G'day again Sue,

I didn't see Alison answer about Scandalli - This is a well-known Italian maker. They do both piano accordion and various button accordions, both the European same note both ways chromatics and the different note push or pull diatonics (those pitched in one, or a set of, specific keys).

The couplers on a Cajun accordion are really "stops" as they are not 'coupled' together. There are usuallu 4 sets of reeds, in slightly different pitch (tremolo) or different octaves. Pulling up the stops engages the combination that you want.

I donm't think the particular voicing is particularly arcane. I think it is a bit 'dry' (the opposite to the clich‚ French 'musette' sound. It just suits their style and doesn't distract you with other sounds. This is the perennial balancing act with accordions - specialise or be eclectic.

Jon gave an explanation of the 'pull' scale above. This is what I referred to as the Myxolydian mode. It is a different arrangement of the seven notes of the diatonic scale. The normal minor key is a mode: Aeolian. The Dorian is another 'folky' minor mode, starting on another key (eg: D in a C scale instead of A for normal minor). Myxolydian is a more major variation (starting at G in a C scale) found often im Scots and other Celtic music but also as the "Blues Scale" ... and in Cajun.

I can't help you find a used Cajun box as I an in Sydney, Australia (except next month, when I retreat for the duration of the Olympics ... and come back in October to try and pick up the pieces!). I have friends that play in Cajun styles but they have not found it easy to get authentic boxes here.

I play Australian music - sticking to what has been collected from old time palyers and so it has come here in the 19th century, survived here, been adapted to local custom and usage and fitted in with changes and preferences in instrument ... and become Australian. I also play a wider range of folk styles, but my groupd <>Backblocks concentartes on an ustralian repertoire of (roughly) the 19th century, played on appropriate instruments. This doesn't mean that everyone else as to play this way - it just helps understand the idiom of the day.

Regards,

Bob Bolton