Frankfurter Musikmesse

[debra]

From April 11 to 14, 2018 it's Frankfurter Musikmesse again. Anyone who wants to try and compare different accordion brands and models should go there. (But of course for many it is too far...)
I just learned that this year AKKO will be present. We have discussed the differences between an accordion (Italian, German or other) with a Russian Bayan. So you should be able to experience the difference first hand at the Musikmesse. I expect that besides the obvious suspects (like Bugari, Pigini, Victoria and smaller brands) also Roland will present their V-accordions and Bugari the Evo, so the difference between acoustic and electronic can also be experienced.
I have been at the Musikmesse quite a number of times and it has always been worth the trip (only about 4 hours for me).

 

[Geronimo]

Oh wow. Hohner is there and listed as:

Our product groups

Electric guitars, electric bass guitars, accessories

Thats all. Not even harmonica, let alone accordion. Germany has Weltmeister (I seem to remember that they managed clawing back out of insolvency recently) and Herold (with the recycled Royal Standard brand for OEM instruments made in Italy). There are a lot of Italian brand names I thought of as gobbled up (by Mengascini and/or Pigini?). I cannot actually find Akko in the exhibitor list. The Czech reed producer Titlbach appears present (Harmonikas.cz).

 

[debra]

Oh wow. Hohner is there and listed as:

Our product groups

Electric guitars, electric bass guitars, accessories

Thats bad...

Last time around when I went we did not see Hohner accordions either. (Until around 2.000 they always had the largest accordion booth...) Maybe someone can ask at the Pigini booth where Hohner accordions may be found. After all, Pigini makes a lot of them.

Oleg Lysenko http://oleglysenko.nl/ told me he would be present and several AKKO instruments could be tried, so there must be a booth supported by AKKO. He himself only has 2 AKKO instruments so thats not an exhibition by itself. He does have a C system Super de Luxe available though:
http://oleglysenko.nl/wp-content/uploads/AKKO-Super-De-Luxe-C-griff-1024x1024.jpg>

.
(Many of you know I play this exact model, but the image is not of my bayan.)
I expect that most if not all other instruments from AKKO will be B system as that is the only system used in Russia (apart from PA of course).

 

[triskel]

Oh wow. Hohner is there and listed as:

Our product groups

Electric guitars, electric bass guitars, accessories

Thats bad...

Last time around when I went we did not see Hohner accordions either. (Until around 2.000 they always had the largest accordion booth...)

They always used to have the biggest booth full-stop (in the halls I visited anyway), exhibiting all their lines, but I guess it was a prestige thing and must have cost them a fortune!

Oleg Lysenko http://oleglysenko.nl/ told me he would be present and several AKKO instruments could be tried, so there must be a booth supported by AKKO. He himself only has 2 AKKO instruments so thats not an exhibition by itself.

Last time I was there I visited a Russian trade booth shared by various instrument makers, where I got to try out some Saratovskya Garmoshkas (Russian diatonic accordions). But I was left wondering if they seriously wanted to actually sell anything at all because there were no catalogues or price lists, and (due to a trade embargo) anything you did buy would have to be mailed to you from Finland. I wonder if theres anything like that this year?

But he may well be sharing a corner of somebody elses booth.

 

[debra]

...
But he may well be sharing a corner of somebody elses booth.

Who knows... sounds a bit like what Bugari is doing with Zero Sette. A small part of the Bugari booth, and actually around the corner so it doesnt even look like its part of the same booth, was devoted to Zero Sette last time we visited the Musikmesse. (As you may know, Zero Sette accordions are made in the Bugari factory.)

 

[triskel]

Germany has Weltmeister (I seem to remember that they managed clawing back out of insolvency recently) and Herold (with the recycled Royal Standard brand for OEM instruments made in Italy).

Im glad to hear theyre surviving, but sad to hear of Weltmeister moving from Klingenthal to nearby Markneukirchen (Ive got the bus between them in years gone by), therell soon be nothing left of Klingenthals accordion making past...

Its something like 25 years since I witnessed a previous attempt to revive the once-renowned Royal Standard brand at the Messe in Frankfurt. At that time they were being made for them by the Schaumanufaktur für Akkordeons (Show Factory for Accordions) who occupied the renovated old Royal Standard factory at Brunndöbra, Klingenthal, and made Silvetta accordions there. I had dealings (though never quite satisfactory) with the Schaumanufaktur, and visited their premises several times in the 90s.

I can only wish Herold much better luck with the new range of OEM Royal Standard instruments made in Italy..

 

[debra]

...
Last time I was there I visited a Russian trade booth shared by various instrument makers, where I got to try out some Saratovskya Garmoshkas (Russian diatonic accordions). But I was left wondering if they seriously wanted to actually sell anything at all because there were no catalogues or price lists, and (due to a trade embargo) anything you did buy would have to be mailed to you from Finland. I wonder if theres anything like that this year?

But he may well be sharing a corner of somebody elses booth.

AKKO will indeed be in a Russian trade booth so it may be further away from other accordion brands.
AKKO will be in Hall 8, booth F66. I dont know where the other accordions will be.