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I want to buy an used accordion, but have no idea which one is better...

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zqd9853572002

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Which used accordion is best depends a lot on the (internal) condition of the instrument, and that is something you cannot tell from looking at websites. You have to visit a trustworthy seller (store, collector, repairer...) and try different instruments and then pick one. Even better is to take a knowledgeable person with you.
It happens all too often that someone buys a used accordion, not knowing much about accordions, and then takes it to a trustworthy repairer who can only tell them they have bought a junk accordion...
 
zqd
Welcome!🙂👍
Great to see a new budding accordionist joining the crowd. 😀
Well, buying an accordion is a bit like buying a car🙂
Like cars, there are many different makes, models and and condition.
Like cars, it's much better if you can give it a road test first.
Like cars, some have far more under the bonnet (hood) than others.
The assortment you have given us has some apples and some oranges, so we're not comparing like with like.
For example, you have some accordions with 120 basses and another with only 80; some with three sets of treble reeds, others with only two
Accordions of this vintage are most likely to need some servicing, some quite a lot: they aren't likely to provide " trouble free motoring " from the get go!🤔
It's probably cheaper in the long run to pick up a few tips before spending any money than burning your fingers by rushing in.
If you live in or near a large city, the best thing would be to find a trader/dealer willing to rent your an accordion by the week to take home and get to know as a base line.
Often, the kind of music you intend to play affects the kind of accordion you need to buy.
If you know any accordionists, quiz them about their instruments and ask if can hold them and try (with their guidance) a few keys, buttons, and knobs!😀
Often, dealers will include your rental in the purchase price if you decide to buy.
Good luck!🙂
 
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Welcome Z, all of these accordions seem to be available for a low price. I had a quick look at the listing for each of these and they all appear to be very old, perhaps the 1950's and 1960's. This would mean that you're looking to purchase something about 60 or 70 years old. When reading the advertisement for each instrument it appears that the sellers know nothing about accordions.

Based on the Kijiji listings I'm guessing that you're located somewhere in the GTA, so you might want to check out an accordion dealer. They will definitely have more expensive options but you might learn something because they would be able to show you some instruments and this would increase your knowledge. We don't know anything about you or your musical experience so some more background may be helpful.

You might get lucky purchasing any of these accordions, but your chances of getting one that will need extensive work to repair is very high.
 
The earlier posters are all correct. It’s always a gamble buying used accordions from private sellers like this. Besides getting lucky the only way to ensure you get a good one from this kind of marketplace is to know how accordions can degrade.

If they are left in damp conditions the reeds will rust which will cause them to go out of tune (remedying this will likely be more expensive than the instrument is worth).

If the leather valves dry out or sag because incorrect storage the reeds will sound incorrectly. Replacing these isn’t very difficult but if you pay a professional it’s time consuming and will add up.

Accordions use a lot of wax to hold the reeds and pallets the block air. If the accordion is stored in a hot attic all these parts fall apart. The wax also becomes brittle with age, which then needs to be replaced.

There are numerous components that keep the accordion sealed and these can fail. Trying to play an accordion that has poor compression is very frustrating as you have to change bellows direction very frequently.

On top of this there are mechanical assemblies that use one off parts. If they fail replacement parts might be difficult to source.

Much of the time an accordion will nominally “work” but it’s performance has degraded to hardly be a usable instrument. Most private sellers don’t have enough experience to be able to give an accurate assessment of the instruments condition.
 
debra said:
Which used accordion is best depends a lot on the (internal) condition of the instrument, and that is something you cannot tell from looking at websites. You have to visit a trustworthy seller (store, collector, repairer...) and try different instruments and then pick one. Even better is to take a knowledgeable person with you.
It happens all too often that someone buys a used accordion, not knowing much about accordions, and then takes it to a trustworthy repairer who can only tell them they have bought a junk accordion...
Click to expand...
Yes, you are correct, I'd better to bring a knowledgeable person with me when I go there, I will try and just would like to buy one and play it without fixing, just don't want to spend more money on that. I am not the professional and don't want to spend too much money on it, just want to buy one and play, lol, because I have a good one in my home, just not convenient to take it here. But anyway, thanks for your suggestion.
 
Dingo40 said:
zqd
Welcome!🙂👍
Great to see a new budding accordionist joining the crowd. 😀
Well, buying an accordion is a bit like buying a car🙂
Like cars, there are many different makes, models and and condition.
Like cars, it's much better if you can give it a road test first.
Like cars, some have far more under the bonnet (hood) than others.
The assortment you have given us has some apples and some oranges, so we're not comparing like with like.
For example, you have some accordions with 120 basses and another with only 80; some with three sets of treble reeds, others with only two
Accordions of this vintage are most likely to need some servicing, some quite a lot: they aren't likely to provide " trouble free motoring " from the get go!🤔
It's probably cheaper in the long run to pick up a few tips before spending any money than burning your fingers by rushing in.
If you live in or near a large city, the best thing would be to find a trader/dealer willing to rent your an accordion by the week to take home and get to know as a base line.
Often, the kind of music you intend to play affects the kind of accordion you need to buy.
If you know any accordionists, quiz them about their instruments and ask if can hold them and try (with their guidance) a few keys, buttons, and knobs!😀
Often, dealers will include your rental in the purchase price if you decide to buy.
Good luck!🙂
Click to expand...
Thank you for the greeting, I am new here, and seems spend many years to find a place for accordionist to gather online, lol.

Yes, I found it does look like to buy a used car/ house, so many things to consider when buying...And yes, most of them need repair due to the age, but I heard that the old accordion has better sound the new ones, so I still want to try. I will go there to try them. I know there is a accordion store in my city, I think I'd better to go there to check with them first and know the price range and learn something from them, but afraid their price would much higher than my listing here. For the rental, that's really a good idea, I will also check with them if they could do it.
 
zqd9853572002 said:
Thank you for the greeting, I am new here, and seems spend many years to find a place for accordionist to gather online, lol.

Yes, I found it does look like to buy a used car/ house, so many things to consider when buying...And yes, most of them need repair due to the age, but I heard that the old accordion has better sound the new ones, so I still want to try. I will go there to try them. I know there is a accordion store in my city, I think I'd better to go there to check with them first and know the price range and learn something from them, but afraid their price would much higher than my listing here. For the rental, that's really a good idea, I will also check with them if they could do it.
Click to expand...
You may have heard that "the old accordion has better sound the new ones" but that's not even half of the story. Most old accordions sound pretty bad and are of insufficient quality to still be worth restoring to a playable state, in which they still sound bad. There are a few legendary old accordions that sound better than anything new you can still buy: for instance a Hohner Gola or Scandalli Super VI from the 1960's. For over 99% of the accordions new ones are definitely better than old ones.
To use the parallel with cars: an old Rolls Royce Silver Ghost might just be "better to drive" than new cars, but that doesn't mean that all old cars are better to drive than new cars...
 
Well, I wouldn't be as pessimist about the old accordions as Paul here seems to be
( knowledgeable and highly regarded among us though he certainly is!🙂)
As the old saying has it: "many a good tune is played on an old fiddle!"
Tha same can be said of an old accordion!🤣
I guess a lot depends on your personal tastes, level of skill, and the music you intend to play 🙂
 
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Dingo40 said:
Well, I wouldn't be as pessimist about the old accordions as Paul here seems to be
( knowledgeable and highly regarded among us though he certainly is!🙂)
As the old saying has it: "many a good tune is played on an old fiddle!"
Tha same can be said of an old accordion!🤣
I guess a lot depends on your personal tastes, level of skill, and the music you intend to play 🙂
Click to expand...
It depends a lot on 1) how old, on 2) how good the instrument was to begin with and 3) how well it was maintained.
(If you consider a Stradivarius an "old fiddle" then certain yes, many a good tune is played on such old fiddle...)
Richard Galliano has been playing on an old Victoria that was very good to begin with and that was/is well maintained and supported by the factory. I know people with accordions of similar age, also good to begin with, but either never maintained at all or at least very rarely and not always by people who knew what they were doing... and they can still play a good tune, but it just doesn't sound good.
 
If you are in the GTA, it is no big stretch to get down to Burlington and visit Anderton's Accordions and have a look at what he has. Have a talk with the guy, let him know what you need, your realistic expectations and budget are. If he doesn't have something that fits your needs he can usually find it. At the very least, go there for a look and if you want to have a chuckle, tell him Jerry from Montreal says "hi". :)
 
JerryPH said:
If you are in the GTA, it is no big stretch to get down to Burlington and visit Anderton's Accordions and have a look at what he has. Have a talk with the guy, let him know what you need, your realistic expectations and budget are. If he doesn't have something that fits your needs he can usually find it. At the very least, go there for a look and if you want to have a chuckle, tell him Jerry from Montreal says "hi". :)
Click to expand...
Yes, exactly he's a really good source. Also you don't want to invest $400 into a broken instrument when you can buy something much better for a similar price. You may have difficulty finding "Anderton's" accordions because it's Anderson's.
 
I'm slightly mechanically inclined so I didn't have any problem purchasing "whatever" accordions. I've decided I'd better focus on one brand, and I picked Scandelli as my dad's accordion is an old Scandelli. I also purchased an old Yamaha from Japan (it was cheap, free shipping) and some 12 bass Melodiana's which were cheap when they were new and really cheap when someone tears them apart and sends you a box of parts.

The one Scandelli I fixed sounds absolutely fantastic. (I've got 3 more.) Other than being dropped which really did a number on the bass register, it's really in tune. The fix for the bass register turned out to be super easy. All told for that one it cost about $150 for the accordion and $100 for shipping. I lucked out in that no one tried to fix the thing and royally screw it up or lose parts from it.
 
Valski said:
Welcome Z, all of these accordions seem to be available for a low price. I had a quick look at the listing for each of these and they all appear to be very old, perhaps the 1950's and 1960's. This would mean that you're looking to purchase something about 60 or 70 years old. When reading the advertisement for each instrument it appears that the sellers know nothing about accordions.

Based on the Kijiji listings I'm guessing that you're located somewhere in the GTA, so you might want to check out an accordion dealer. They will definitely have more expensive options but you might learn something because they would be able to show you some instruments and this would increase your knowledge. We don't know anything about you or your musical experience so some more background may be helpful.

You might get lucky purchasing any of these accordions, but your chances of getting one that will need extensive work to repair is very high.
Click to expand...
Yes, they are cheap, but I don't have lots of money now and can only afford that price range.... Yes, seems they are all old accordions. And yes, I am now in GTA, and I will check if there is a accordion-specialized store and learn some from them. I will try to buy one that doesn't need repair or just a little repair...
 
Ben-jammin said:
The earlier posters are all correct. It’s always a gamble buying used accordions from private sellers like this. Besides getting lucky the only way to ensure you get a good one from this kind of marketplace is to know how accordions can degrade.

If they are left in damp conditions the reeds will rust which will cause them to go out of tune (remedying this will likely be more expensive than the instrument is worth).

If the leather valves dry out or sag because incorrect storage the reeds will sound incorrectly. Replacing these isn’t very difficult but if you pay a professional it’s time consuming and will add up.

Accordions use a lot of wax to hold the reeds and pallets the block air. If the accordion is stored in a hot attic all these parts fall apart. The wax also becomes brittle with age, which then needs to be replaced.

There are numerous components that keep the accordion sealed and these can fail. Trying to play an accordion that has poor compression is very frustrating as you have to change bellows direction very frequently.

On top of this there are mechanical assemblies that use one off parts. If they fail replacement parts might be difficult to source.

Much of the time an accordion will nominally “work” but it’s performance has degraded to hardly be a usable instrument. Most private sellers don’t have enough experience to be able to give an accurate assessment of the instruments condition.
Click to expand...
Yes, I totally agree about you said, the condition of storage will definitely affect the sound and inside parts, the accordion is a mechanic stuff in my opinion. Yes, I played a leaking accordion in the past, it did change my way to play, all bellow direction on my music sheet need to be adjusted to "fit" it. I will go there to check and play on my hand to try. But I have to say, buying an used accordion is much more complicated than what I thought...
 
JerryPH said:
If you are in the GTA, it is no big stretch to get down to Burlington and visit Anderton's Accordions and have a look at what he has. Have a talk with the guy, let him know what you need, your realistic expectations and budget are. If he doesn't have something that fits your needs he can usually find it. At the very least, go there for a look and if you want to have a chuckle, tell him Jerry from Montreal says "hi". :)
Click to expand...
Hahaha, will do it if I go west, but may find a chance to go there, lolol. Very good to know the store there, but seems they don't have website, just a phone number and address...
 
Valski said:
Me too, auto complete can be difficult to use. You know that it's Anderson's, and so do I, just wanted to be sure that our new friend wasn't accidentally misdirected.
Click to expand...
no problem, I used google and it helps me to find it at 31 Upper Middle Rd #4165, Burlington, ON L7M 0V4, Canada, lolol
 
swingbozo said:
I'm slightly mechanically inclined so I didn't have any problem purchasing "whatever" accordions. I've decided I'd better focus on one brand, and I picked Scandelli as my dad's accordion is an old Scandelli. I also purchased an old Yamaha from Japan (it was cheap, free shipping) and some 12 bass Melodiana's which were cheap when they were new and really cheap when someone tears them apart and sends you a box of parts.

The one Scandelli I fixed sounds absolutely fantastic. (I've got 3 more.) Other than being dropped which really did a number on the bass register, it's really in tune. The fix for the bass register turned out to be super easy. All told for that one it cost about $150 for the accordion and $100 for shipping. I lucked out in that no one tried to fix the thing and royally screw it up or lose parts from it.
Click to expand...
That's really cool if you know how to repair them, I'd like to do it but I am not that person, hahaha. $150+$100 is a good deal definitely if you know how to repair, lol
 
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