Between them, GregB, Foolestroup & Bob have confirmed, with much better detail than I had imagined, many of my gut feelings about the development of piano-keyboarded accordions.

Some 30 years ago, Frank Gallagher (who did a lot of repair and tuning work on concertinas, before he got into harps) from Sydney constructed a primitive but effective tuning device from spare electronics bits he had around his workshop. At one stage he realised he had the carcase of an English concer and most of the electronics of an electric organ. So he combined them into a fully electronic concertina that sounded like a very small Wurlitzer. [You'll note I'm eschewing all value judgements so far.]

While I wasn't very keen on the tone I was interested in the concept but, as an Anglo player with limited ability to transpose, spent a little time dreaming of such an electronic instrument with logic gates to detect which way the wind was blowing (through the reed pans, folks!) and its velocity. I reckoned the output of such an electronic Anglo could be fed through an array of foot pedals (much beloved of guitarists in rock groups) which could allow me to instantly transpose keys without having to change fingering.

You'll be greatly relieved to know that the concept never got past the dream stage. This was in the days when I also played lagerphone and the fans of Kiss wanted me to fit that out with flashing LEDs & sparklers. No way!

While I agree that the innards of bellows-powered free reed instruments are definitely something out of the Industrial Age, the archaeologist in me would lament the replacement of them by cybernetic equivalents. As has been pointed out, that has started already; the Darleks are there but real free reeds will survive because of their appealing idiosynchracies (sorry).

And I did try to get the free bass aspect up.

Cheers, Rowan