Cordovox ID and opinions please.

[32251]

Came into a cordovox with the preamp/power amp/glide pedal and all connector cables. I welcome some info on it please. Which Italian company made the accordion? There are 6 register buttons below the keyboard. There is a 1/4” output jack with two volume controls and a tone control and 2 D type multi pin connectors for connecting the unit to the preamp.

I have not tested the amp/preamp with the accordion, so I don’t know if anything functions.

So what would the forum opinions be to do with all this stuff? Should I gut the anccordion electronics and get the acoustic only accordion working as well as is possible? I should be able to sell the preamp/power amp to some ambitious vacuum tube enthusiast. I do some tech work on tube gear so I know all about old caps and variacs and such.

Is there any market at all for someone buying all this just like it is?? What would be an attractive price? The amp/pre amp is in very nice cosmetic condition.

Many thanks for your thoughts.

 

[JerryPH]

The Cordovox accordion was THE FIRST electronic accordion. 99% of these relics are basically non-functional due to the aged electronics. I'd love to hear one again in full working condition. The accordions are HEAVY even when gutted but nice. These are more destined for a museum than any real use today.

The Cordovox line of electronic accordions was imported and marketed by Chicago Musical Instrument Co. which was also the parent company of Lowrey Organ Co., among other American musical instrument makers such as Fender, Gibson, Epiphone, Maestro and others. “CMI” was one of the oldest large musical instrument firms in the USA. Around the time of the fourth generation Cordovox, the ownership changed to another family member (perhaps Bill Lehman, son-in-law of company President/Founder M.H. Berlin) and CMI became Norlin Music, Inc.

The above from HERE and there is a lot more.

 

[32251]

Here is a pic of the mic set up.

 

[Thomas N]

Sadly they aren't worth much nowadays. This is an older model with the two-prong connector, fewer electronic selectors and I would bet most likely the two separate smaller amplifiers. There are some nicer ones with the three-prong connector, hand-made reeds, and the large single Leslie amplifier. I sold my example of that in perfect working order with only two owners since new for $800 about 7 or 8 years ago.

I wouldn't expect more than a couple hundred dollars for it, and that would probably be to canabalize it to repair a newer model Cordovox.

They are relics now, and I really hate saying that as my glory days of gigging an accordion in my youth were all on the Cordovox.

 

[SteveBox]

I have no experience with the Cordovox. However, looking at your photo reminds me of this rock and roll band from the 60's:

 

[32251]

I wouldn't expect more than a couple hundred dollars for it, and that would probably be to canabalize it to repair a newer model.

I can get more than $200 if I part it out. There are two 1965 Jensen C12 speakers in it that bring that much on the vintage market. There is $50 worth of 7591 new JJ tubes in it. The accordion itself plays fine, so I can sell that. I don’t mind parting it all out. Might be easier than getting it working again. I have enough electronic parts to restore the pre amp and power amp, but I don’t know if the time investment would pay off.

 

[32251]

I have no experience with the Cordovox. However, looking at your photo reminds me of this rock and roll band from the 60's:

Gerry Lewis and the Playboys!

 

[mtj]

Came into a cordovox with the preamp/power amp/glide pedal and all connector cables. I welcome some info on it please. Which Italian company made the accordion? There are 6 register buttons below the keyboard. There is a 1/4” output jack with two volume controls and a tone control and 2 D type multi pin connectors for connecting the unit to the preamp.

I have not tested the amp/preamp with the accordion, so I don’t know if anything functions.

So what would the forum opinions be to do with all this stuff? Should I gut the anccordion electronics and get the acoustic only accordion working as well as is possible? I should be able to sell the preamp/power amp to some ambitious vacuum tube enthusiast. I do some tech work on tube gear so I know all about old caps and variacs and such.

Is there any market at all for someone buying all this just like it is?? What would be an attractive price? The amp/pre amp is in very nice cosmetic condition.

Many thanks for your thoughts.

Scandalli made the accordions in most versions. My first accordion teacher, about five years ago, played one. Had the tube amp, big cable… still worked.

 

[32251]

Scandalli made the accordions in most versions. My first accordion teacher, about five years ago, played one. Had the tube amp, big cable… still worked.

I work on vintage basket case accordions. I’m used to working on the Scandalli bass sections that have all the little rubber O rings falling apart and needing replacing. The bass mechanism on this one is different…maybe another Scandalli type. The acoustic accordion still plays good and sounds good and is built robust…..but it’s heavy!….looking at the amount of electronic stuff that can be removed…i dont see a lot of weight reduction. When I get some time I want to thoroughly test the electronics/pre-amp/power amp/glide pedal and see what the condition truly is. If I get some sounds then I might swap out the filter caps and test all the tubes and first try to sell as a restorable complete somewhat working unit. I see a lot of the amp sections for sale for conversion to guitar amps. Decades ago, I would do that, but there is too much affordable gear out now to go to that trouble.

 

[lmschgo]

Gerry Lewis and the Playboys!

L

Thread 'Rockin' it in 1966 with a Cordovox'

Jul 8, 2023

Gary Lewis and the Playboys
John West - accordionist

• lmschgo
• Replies: 6
• Forum: The Pub

• 

 

[kimric]

I have removed the electronics from these for customers, weight reduction will be somewhere between 4.5 and 8 Lbs depending on the model.
I also remove the bulky back plate on the keyboard on the models that had that and replaced it with a flat piece of ABS since the hardware that was there is removed and this reduced the bulk.
You will have silent registers but these can be redone to give you a reed setting that the instrument did not have before.
If you carfully remove the mic system with its pots and jack and leave enough of the bellows wire to identify the colors so a new bellows wire can be made you can get $50-$100 for the set on ebay.

 

[SteveBox]

You see a Cordovox in the video, but do you actually hear one? See the comments in the Gary Lewis and the Playboys thread.

As with most groups in that era who performed on TV, they were lip/play syncing to a studio recording. According to what I have read, these studio recordings were heavily overdubbed by "The Wrecking Crew" such that the only one of the Playboys you actually hear on their recordings is Gary's vocals. Before they were "discovered" and given a recording contract, they use to play locally at Disneyland. If you could have seen them there, then you would have actually heard the Cordovox.

 

[SteveBox]

Here are the original "Gary and the Playboys" at Disneyland. (No "Lewis" in the name.) I've read that they were quite popular at the park. I think it would have been fun to hear this live band with the Cordovox. But alas, all we seem to have available today from this era are their heavily produced recordings using studio musicians. Gary has gone on to do live shows in more recent decades with a new band, but no Cordovox.

 

[32251]

Here are the original "Gary and the Playboys" at Disneyland. (No "Lewis" in the name.) I've read that they were quite popular at the park. I think it would have been fun to hear this live band with the Cordovox. But alas, all we seem to have available today from this era are their heavily produced recordings using studio musicians. Gary has gone on to do live shows in more recent decades with a new band, but no Cordovox.

Back in the day when this pic was taken, the electronic organ sounds of the cordovox would have been quite modern. Sort of in line with Farfisa sounds which were everywhere.

 

[32251]

I tested the unit with the amps and it all works! I’m sure it needs some cleaning/tweaking, but that’s better than no sound.