Mankind's eternal attempt to improve upon the un-improvable….Without this mindset, how else could our ancestors have made the transition from stone tools to tungsten steel?

 

About a year ago Joel and I decided to make a slight change in certain measurements that I had previously developed and used over the 64 years in building Acadian Accordions. It was certainly not because of any dissatisfaction with our product, especially since our instruments already possessed those special qualities that we, along with other musicians, recognized as being outstanding. I think anyone that does anything repetitive for 64 years must have an amazing amount of patience and tenacity to continue. Boredom was never an issue since the work requires so many different groups of complex components/procedures that must be achieved before the finished product becomes a musical instrument. That person must also have a mindset constantly thinking and working towards how the product can be improved. Without this mindset I think any endeavor to do anything so repetitive for so many years would eventually be abandoned unless that person embraced the manifesto “Mankind’s eternal attempt to improve upon the un-improvable“.

 

I think the most difficult thing to have learned in my years isn’t only to conceive of a new idea but rather to be able to take that idea and build it into a working model.Common practice every Saturday morning is for me to road test a brand new Acadian to ensure that everything functions the way I want them to function. Playing a brand new accordion with new bellows, especially at age 86, can be as much fun as walking around in a new pair of shoes. After I am satisfied that everything is functioning correctly to my taste I usually make the transition to an older instrument that has already been played and well broken in. This past Saturday, September 26, 2026, was the first time I tried out our first prototype Acadian built around these current changes . I am very proud to report, as expected, that our assumptions proved to be the improvement we expected. I enjoyed playing this new prototype Acadian so much that I used it for the entire jam session.

 

Marc Savoy