hello, thanks for accepting the forum. I need your help. I have an old hohner organola 2 cassotto 2+2 accordion and the keys need to be replaced. I am attaching some pictures with the type of keys it has. I searched a lot on the internet on the website hohner.de, hohner shop and I couldn't find this type of keys. I wrote and sent photos by email to hohner but I didn't get a reply. Maybe someone on your forum can help me find a solution to change the keys with new ones .
accordion keys hohner organola 2
- Thread starter geky
- Start date
Hi there.
What is wrong with the existing keys you are hoping to remedy?
I doubt anyone has a full set of keys for your model available- the best you could hope for is probably a similar model which seems to be in good shape to take the keys from.
That would, of course, cost as much as your own accordion and in the accordion world- even such mass produced models as Hohners (no disrespect there- but they did make a lot and so there is an outside chance that two instruments from the same year with the same name might come close to havein interchangeable parts)- have parts with are cosmetically identical but which were hand fitted in assembly and so are not interchangeable without work and expertise.
For what it's worth- it seems likely to me that you stand a better chance of a drop in replacement with the metal channel spring hold down keys such as yours, but no guarantees even so.
In the end, again, "What exactly is wrong with your existing keys you need to remedy?" (and I may well not be able to offer other than commiseration but there are probably some here who can help- if only to say "live with it" from a learned perspective)
Best wishes- Henry
What is wrong with the existing keys you are hoping to remedy?
I doubt anyone has a full set of keys for your model available- the best you could hope for is probably a similar model which seems to be in good shape to take the keys from.
That would, of course, cost as much as your own accordion and in the accordion world- even such mass produced models as Hohners (no disrespect there- but they did make a lot and so there is an outside chance that two instruments from the same year with the same name might come close to havein interchangeable parts)- have parts with are cosmetically identical but which were hand fitted in assembly and so are not interchangeable without work and expertise.
For what it's worth- it seems likely to me that you stand a better chance of a drop in replacement with the metal channel spring hold down keys such as yours, but no guarantees even so.
In the end, again, "What exactly is wrong with your existing keys you need to remedy?" (and I may well not be able to offer other than commiseration but there are probably some here who can help- if only to say "live with it" from a learned perspective)
Best wishes- Henry
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thank you for the answer and the attention given, the problem with my keys is that the hole where the key shaft enters is worn and they are no longer in the correct position, they have play and the felt "caps" no longer perfectly cover the holes where the air enters and exits. I know that not I will find original keys, and if I do, I don't think they would be in perfect condition. I hope to find only keys or a complete assembly from a newer model of hohner, which will fit my accordion. but anyway the rods need to be changed of the keys, that is, I put my rods on the new keys, I thought that if I heat them up I can remove the rods. on most of the keys, I rebuilt the part with the hole where the shaft goes in from wood, but it's a lot of work, because I don't have any tools I work with precision. It would be possible to install the Italian keyboard, but it's an operation I don't know and I certainly wouldn't be able to do it. There may be a possibility to send it to a workshop in Italy, but I don't know how much it would cost. labor plus materials.
thanks for the answer, I will search on the internet, I think there are better chances of finding Atlantic keys, I think it is a newer model than the organola. the problem will be to change the rods from my keys to those from Atlantic
If you get a rod which is a larger diameter, you can drill the existing key holes to fit the rod
Sorry Using your terminology I meant keyshaft
Sorry Using your terminology I meant keyshaft
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I don't know if there is any other possibility but to change the rods, if I find keys from another model. mine has cassotto, the Atlantic one doesn't. it's quite risky to change the shape of the rods, they can break.
I have had rods out many times, they may bend if you are not careful but they will not break Sorry not rod, but key shaft or axle
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Yes of course you're right - that reduces the solution space
I put a link with two songs recorded with my hohner organola so you can see what a good sound it has, I didn't use EQ, the sound is as it was recorded, I only put reverb and delay. I used registers: oboe, clarinet musset and sax. the reeds are changed, I put Italian Cagnioni reeds, Balkan tuning. I really like the sound of accordions, that's why I want to fix it.
Ventura
Been here for ages!
frankly, the only thing this thread shouts to me is NEVER buy an organola..
actually, i was about to suggest you remove the reeds, assuming the Hohner reeds were
worthy of a tone chamber level accordion to begin with.. then throw the rest away, but
*(stunningly) you had already replaced the Hohner reeds with what you apparently
onsidered better ones...
which begs the question, if you were going to go so far as to install high end reeds
into ANYTHING, why didn't you start with some actual quality accordion with a
professional keyaction and tone chamber setup ? i am presuming there ARE
accordions available in your area/country beyond such as this organola ?
seriously, it appears that this type of cost-saving keyaction designed and used by Hohner
has not stood the test of time and should be consigned to a footnote in history
actually, i was about to suggest you remove the reeds, assuming the Hohner reeds were
worthy of a tone chamber level accordion to begin with.. then throw the rest away, but
*(stunningly) you had already replaced the Hohner reeds with what you apparently
onsidered better ones...
which begs the question, if you were going to go so far as to install high end reeds
into ANYTHING, why didn't you start with some actual quality accordion with a
professional keyaction and tone chamber setup ? i am presuming there ARE
accordions available in your area/country beyond such as this organola ?
seriously, it appears that this type of cost-saving keyaction designed and used by Hohner
has not stood the test of time and should be consigned to a footnote in history
Thank you once again for another "helpful" "your instrument sucks not worth repairing" reponse.
Good luck to you Geky in your repairs- the Organola sounds just fine to me.
Good luck to you Geky in your repairs- the Organola sounds just fine to me.
I really like the sound of this accordion, it's a pity that it is not built with the precision of an Italian accordion, but the sound is more important to me. I replaced the original hohner reeds because they were old and unbalanced, tuned musset, they no longer responded equally to low pressure of air. It would have cost a lot to tune and adjust the hohner reeds. I bought cagnioni from a friend for 350 euros, tuned in Balkan style as they sing in our country.
Ventura
Been here for ages!
lol
helpful
we do not even know if the looseness is caused by wear inside the comb,
or wear inside the individual aluminum key bottoms
we do not even know (unless we have taken one apart) if there is clearance
in either of those places to add a piece of aluminum and re-cut the wear points
we do not even know know the key holds itself into the channel
pray tell me what "helpful" advice has been given to address the actual deficiency ?
i do not often say "junk it" but it seems pretty glaringly obvious this is an
example of engineering that did not live up to it's purpose.. there are no
replacement parts available.. no fresh unworn combs.. no key action
pieces that would even be marginally in the tolerance necessary for
a split arm action..
it is obvious from the photo's that the action had uneven pressure on
the pads/valves, as you can see the aluminum of the waffle/baffle inside
the tone chamber has the leather gasket worn off along the edges of many notes,
indicating a long-term issue also likely a part of flawed engineering as
the design was demonstrably not capable of holding the pads parallel on the inside arms
in relation to the pads on the non-chambered arms.. nor is there any self-leveling
component to this design
how is any possible repair going to address and fix this problem ?
is it even worth the time and cost to dis-assemble the tone chamber and
install a brand new leather gasket ?
under the keybed, obvious thin asian mahogany plywood suggesting
what woods were used in this model are not even close to an Italian
built box
my earlier comment was not flippant, or just another "junk it", \
made offhand.. i considered elements from all the photographs..
after you consider all those apparent deficiencies, again, you have to
consider a re-build of this depth would be better spent on a dual axle
tone chambered body that was in otherwise un-warped and decent condition,
simply because it will PLAY MUCH BETTER and be worth keeping long-term
is it even kind to speculate how to make repairs in a vacuum of information ?
my dear Geky,
while i appreciate your intent and effort so far, and while i wish you luck,
i cannot see any way forward to replace or rebuild the action
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I'm sorry but I don't fully understand what you want to say, because of the incorrect translation of the terms. I want to tell you that the organ is not my basic instrument, I have a roland fr4x and I use it with the audio interface rme ucx2+leptop+kontakt, for samplers, this is for singing at events. in my country most of the accordionists, even the best accordionists in the country, have a midi installation on the accordion or have a Roland, digital music tech accordion and sing with the juzisound modul with samplers. at our events, they play with 1-2 saxophones + rumbergher, soprano +rumbergher, electric violin and it is played at a very high volume, imaginative as it is played even with two dynacord xa+ fbt hi max 60.4-6 pieces or VL systems. with a natural accordion on the microphone you cannot sing because of the microphone .now, understand why I want to repair the accordion: I use the Hohner for studying at home and for recording in the studio, I don't like studying the Roland, it doesn't give me any satisfaction, I hate it but it's useful live. I know that the organ it's not a top accordion and it's built unprofessionally, most German accordions are built like that, even worse, but I like the sound of German accordions more than the Italian one, it's my taste. there are also old Italian accordions that sound good but it costs more than 14000€. I could buy a top Italian accordion but it would cost from 8000€ upwards, guerrini superior. 2-3 "president" scandalli, Siwa&figli, settimio soprani. cheaper would be bugari, zero sette , pier maria, etc. these are 5000/6000€. but to use it just for pleasure at home... and not be completely satisfied with its sound... it's not worth investing so much money for an accordion. so in hohner I would invest up to €1000 because I like its sound, it weighs up to 11kg, it's small, fits well in my arms, I really like this accordion. I'll fix it in 2-3 months depending on how I have time. to post pictures while I fix it.
Hi Geky
I haven't seen this type "Organola II" before - but it reminds me the old Imperator IV.
That also was "Metallbauweise" and came with cassotto.
Maybe you're able to obtain one and either slaughter the keys and fit the into your box or swap out your reed-set into the imperator chassis.
The hard way is to really repair the worn out key bearing by finding a bar of U-shaped aluminum or brass which exactly fits the bearing rod's diameter, cut it into pieces to match the key width, file out the plastic keys to fit the little piece of U-metal and cement it into the key. That requires steady hands and some time but I bet by doing so the key bearing will survive any other part of your box.
I haven't seen this type "Organola II" before - but it reminds me the old Imperator IV.
That also was "Metallbauweise" and came with cassotto.
Maybe you're able to obtain one and either slaughter the keys and fit the into your box or swap out your reed-set into the imperator chassis.
The hard way is to really repair the worn out key bearing by finding a bar of U-shaped aluminum or brass which exactly fits the bearing rod's diameter, cut it into pieces to match the key width, file out the plastic keys to fit the little piece of U-metal and cement it into the key. That requires steady hands and some time but I bet by doing so the key bearing will survive any other part of your box.
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in fact, it is a rare accordion model and from my research on the internet it was made around the 50s, it is very old, the hohner company has old registers, with records of accordions, for €30 they search the registers and tell you the exact year in which it was manufactured the accordion and the first owner, telling me the model and series. unfortunately, the serial number of my accordion was deleted, it is no longer visible. I saw one in my country, one in Hungary and two in Germany, for sale. the keys can be repaired quite easily, the problem is that I don't have the necessary tools with which to work precisely. I wrote in the previous post that I repaired most of the keys. I cut out the part of the key with the hole where the spindle goes, it's only plastic, I glued a piece of wood with poxipol and I replaced the cut material, of course, the wood must be modeled, sanded to the size of the key, after which the hole must be made in the wood where the shaft enters, I made a template based on the hole of the original key so that I know exactly where to drill the wood, this is difficult , because I don't have a precision drilling tool, the hole must be perfectly straight, if the hole has shifted from the entrance to the exit by a micronet, the key is no longer in the correct position.
Geky is each key mounted on its own individual axle ?
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