Honer Tango II B

[george g]

Anyone know anything about a Honer Tango II B?
I am a fiddler with an arthritic bow arm who intends on taking up my fiddle repetoire on accordion.
I am lead to believe that 72 or 80 base and 34 trebble will be just fine for this task.
This Honer appears to be 80 base (16X5)
Does'nt appear to have any voice switches other than maybe two slider types below the treble keyboard.

Thanks for any comments!!!

George

 

[Adam-T]

If its the version I`m thinking of (very squared off and from the 30s), it`s very very old with a bass end that sounds a bit like a calliope, it was the model down from the Verdi and up from the Carmen - "B" on Hohners (certainly the later 50s ones) meant "Bandoneon" or octave tuning instead of the usual Hohner tremelo .. Unless it`s been done it`ll likely need a total overhaul, at least Wax, valves & tuning

Later Tangos, just before they dropped the name took on the Arietta/Carena styling

 

[Soulsaver]

I wouldnt necessarily disagree with Adam, but here is a IIB described as LMM & definately has a trem selection. Could have been modified I spose?

 

[george g]

Thanks for the replies so far!
The one that I'm looking at seems the same as the you tube clip that you have linked, but half the price.
I guess that it could be likely to need some work at that age. Would this model be worth putting some money into if I picked it up for $225?
No sound clip available but pics look real clean and in good cosmetic.
Also looking at a Verdi 11 that again looks clean but no sound clip.

Thanks!
George

 

[Adam-T]

That`s the later style, 3 voice with an odd lever system for the registers - 3 voice does both Bandoneon and "Musette" .. Hohner naming does get confusing, they must have used the "B" name for the 3 voicers like they kept the "M" for the 3 voice Ariettas - odd ..

 

[Anyanka]

George, do you have a chance to try before you buy? I dislike the Hohner Verdi sound intensely, but am quite partial to the older Tango (I have an ancient Tango which we bought for a tenner, but it probably won't get fixed anytime soon. Or ever.)

 

[george g]

Thankyou for sharing you thoughts on Verdi. Unfortunately, the accordions that I am considering are "on line" sales and I therefore have no opportunity to try them first. I do understand the possible problems with on line sale of this type of instrument but may not have many options now. I've got the bug!
I am relying on You Tube sound clips to determine what the different models may sound like. Perhaps you could elaborate on your favour of Tango 11 over Verdi?

Thanks!
George

 

[Soulsaver]

I only posted it up as an example that 'B' may not mean no trem. Note the YT post is a couple of years old so unlikely to be for sale now. But I believe Liberty Bellows will have checked it over, you get to hear it, they have a shop overhead, they offer a warrranty... and, I think, are reputable. That will reflect in their prices vs online stuff.
PS I'm in the UK.. so no vested interest

 

[Soulsaver]

I think the Verdi is a less typical German sound - has a slightly more mild French trem, which I like. Prob worth a thread by itself and I do have a couple in my collection - a Swiss made N which is even less typical..and a German II as per the link.
There are a few more on YT - and whilst they may not be on every bodys wish list, they are pretty unoffensive, surely.

 

[george g]

Thanks Soulsaver. (great user name!) I had checked out Nigel's many you tube clips. Very helpful. The Verdi 11's that I am looking at now are 34 keys with I think only one voice. They are on ebay now but I am sorry that I am not aware of how to paste hyperlinks to them.
There is an ivory one that looks really clean. I have also reviewed Liberty Bellows you tube clips. Again very helpful.

I think that the biggest thing that scares me about buying on line me would be tuning problems. Although I know very little about accordion repair techniques, I am trained and experienced as a robotics technichan and with the kinds of help available on line these days, I expect I could handle some repairs if required.

Thanks much for your help so far!
George

 

[Adam-T]

I`ll be brutally honest and say that unless you`re into refurbishing accordions, I`d stay away from Hohners this old unless you know they`ve been done (BTW the Verdi-II is more than one voice - the only 1 voice PA they made was the Mignon series) .. even the 50s era accordions such as the Ariettas, the Concertos made before the "N" model etc are likely to need something doing and in some cases, a full wax, valve and tune . I`ve got a Carena-IIIM Coming (light 120 bass 3 voice - looks like a stretched Arietta) and I`m expecting to have to do some valves and a mild tuning at the very least, buying an unrestored Hohner from this era, let alone earlier and expecting a perfect player is a lottery at best ...

If Hohner Hunting (and its worth it, they have a unique "life" to the sound) I`d suggest getting a 70s or later one such as a Concerto II/III N, S or T in this size and leave the older stuff to those prepared to fettle themselves unless really cheap and if you know a repairer.

Italian stuff seems to fare better - although they used shorter lived leather valves in most cases (they went over to vileda in the late 50s or 60s if I remember rightly), the wax tends to hold up better than old Hohners so finding a good playing italian from this era is easier than a Hohner .

 

[Anyanka]

Perhaps you could elaborate on your favour of Tango 11 over Verdi?

Thanks!
George

My Tango has a pleasing fairground sound in the bass - there must be a set of high reeds in there. The treble is quite musetty, i.e. nicely wet. It sounds old-fashioned, sweet and funny, in spite of being completely out of tune.

I cant explain my dislike of the Verdis; all the ones Ive heard and tried have something grating in their treble tuning. Same as the cheap Chinese boxes like the Parrot, Stella and Scarlatti - they just set my teeth on edge.

I wish I could explain it properly, or in technical terms, but I really make my decisions by ear & intuition...

 

[jarvo]

Perhaps you could elaborate on your favour of Tango 11 over Verdi?

Thanks!
George

My Tango has a pleasing fairground sound in the bass - there must be a set of high reeds in there. The treble is quite musetty, i.e. nicely wet. It sounds old-fashioned, sweet and funny, in spite of being completely out of tune.

I cant explain my dislike of the Verdis; all the ones Ive heard and tried have something grating in their treble tuning. Same as the cheap Chinese boxes like the Parrot, Stella and Scarlatti - they just set my teeth on edge.

I wish I could explain it properly, or in technical terms, but I really make my decisions by ear & intuition...

What other way is there....?

if it doesnt float your boat then thats all there is to it .....no harm no foul.....and if something sets your teeth on edge....ouch ....you dont want to be hunched over that for a couple of hours........Vive la difference.

 

[george g]

Thanks again Anyanka.
I'm sure that my ears are not yet able to discern the more subtle differences in reed sets but I do greatly appreciate your efforts to enlighten me.
As a result of the wise counsel of several of the other members, I have elected to forego the on line shopping in favor of store fronts or personals that would alow for tryout.
I will be posting my progress.
Thanks so far!
George

 

[Trev]

I have just got a Tango 11M and have to say it is well made with none of the heath robinson stuff on my lovely old Italian Scandalli.
[ Yes!, the leathers are waving about here and there and not sure best way to flatten,but still sounds great.I doesn't travel well with hard bass actuator grommets dropping off!]
T11M has 5 bass reeds sets and three switches which give good versatilty and fairground haze can be avoided.
The full on bass is one reason why I went for this model -but after reading here, I was a bit worried about flakey tuning on arrival.
There were a few croaks but I pinged one stuck reed and worked the rest gently seeing nothing wrong. On rebuilding it blew though fine and lost any discords.
The valves are better on these -with what I assume to be Vileda [above comment] used on those needing springing.
To me this model being 3/5 reeds with 34 trebles and a good size weight is a great allrounder. I got for £230+ post.
I'm still learning to play having done piano as a teen years ago- but now have the Symphony 4 41/120, Sorrento 34/72 [E German] and the Tango11M 34/96 all from 50's-ish.
My son will probably steal one soon -so I may need to look again...
My early exp. is that these old girls [if shopped for carefully ]provide a lot more character than newer offerings esp. for the money taken and if one is good at fettling them.