Friday, August 12, 2011

Castagnari releases new 3-row "Mas"

Castagnari has released a new model in its lineup of full-sized 3-row melodeons, dubbed the "Mas."  How does it differ from other currently available 3-row Castagnaris?
      -- the Mas has two treble voices, with a lever behind the keyboard that presumably turns one voice off.  This would lend itself nicely to an LM ("bandonion") reed setup. (The other 2 voice 3 rows, the Rik, the Evo, the Benny, and the Big 18 lack this feature.)
     -- the Mas has a different left-side design than the other 3 rows in Castagnaris line.  The openings on the face of the left side should result in different acoustic properties -- most likely, greater projection of left-hand sound.
     -- the Mas features a flat ("sinking keys") keyboard.  This is a matter of personal taste and habit.  Its nice that Castagnari is offering this option, since all their other 3 row boxes come with closed/stepped keyboards.
     -- the Mas bass layout is different in that the 18 bass buttons are 'skewed' or offset rather than lined up in a grid.  Some players may find that this facilitates bass runs and combining bass and chord buttons across the bass rows.
     -- the Mas setup includes two bass switches for its 2 voice bass.  I assume that the switches operate the "low" bass notes.
     -- on a purely aesthetic note, the Mas is constructed out of wenge, an exotic wood.  Using a different wood (or finish) than their standard (yet beautiful!) walnut and cherry tends to be a way that the Castagnaris distinguish a 'special' box (like the Wielly, the Montmartre, the Handry 2000 series, and the Sonu).

Bravo to Castagnari for keeping the harvest fresh!

(Photo from the Castagnari website.)

1 comment:

  1. Arrgh! Just when I got the saltarelle Callimaque I ordered, they decide to release everything I wanted Castagnari to do!!!! That's just not fair...

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