Hello from Cardiff - tips for lightweight accordions !

[meddyg]

I bought a 120 bass Hohner in New Zealand in a junk shop (1990 $100 - £35 !)
and have loved getting to know accordions of various types -
I bought a ladies model Titano there , and have a 72 bass Serenellini
and had fun playing for Ceilidhs. But as you know - accordions get heavier as
you get older. I play a 48 bass Walther 'teeny' in the pub .The Walther has a great bass line but only two treble voices.
It weighs 6 kilos ; once it's in a rather heavy bag with some music and my folding brolly (it's Wales)
it's up to 10kg payload.

Any ultralight tips please ? Someone mentioned Petosa 30/72 you get low G in right hand. At a price !
Thanks - Bob

 

[Corinto]

Hohner Cornelia I = 4.500 gr
Hohner Lucia = 3.900 gr
Hohner Pirol = 3.300 gr

 

[meddyg]

Hohner Cornelia I = 4.500 gr
Hohner Lucia = 3.900 gr
Hohner Pirol = 3.300 gr

Yes, I had a Hohner Student years ago. You can make a big sound with it. Sandy Brechin recorded a CD using one.
These are heroically old ones you've photographed. If I wnat to get A or G below middle C I need more treble keys; and would like 72 bass as in the Petosa. There may be a lateral thinking solution is ; get a nice but heavy accoriond (Walther Pirat out there £750) but always strap in when playing and take a taxi to the pub !!

 

[Squeezebox Of Delights]

If you're going ultra light, you can't get much better than a Hohner Imperial II or IIA. They're absolutely tiny, about 26cm wide if my memory serves me correctly, and being Hohners, they have a great and surprisingly strong sound. However, they're quite limited (25 treble, 24 bass), so they're not to everyone's taste. They're definitely to my taste though (I have two).

 

[cat]

I'm one who's unable to deal with a heavier accordion. I like to perform standing so, even my "lighter-weight" 80-bass is too heavy.

I've been looking for a 60-bass for years and finally found one, albeit an old Welty. 60- is adequate for what i play (i also have a 52- which is not) and it's quite light. It makes a good playing-on-the-street box.

*I should say that, one reason I'm spoiled for light boxes is because I also play Hohner club diatonics - which are super efficient for the tiny size and weight.

 

[OuijaBoard]

If you play largely trad/folk music, there is no reason not to play smaller models. They will do everything you need to do for most trad/folk genres. Their portability, and the added "lift" to your music from needing to move the bellows more on a smaller instrument, makes them ideal for these genres.

However--you mention being dissatisfied with "only" two voices, but also mention a small MM 48 bass as being a heavy payload once you get it into a case, etc. But the bottom line is that with unisonoric instruments (PA or CBA), MM is the lightest you can get, with 26/48 MM PAs being about as small and light as is possible. (Unless you want a small one-voice instrument with a single voice like an accordion reeded concertina--those do exist). If you want more than 2 voices in a PA or CBA, the accordion will be heavier than the two-voice 48-bass you found a heavy payload.

The Petosa 30/72 is a two-voice MM in their "Americana" line and is heavier than that 6kg 26/48 you mentioned finding a heavy payload with the case and all. The Americana 30/72 MM weighs about 14.5 pounds, not counting case and supplies.

Now, if you wanted to go bisonoric . . . there are some very light 2-voice MM bisonorics. The Castagnari Dinn II MM, for example, weighs about 2.8 kg. In a soft daypack-sized case, it's sweet. If you can stand the limitations of an 8-bass bisonoric. Personally, I played them for years and got sick of it, decided I'd accept doubling my weight, and play small PAs and small CBAs. Horses for courses.

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There are also concertinas. They are a blast for trad/folk music and are obviously very compact and light. But it's not safe to carry a concertina in a soft case, unless it is in a hard case that you place into the soft case (like, to carry backpack style). They have hundreds of tiny parts and are very fragile. So carrying them around is heavier than you might expect . . . But still much lighter than the lightest PA or CBA, and lighter than many bisonoric/diatonic button accordions.

Not sure of the stats right this second but as of a couple/few years ago concertina was the most popular trad instrument in Ireland. Presumably due in large part to how much can be done with it musically--at least for trad/folk tunes--in proportion to its light weight and small and compact size.

 

[cat]

That limitation on diatonics is why I forced myself to get a PA. Came close to grafting a 48-bass on to my clubs... But in the meanwhile I came upon S and C american music which totally floated my boat, and then became a thing for me to enjoy on PA, too. I just jam on forro, cumbia and professor longhair, zydeco joe, boogie-woogie, satie, and some favorite themes..

I just got done playing that newish to me welty and, i don't recollect not wanting to put down the PA before (with as much sound as it puts out). Happy

*Oh and yes concertinas! I play English (having learned on anglo - which got me into boxes, etc..). I started out on anglo/Irish music (as I'm a strings player) and started learning English c. when i got stuck halfway through arranging Gnossiene 3 on anglo. : ) love em!

Welcome meddyg!