Quick Links: High-Tech Edition

After posting about the mysterious pianaccord earlier this week, I ran across some more examples of cutting-edge accordion technology:

  • Roland FR-2 V-Accordion
    Roland unveiled their latest MIDI accordions, the FR-2 and FR-2b, at last month’s NAMM Show in Anaheim. Their biggest advantage over other Roland digital accordions is weight — each are about 10 lbs. lighter than the FR-7.
  • South Branch Inventor Presents Twinkling Accordion
    Newfoundlander Wallace Gale has modified his Hohner Corona so that each time a button is pressed, a corresponding light illuminates. Much cooler than the battery-powered Christmas lights I used to attach to my accordion.
  • Big Accordion Worked With Pedals
    Reader S.A. Heistand pointed out this possible precursor to the pianaccord — shown here in a December 1933 issue of Popular Science. It’s basically an accordion set up so you can play while sitting down and manipulate the bellows using foot pedals.

5 Comments:

  1. I’d rather have a twinkly accordion than a midi accordion any day of the week….

  2. …HEY! I want a twinkling Roland FR-2 !! but carrying around all those @#$#@ !! batteries must be a real bummer! Don’t ‘cha know they go kaput on you in the middle of a gig!! OUCH! Bad enough keeping up with 9 Volt batteries for the microphones in your regular squeezebox!

  3. Gunner, what you need is a solar-powered accordion. :-)

  4. This guy sells several hi-tech add-ons for those Roland accordions.

  5. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8xZ4tmUkDY