Hohner Verdi II model?

[Wendy]

Hi,



I am planning to buy a Hohner Verdi II accordion (96 basses) and would like some advice on how to judge whether it is a good or bad one. If I understand correctly the best ones should be at least 25 years old, because then it will be most likely made in Germany and be of good quality.



Could anyone help me out whether one of these two accordions (the black or red one) in the pictures below is a model from the good years? They are both Verdi II but look different and I have no idea about the age of either one.















Thanks for your help!

 

[PhiliGol]

Hi Wendy
Welcome to the forum and greetings to Holland.
I'm not exactly a Hohner expert - the answer I dare to give is:
The black is the newer (presumably 90's) the red is the older one . maybe 80's.
I'm not sure whether there is a "golden era" for this student models.
I'm sure you'll soon will see answers from more knowledgable fellows than myself.

 

[debra]

For these accordion the simple rule is: more gold stripes in the grille means older. No more gold stripes means youngest and made in China.
The black one still has curved gold stripes in the center and straight ones near the registers. That should still be one made in Germany, but closer to the cut-off date where production was moved to China. If you could hear Verdi II accordions side by side you would notice that the ones from China sound thinner, especially the bass side. What you don't notice right away is that the steel is weak and after some use the springs (under the keys) start to break. That's why you definitely want to avoid Chinese Hohner accordions. Unfortunately a stamp that says "Made in Germany" has absolutely no meaning. Hohner put that stamp on all accordions including the ones that were made in the Czech Republic and whose made in Italy. I think there is no law against the use of false "made in" stamps.

 

[Scuromondo]

I would consider these a little bit of a step-up from a “student model.” I have heard accordions similar to the red one, and they sound very good actually. That one has a master shift bar as well, which is an unexpected feature on an accordion like this.

 

[dak]

I don't think "Verdi II" has ever been made anywhere other than in Germany, and I don't think you'll find any instrument close to 25 years young. Indeed, according to the model list, the last straight "Verdi II" were produced in 1958 (certainly Germany), and the "most recent" "Verdi II N" model in 1987 (definitely not yet China).

 

[Dingo40]

I think there is no law against the use of false "made in" stamps.

No law against it at all...providing the stamp itself was " made in Germany "!

 

[Wendy]

Many thanks for all the information!