Titano Emperor Converter Cassotto Accordion

TITANO Emperor Converter Concert Accordion

This is the top of the line TITANO Emperor Converter Cassotto accordion, the crown jewel of Titano's "SUPER MODELS" line. This instrument was custom built in Italy by PIGINI (https://www.pigini.com/en/) with Quint Free-bass converter. It is the quint free-bass equivalent to the current PIGINI Converter 55/P 45 De Luxe. (Instead of the 55 bass range E1 to A#5 (C-system) you have 48 bass range from C2 to B5 (Quint system). I guess the technical name should be "PIGINI Converter 48/P 45 De Lixe".) The accordion was designed and built for concert artists and features extended E-C keyboard range, double tone chamber, and Quint Free Bass (4 octaves of single bass notes) in addition to the Stradella preset bass-chords system. From the deep resonant bassoon to the heart melting clarinet and crisp piccolo all the reeds bring joy and happiness to the performer and the listeners. You, the musician, will love the fabulous reed response, dynamic range and overtones, excellent mechanics, perfect balance. The air efficiency of the reeds is impressive.

Made in Italy by PIGINI, Serial Number 98224
Excellent quality hand-made reeds (LMMH)
Double Tone Chamber (Cassotto) - L and M₁ reeds
4 sets of treble reeds
Concert tuning
45 keys E-C professional keyboard; 21.5" keyboard length
15 treble switches (all possible reed combinations): Bassoon (L), Bandoneon (LM₁), Sax (LM₂), Accordion (LMM), Harmonium (LM₁H), Harmonium 2 (LM₂H), Organ (LH), Master (LMMH), Violin (MM), Clarinet (M₁), Sopran (M₂), Musette (MMH), Oboe (M₁H), Flute (M₂H),and Piccolo (H)

Palm master switch
7 sets of bass reeds (5 for Stradella and 4 for free-bass; 2 reed sets are used in both modes)
120 bass
7 bass switches in Stradella mode (preset bass and chords) - see in the pictures area for detailed reed configuration
Converter bass switch - the long bar under the bass switches
3 switches for Quint Free Bass (single notes) - think of them as L, LM, and M (more details with the photographs below)
17-fold bellows - very clean, deep folds for large volume, excellent compression
Titano-patented bellows protector
Very comfortable 3" wide Italian shoulder and bass straps
Hard shell with wheels and internal cover for keyboard protection
30 lb.
Serviced at the Accordion Gallery and offered with a full year warranty

The accordion is like new. Many Italian accordion manufacturers use the first two digits in the serial number for the year of manufacturing. Therefore, it is likely that the instrument was built in 1998. PIGINI is well respected accordion manufacturer and could be contacted for proper dating of the instrument. Serviced at the Accordion Gallery and offered with a full year warranty.

Below are two videos to give you an idea of the tonal character and quality of this model.

Hilário Passos - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRqq8T2rUr0

Mauro Canton - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=002e4PELMSY

Call 973-770-6877 with any questions or to schedule your visit to the Accordion Gallery where you can try this accordion.

The long bar under the bass switches toggles between Stradella system and Quint Free-bass system.

I will use the following abbreviations in order to describe the reed configuration for each bass switch:

B = Bass reeds, C2 tot B2 range

T = Tenor reeds C3 to B3 range

C = Contralto reeds, F#3 to F4 range

A = Alto reeds, C4 to B4 range

S = Soprano reeds, C5 to B5 range

In Stradella system you have 7 bass switches (from right to left in the picture above

or from your chin (top) down with the accordion in playing position):

BC, BTCA, TA, BTCAS, BTC, TC, and BTAS

In Quint Free-bass (right to left in the above picture): L, LM, and M

With the L switch you can play single bass notes in the range C2 to B4.

With the M switch you have access to single bass notes in the range C3 to B5.

This way you can cover 4 full octaves from C2 to B5.

The LM switch allows you to play 2 reeds (octave) per note. Think of it as a master switch in free-bass mode.

Let's take a look inside the bass side of this masterpiece...

Accordion Gallery