Flying Scotsman??

[dunlustin]

If you’re not from the UK, the chances are you’ve never heard of ‘her.’
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=flying+scotsman
- Just out from a £4.2 million renovation.

Which brings me smoothly enough to old accordions and the like…
In the very early 70s you could buy a decent, UK built, concertina for around £20.
It is said the Salvation Army piled up hundreds in bonfires (??)
Definitely not worth the cost of repair.
Nowadays a good one from the right maker can make £4000+.
Then there were traction engines – just good for scrap
I’m sure people have lots of examples.
This man:

is convinced it’s worth putting his time, skills and enthusiasm into old instruments.

I just wonder if we should be absolutely sure that these old instruments really are only fit to turn into bedside lamps and conversation pieces? Could we live to regret this?

 

[Nonny Mouse]

Ive got a 1940s clarinet. My dad and I restored it, got a repairs man to do the final bits. Its great fun to play, good talking point, but not as good as my new one. Its something thats nice to have as a piece of history, but would have been far too expensive to have had repaired properly.

With some old accordions I suspect the build quality would not have been good in the first place, but the outsides are gorgeous. Maybe one day they will be worth the restoration, or again, simply for the fun of it. Can keep hoping.

Incidently, I saw Tornado a number of years ago, fabulous!!

 

[TomBR]

Dont forget this accordion Flying Scotsman.....


Its an interesting question but I dont think one can take the concertina parallel very far. A brand-new hand made concertina (£3500 or so at a guess?) is extremely similar in all aspects to a concertina made 50-100 years ago. Many concertina players might prefer the old instrument, or at least feel that they are very similar in playability terms. Thats not the same with accordions, things have moved on.

Quite apart from quality of construction there are physical issues with old piano accordions, for instance those very long keys are not that comfortable to play, they were shortened for good reason.

Mind you, I do think it would be amusing to do a reedless midi conversion on a nice looking pre-war accordion!
Tom

 

[Matt Butcher]

I always enjoy the old fashioned wet tuned sounds which are not exactly replicated on any modern instruments that I know. But I suppose no one listening would care one way or the other whether they were hearing a pre-war Pancotti musette sound or the musette sound of, say, my Paolo Soprani, it probably doesn't matter. There might be an interesting project for someone in reviving old sounds, perhaps similar to what Luke Daniels has been doing on button box with the music and instruments of William Hannah. Perhaps someone is doing it already?

But the original question probably was more to do with these instruments being valued in their own right rather than as historical items.