Squeezebox Of Delights
Active member
I put videos on YouTube fairly often, but I have never posted them here before, so I thought I'd show you people my most recent upload. A few days ago I was browsing eBay as one does, and I came across a 1930s Hohner 12 bass, for a buy-it-now price of £25. I don't need a 12 bass obviously as I have a couple of 120s and several of the smaller sizes, but I could see it was what's known in melodeon circles as a "pre-pokerwork" with the beautiful gold decoration on the body. Aware that pre-war boxes are, as a rule, in terrible condition on the inside, I bought immediately as a project. I thought I couldn't go wrong with £25.
Anyway, when it arrived it turned out that it had been "restored" by a previous owner. They had obviously put a lot of time and effort into it, but it wasn't exactly done well. The gold stamped patterns had been painted over in gold acrylic paint, and the bellows had been retaped and recornered with the wrong size of corners and sealed under the corners with silver gaffer tape. But under this shabby exterior, I was incredibly shocked to see that it was in fact a perfectly playable instrument. Taking it apart, I found that the reeds had been amateurly but neatly revalved with plastic valves, rewaxed and tuned, and the bodged bellows are surprisingly airtight. Essentially, I bought an instrument as a project but I am now lumbered with a surprise playable accordion!
I've done a little work on it since I bought it. I've unstuck a few reeds and valves that were fouled by wax, I've put new straps on, taped off the thirds in the chords, and replaced the bellows pins (two were missing and the rest were rusty and mangled) with little brass screws. It obviously needs new bellows but I will keep the current ones for now just because they work, and it needs a minor tune-up to get the celeste even, but all in all I'm really happy with it!
Anyway, waffling aside, here's a video. The tune is a lovely one composed by Sam Sweeney and recorded by Leveret on their album Inventions.
Anyway, when it arrived it turned out that it had been "restored" by a previous owner. They had obviously put a lot of time and effort into it, but it wasn't exactly done well. The gold stamped patterns had been painted over in gold acrylic paint, and the bellows had been retaped and recornered with the wrong size of corners and sealed under the corners with silver gaffer tape. But under this shabby exterior, I was incredibly shocked to see that it was in fact a perfectly playable instrument. Taking it apart, I found that the reeds had been amateurly but neatly revalved with plastic valves, rewaxed and tuned, and the bodged bellows are surprisingly airtight. Essentially, I bought an instrument as a project but I am now lumbered with a surprise playable accordion!
I've done a little work on it since I bought it. I've unstuck a few reeds and valves that were fouled by wax, I've put new straps on, taped off the thirds in the chords, and replaced the bellows pins (two were missing and the rest were rusty and mangled) with little brass screws. It obviously needs new bellows but I will keep the current ones for now just because they work, and it needs a minor tune-up to get the celeste even, but all in all I'm really happy with it!
Anyway, waffling aside, here's a video. The tune is a lovely one composed by Sam Sweeney and recorded by Leveret on their album Inventions.
