Viewing 8 posts - 1 through 8 (of 8 total)
  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
Back to top button