How to make an accordion play ready after 17 years of no use ( for a complete accordion beginner)

[lolbolpower]

Hi,all

I am completely new to this forum and to playing accordion. I have some experience on concertina's, but those are not very similar to accordions.

I recently got an accordion from my aunt. It has been sitting unplayed in a room for 17 years. Apart from the leather holding straps the accordions seems to be in good condition. Although 2 buttons are sticking. The accordion is a hohner as it says that on the accordion. I also added some pictures for extra clarity.

So my question is what should I check and do to an accordion for it to be good to play for another couple years? And how would I unstick the 2 notes.

Oh and what would be some sites and or literature i could read to get some good general knowledge about the accordion?

I hope you guys can give me some usefull tips!

Best Regards,

lolbolpower

 

[Dingo40]

I recently got an accordion from my aunt. It has been sitting unplayed in a room for 17 years.

Hi lolbolpower and welcome!
Does your accordion/case smell musty or is it odourless?
Do the sticking buttons stay down or are just harder to actuate?
Do you have an accordion repairer available in your locality?
Short answer is, have it checked over by a repairer for a report on what may be needed. If lucky, it may not be much .
Good luck with it!

 

[JerryPH]

Welcome.
Well, start with the obvious:
- does it have any smells? If so, is it mold, just musty or something else?
- is the case clean and dust free? Any smells?
- test every note on the left and right sides, do they play well in both directions?
- is the movement of the right hand keys even and well padded?
- is every register smooth and easy to press, is the action functional?
- inside, do the valves of the right and left side reeds all sit flat or are they curled up?
- what is the condition of the bellows? Any leaks? The metal corners, rust-free and tight?
- any air leaks between the bellows and the accordion?
- any audible differences in tune when pulling or pushing a note?
- strap attachment points solid and properly tightened on top and bottom?

That alone should take you a solid afternoon of testing/looking.

 

[PhiliGol]

Hi lolbolpower

Welcome to the forum and greetings to Holland.
The Concerto is a workhorse - it was my beginner box, a good 50years ago.
Jerry gave you a comprehensive list of items to check.
I'd start with a careful cleaning - a brush and a vacuum-cleaner will be useful.
For the 2 bass-knobs: eventually nothing big - maybe just some sticky liquid.
You may take off the lid under the bass strap - and check the respective knobs.
A Q-tip and a drop of water my solve the problem.

 

[debra]

I happen to be in the process of doing the same, but with an accordion that likely will require more work than the Hohner shown in the pictures.
Step one was already mentioned by JerryPH. I'm still in the process of getting the smell out of the accordion and I expect this will take at least another 6 months. This is always the worst part of trying to revive an accordion after many years of being "abandoned" (left in its case, often somewhere in a non-ventilated part of the house of old people who essentially never ventilate their house anyway...).
I aired out the accordion for about 2 months. Now the accordion is in the case with bags of baking soda (to absorb the smell) while I'm waiting for winter to pass to do more airing out...
If the smell becomes bearable... I will start on the reeds and valves. The old reeds are not worth salvaging in my case (some are 100 cents off, meaning they play a half-note too high or too low) and they are of poor quality. I have a set of very good reeds from another old accordion waiting to put them in place, but I will not start any of that work until I know the accordion can become usable (not too smelly) in the end...

 

[JerryPH]

I'm still in the process of getting the smell out of the accordion and I expect this will take at least another 6 months. This is always the worst part of trying to revive an accordion after many years of being "abandoned" (left in its case, often somewhere in a non-ventilated part of the house of old people who essentially never ventilate their house anyway...).

My case is 80% better after a single spraying out (and left open) with Lysol, but it's not 100%, which I am continuing to play with. But thats a topic started in another thread.

Getting rid of the smell in an accordion has to be a horrible job... big respect Paul, that has to be a meticulous process for every piece in it. I am so happy I do not need to do that!

 

[John Doe]

the house of old people who essentially never ventilate their house anyway...

Wow- just wow.
Geezerbashing!
Listen here you upstart sprout, I open my window for at least ten minutes every April need it or not...

 

[Tom]

Wow- just wow.
Geezerbashing!
Listen here you upstart sprout, I open my window for at least ten minutes every April need it or not...

Isn’t that what the bellows are for?

 

[debra]

Wow- just wow.
Geezerbashing!
Listen here you upstart sprout, I open my window for at least ten minutes every April need it or not...

I know you're kidding, but...
It's experience talking here. In the past old smelly accordions typically came from heavy smokers.
Nowadays smelly accordions come from people who store the accordion in an attic or shed for 20 years and then either they or their heirs rediscover the instrument and try to sell it or give it away. Sometimes it is from people who kept the accordion in their living room, in its case, for 20 years and that's bad enough, but if the room isn't ventilated it gets worse.
I still have a few old inherited accordions here that I'm keeping in their case for now because I cannot open the case without almost fainting...

 

[RowanSumner]

Hi,all

I am completely new to this forum and to playing accordion. I have some experience on concertina's, but those are not very similar to accordions.

I recently got an accordion from my aunt. It has been sitting unplayed in a room for 17 years. Apart from the leather holding straps the accordions seems to be in good condition. Although 2 buttons are sticking. The accordion is a hohner as it says that on the accordion. I also added some pictures for extra clarity.

So my question is what should I check and do to an accordion for it to be good to play for another couple years? And how would I unstick the 2 notes.

Oh and what would be some sites and or literature i could read to get some good general knowledge about the accordion?

I hope you guys can give me some usefull tips!

Best Regards,

lolbolpower

Your bass strap is very loose. I have a hohner of similar era and you should be able to tighten that at the bottom end rather than replace it. It's fastened to the body of the accordion with two screws, you can just punch out two more holes further up the strap to tighten it. Hope that helps!

 

[JerryPH]

Your bass strap is very loose. I have a hohner of similar era and you should be able to tighten that at the bottom end rather than replace it. It's fastened to the body of the accordion with two screws, you can just punch out two more holes further up the strap to tighten it. Hope that helps!

He has the rotating strap adjustor mechanism there in place:

... and it looks to be loose, the metal edge is showing, telling me its near the loose end of the adjustment range... just tighten it up to resolve the loose strap.

 

[RowanSumner]

He has the rotating strap adjustor mechanism there in place:

... and it looks to be loose, the metal edge is showing, telling me its near the loose end of the adjustment range... just tighten it up to resolve the loose strap.

Oh yeah, I assumed it was fully tightened but still loose like mine was