Hohner Student VM 48 or any other good quality 26/48 pianoaccordion

[Ocu]

Hi!

Read about Hohner Student and somebody gave advise to get a little better choice than Student. The main question about Hohner Student ( and Concert) is if they are same than Hohner Walther Special or not? I think, Hohner Student is made in Germany, so it is different than Walther Sperial. I know that WS was first made in Sweden, then maybe Germany and the newest were very much like Weltmeisters and made in DDR.

My problem is that I'd like to have just 26/48 (or /60) pianoaccordion, but most of them seem to be Walther Special -accordions, made in DDR. There is some fine accordions in higher price range like Bugari Juniorfisa 100/J, but it costs about 3000 - 3500 euros.

Here in Finland accordions are mostly buttonaccordions, so particularly small pianoaccordions are hard to find,. How to find one in good condition and with low shipping costs, that's the question.

-ocu-

 

[OuijaBoard]

Some Hohner Student models are of East German or Czech construction and not as high quality as the West German products. But I'm not knowledgeable enough to know which generations. Almost certainly, models bigger than 26/48 that are labeled "Student" or "International" are largely Czech or East German fabrication. But with the 26/48 size many "Student" models were West-German construction . . . . But not all. Some of the 26/48 Student models have a Roman numeral that changed as later editions came out, such as "Student V." Those in the know can tell you which generations are the best, but I don't have that expertise.

There are also 26/48s badged Hohner Concerto I. They're basically like the Student models. I tentatively thiiiiiiink the Concerto I 26/48s were West German made, but not certain if you can count on that.

You might browse the stock at this German dealer of used accordions. You can input the brand and number of treble or bass keys. They always have numerous vintage Hohner 26/48s in stock. Here's a link to the 48-bass PA stock at present:

Piano-Accordion Onlineshop - Musikcenter Scharte

Piano-Accordion - Accordion Onlineshop: ✓ Expertise since 1977, ✓ TrustedShops certified, ✓ Safe Insured Shipping.

www.musik-center.de

 

[OuijaBoard]

There was also a small MM Hohner named the "Junior 48" model. It came in a few bright color choices, including yellow, or pink. And there was a red one, of course. The Junior 48 was of flimsier components and construction, and the frame was plastic or aluminum, I forget which. They actually don't sound bad if you get one in top condition, and they are very lightweight. I'm just noting that they were flimsier, less sturdy components and construction. I see a couple in the stock pages I linked in my previous post.

I'm sure you've also heard of the Hohner Starlet. That was an older 26/48 MM model that was super lightweight. Not sure of its construction, but people love them. Hard to find them in good condition as time is marching onward, and folk players want them because they're so light. An accordion store here in the US had two in this year, but they both moved very quickly.

 

[OuijaBoard]

Here I am again. There are also recent Weltmeisters as a possibility for a small MM folk box. They are much more playable than some of the vintage models, which could be stiff and resistant. In MM there is a 26/48 called the Perle and a 30/60 called the Rubin, which gives you 30 keys in a frame the size and weight of a 26-key by making the keys slimmer than full width. It is personal whether the slim keys work for you. Weltmeisters have plastic valves and plastic bass blocks, and this is not an inspiring quality indicator. But the small ones are very serviceable for folk playing, and their light construction makes them quite responsive for fast dance tunes.

 

[Ocu]

Hi! Thanks for your answers! Searching will be going on...
-ocu-

 

[gfreed]

There was also a small MM Hohner named the "Junior 48" model. It came in a few bright color choices, including yellow, or pink. And there was a red one, of course. The Junior 48 was of flimsier components and construction, and the frame was plastic or aluminum, I forget which. They actually don't sound bad if you get one in top condition, and they are very lightweight. I'm just noting that they were flimsier, less sturdy components and construction. I see a couple in the stock pages I linked in my previous post.

I'm sure you've also heard of the Hohner Starlet. That was an older 26/48 MM model that was super lightweight. Not sure of its construction, but people love them. Hard to find them in good condition as time is marching onward, and folk players want them because they're so light. An accordion store here in the US had two in this year, but they both moved very quickly.

The 2/4 MM 26/40 Hohner Starlet is greatest plastic-bodied accordion ever made! Weighing in at about 9lbs, my Starlet 40 sports plastic treble reed blocks (but wood bass reed blocks), slightly rattly plastic keys, orange bellows, a solid feel and a distinctive musette. The fun of playing these kinds of small accordions is difficult to overstate. I found mine at Accordionology.

 

[boxplayer4000]

Ocu: There's plenty genuine 48bass German piano accordions here in Scotland/UK. Good, restored models are available here (UK/Scotland) for less than 500 British Pounds (around 550 euros/I haven't checked the exact rate).
For shipping it would be helpful if you had contacts or any friends travelling between our countries.

 

[oldbayan]

The older Hohner Student IVM and VM from the 1950's are very good! Some sell for high prices, like $600 to $800. I found this one locally for CAD $200, in excellent condition with a hard case. Great little portable box.

 

[Ocu]

The older Hohner Student IVM and VM from the 1950's are very good! Some sell for high prices, like $600 to $800. I found this one locally for CAD $200, in excellent condition with a hard case. Great little portable box.

Yes, but I need 48 bass ( more specifically 8 x 6 )

 

[Ocu]

The 2/4 MM 26/40 Hohner Starlet is greatest plastic-bodied accordion ever made! Weighing in at about 9lbs, my Starlet 40 sports plastic treble reed blocks (but wood bass reed blocks), slightly rattly plastic keys, orange bellows, a solid feel and a distinctive musette. The fun of playing these kinds of small accordions is difficult to overstate. I found mine at Accordionology.

Thank you, but I need 8 x 6 = 48 bass.

 

[Ocu]

Some Hohner Student models are of East German or Czech construction and not as high quality as the West German products. But I'm not knowledgeable enough to know which generations. Almost certainly, models bigger than 26/48 that are labeled "Student" or "International" are largely Czech or East German fabrication. But with the 26/48 size many "Student" models were West-German construction . . . . But not all. Some of the 26/48 Student models have a Roman numeral that changed as later editions came out, such as "Student V." Those in the know can tell you which generations are the best, but I don't have that expertise.

There are also 26/48s badged Hohner Concerto I. They're basically like the Student models. I tentatively thiiiiiiink the Concerto I 26/48s were West German made, but not certain if you can count on that.

You might browse the stock at this German dealer of used accordions. You can input the brand and number of treble or bass keys. They always have numerous vintage Hohner 26/48s in stock. Here's a link to the 48-bass PA stock at present:

Piano-Accordion Onlineshop - Musikcenter Scharte

Piano-Accordion - Accordion Onlineshop: ✓ Expertise since 1977, ✓ TrustedShops certified, ✓ Safe Insured Shipping.

www.musik-center.de

Thanks, but I do have done - plenty of times.

 

[cat]

I kind of "double" on PA; (a club diatonic is the other). I play a lot of cumbia and baiao and don't need a larger PA, but I  do need lightweight. Currently I can get by with 60 bass and picked up a velty for under $300 on boxing day ... I'm usually looking for an Italian 72 bass, but ya, not for $300.

 

[tcabot]

Oh boy, plastic valves. That will never sound good, will it?
When you install real leather ones, an animal gives up its life for you to play a squeezebox, and it has been scientifically proven that part of that animal's soul goes to live inside your accordion and sings every time when you press a button. That's the secret of good quality accordion sound: valves are not just there to stop the air going in the wrong direction, no. You don't get that with plastic.

Old Hohners: If you want a Hohner, get a pre-war one dirt cheap from Germany and pay 1k EUR to a good accordion/melodeon repairman to hot rod it so that it plays like a 1k EUR box.

Weltmesiters: nothing wrong with them, considering they are budget instruments. I think you tend to get more than you pay for, especially if you buy used.

Italian-built boxes: They do come up occasionally, but almost never going down to low G, and very often are overpriced and in very run-down condition.

I've just ebayed myself a Bai-le. 30 trebles, 48 bass (8x6). It's got an "Excelsior" badge - it's one of them beginner drop-shipped boxes with "Built in China, quality controlled in Castelfidardo, Italy" stickers . I suspect that's a load of bollocks, but we'll see.
I've got some spare decent quality TAM reeds to put into this box, so as long as the treble & bass mechs are playable, I should be OK.

Why did I go for Bai-le? It's got 30 trebles that gives you low A and low G. I really don't see why almost all small-sized boxes go 2 octaves from B to C - who would want that!

Anyway, it's small enough for my kids to start squeezing, cheap enough for me not to cry when they drop & crack it, and it goes all the way to low G.

I'll let you know how it turns out. I'm not expecting much.

 

[tcabot]

Well, my Chinelsior has arrived. If it's a "fake" Excelsior, then a very big "well done" to mr Bai-li. If it's a genuine Excelsior, then shame on you, Cemex.
It's quite old. 90s maybe? The wax is not cracking quite yet but leather valves are gonners.
Compression 9.5/10 despite Chinese bellows and old age.
Right keyboard looks very cheap, but all metal mechs, no plastic linkages and reasonable spring tension.
Wooden treble fondo and all wooden reedblocks.
Decent-looking machine-stamped reeds. There's even occasional evidence of chiselling! I'm not sure I'll be swapping the trebles for TAMs - might just coin & re-valve existing ones. No reeds brutalised with dremels, etc - all tuning done with hand files.
Top-notch waxing quality.
Overall assembly OK.
Very rudimentary bass machine, but OK set up. All reeds (all 12 fundamentals) and rollers are present for a 72-bass. I am surprised they decided to cut it short to 48. Perhaps, to save money on set-up time.
6.5kg.
Timbre is probably OK. It's so wildly out of tune that it's hard to tell.

I don't think this will lose out to a modern bottom-of-the-range Weltmeister in any way.
Old Hohners? Dunno. I really don't like low-end Hohners (I love their old German-built high-end stuff though!). I reckon build quality on a Hohner Student might actually be worse. Mechs will probably be more hot-roddable, but hot-rodding costs money.
I don't think there's any scope for improving the Chinese mech stuff inside this one.

 

[Rosie C]

Why did I go for Bai-le? It's got 30 trebles that gives you low A and low G. I really don't see why almost all small-sized boxes go 2 octaves from B to C - who would want that!

My Weltmeister Perle did that - two octaves B-C. Annoying as they're ideal for folk, having G as the bottom note would be much more useful.

Anyway, congrats on your new accordion!

 

[tcabot]

Thanks - this one's for the kids to try squeezing. If I wanted something this size, I'd pick up a diatonic.

 

[OuijaBoard]

The Ballone Burini marque was two brothers who split. One of them is making a 27 key that goes from low "G" to A. Personally this would be unusable for me, as the folk genres I play all use the high "B" extensively, even if you can get by without "High C."



My favorite treble config is 30, up to "High C" on the top and down to "Fiddle G" on the bottom. But I use 26-keys whenever I can get away with it--"High C" on the top and "Middle B" at the lowest. Because I love the smaller size. Irish trad is fine on a 26--the small minority of tunes that go below "Middle B" don't usually linger down low. They'll hit the low A, say, and go right back up, so it's easy to arrange around that. Scottish has a minority, but a not-teensy minority, of tunes that spend some time down below "Middle B." All those "King George" tunes, or the "Miss Lyall" strathspey and reel, have a low, growly A part. If I know I'm going to be playing some of those tunes I'll use a 26 key LMM and switch on one of the registers that has both Low and Middle reeds in the mix--LM or LMM. And just keep my hand in the octave where I do have enough notes. Nobody in a sesh or an audience is gonna know the difference.

But klezmer and other Eastern European genres really need that low Bb, A, and G. French musette and tango also benefit from that access. For that kind of stuff I'd really rather have 30 treble. For castrato-octave passages that go above "High C" i could care less, don't need those notes making extra dimensions in my accordion, will just play them lower. It's not the classical repertoire, after all.

 

[tcabot]

castrato-octave passages

I've got to write this one down. I used to refer to them as "bat squeak", but "castrato-octave" describes it even better!

 

[JerryPH]

I've got to write this one down. I used to refer to them as "bat squeak", but "castrato-octave" describes it even better!

The history of that term is... young men that were uhhmm, how to say this... had their jewels removed (castrated) so as to maintain higher vocal pitches longer in their singing life... lol

Still want to call it castrato-octave?

 

[tcabot]

Yes, because that octave is about as useful as the removed jewels