Irregular tremolo in brand new accordion plus other issues

[tcabot]

I can't quite figure out what reeds are in it (they sure sound great though), so have no clue what year. Must be some version of A-E or Artiste apart from the bass chords, that are lowly T-scale.

Weight? What weight? The thing is tiny. Anything smaller and I'd need a magnifying glass to play it.
I think my wife is ready to leave me from non-stop C-G-C-G oom-pah all day today . I haven't quite mastered the F yet.

 

[Ikesaccordions]

One gets the impression that German made Hohners have some kind of a cult following, are special in some way, because of German know how and German production excellence: invocations of the elves of the Black Forrest and all that jazz.
To an extent, I too was swayed in this mythology.
However, since having being exposed to this forum, I've come to the conviction that (with the exception of some few top of the line models, some not even made by Hohner, or even in Germany), in reality, the brand is pretty ordinary and I would now need considerable convincing to actually buy even an older Hohner ( let alone a current one).

Okay, well Hohner was during a period of time maybe up until 1950 a great brand. When the company was bought by Taiwanese, people from Germany were sent to China to teach the Chinese technicians. About that time there was still a Hohner USA division near Richmond VA. Someone there made the claim that the reeds were European quality. Actually that was not a far-fetched claim at the time, but they were not as good as the German reeds, and somewhat less so at this moment. The Chinese technicians are using pretty good steel and reedplates, by no means the best, but the technicians are working too fast, and these slightly inferior reeds waste too much air, and break too often with forced playing, which has a deleterious effect on the tuning.
This Chinese Hohner might be okay to learn and practice with for most people, but don't get in an ensemble or noisy environment where you have to put stress on it, and expect it to last long. Not to mention that the mechanical parts or bellows wouldn't be robust enough to take hard use.
Hohner did make an effort to produce a better product than other Chinese makers. Actually I mentioned it after all.

 

[tcabot]

I think the cult is more about German vs Italian build, rather than German vs Chinese (duh).

I have officially received my Hohner Cult membership card now - the old school Morino club is incredible. Excellent design features, excellent looks, excellent quality and excellent tone. I only wish that instead of high quality plastic it had mother of pearl buttons. If Morino CBAs are along the same lines, I'd certainly prefer an old German one over a later Excelsior.

 

[Plinky]

Hi robbellow when I bought my new Bravo from a reputable accordion shop.
Remembering I,m for a Melodeon background

I had played a friend Bravo he's had his for several years he gigs with it ,had no problems at all

Mine was £1000 with case and warranty,so over two years that's £9.60 per week
That is the cost of two pints of beer,and the cost of hiring an accordion is crazy

And I wasn't really sure I would take to it,I do play the piano and one row.
but it's not exactly the two rolled into one.

I figured I would learn on it,I have subsequently bought two vintage Hohners. They are 1950s so I don't really want to be thumping away on them.

My friend's opinion is that they are well built ,and robust as they were built for the heavy handedness of students.
But he found the reeds slow to speak .His is a considerably better box to play after a set up ,but as mine is under warranty I'll just leave it alone.

I concur wholeheartedly that a quality 20/30 year old instrument in excellent condition is the best option.

I don't know where everybody lives,but in the UK we are a wash with “it's been stored in granny's loft for 30 years so it's as good as new”
A chap told me it's definitely in tune mate,possibly one note was.

I have two very nice vintage boxes but they took some finding,thank god I did before I died from mould poisoning.I also had the help of an experienced player.

I think most people that take up the accordion,have little or no idea what to look for and generally logic tells one better to buy new ,as old ones might need expensive work on them.

A lot of music shops in the UK either don't sell accordions ,or dont have a dedicated accordion technician.
So I think I think it's quite difficult for anyone wanting to take up the accordion on a budget.

 

[Rosie C]

I think most people that take up the accordion,have little or no idea what to look for and generally logic tells one better to buy new ,as old ones might need expensive work on them.

A lot of music shops in the UK either don't sell accordions ,or dont have a dedicated accordion technician.
So I think I think it's quite difficult for anyone wanting to take up the accordion on a budget.

I almost bought a Bravo from Thomann - buying new with a warranty seemed a good idea. But I ended up with a early 1980s Hohner. It's a bit of a beast, but a lovely sound. There's no one near me selling or repairing accordions - there's Jolly Roger in Hampshire, Birmingham Accordion centre, Fair Deal Accordions and the Accordion shop near Ascot. All are about 2 hours drive - which is worth it when buying a new instrument, but not ideal if I need a small repair or want to try several instruments before buying.

 

[Plinky]

I almost bought a Bravo from Thomann - buying new with a warranty seemed a good idea. But I ended up with a early 1980s Hohner. It's a bit of a beast, but a lovely sound. There's no one near me selling or repairing accordions - there's Jolly Roger in Hampshire, Birmingham Accordion centre, Fair Deal Accordions and the Accordion shop near Ascot. All are about 2 hours drive - which is worth it when buying a new instrument, but not ideal if I need a small repair or want to try several instruments before buying.

Hi Rosie it's very difficult your also in the UK and eBay Facebook etc is littered with virtually unplayable and virtually unfixable instruments.

My Bravo has a warranty and works out under £10 a week over 2 years.
But the quality of setup from the factory ,really does seems to be hit and miss.

I'm not sure one can 100% blame Hohner, if the couriers in your area are anything like as awful as mine,and think throwing a microwave over a 6 ft fence into the garden,is worthy of a five star delivery “madness”
It wouldn't have been so bad if we hadn't been away for the weekend and it was raining continuously.
To be fair the company did,collect and send a replacement.

hopefully you've got a great old box that will give you years of pleasure,and don't be concerned if every time you play it,if you have a cat the cat runs from the room ,cats don't appreciate accordion music

 

[Rosie C]

But the quality of setup from the factory ,really does seems to be hit and miss.

I've had that with other new instruments - over the last five years I've bought double bass, viola and mandocello from a certain large mail-order company and when they've each been to a local technician for a proper set-up they've come back a different instrument.

hopefully you've got a great old box that will give you years of pleasure,and don't be concerned if every time you play it,if you have a cat the cat runs from the room ,cats don't appreciate accordion music

I have two rescue dogs, just arrived. They will hopefully join us at outdoor Morris dance events so they're being slowly introduced to accordion. So far they don't seem to mind it!

 

[Ffingers]

"...if you have a cat the cat runs from the room ,cats don't appreciate accordion music:"

Not all cats, my two join me in my music room whenever I start making noises on my accordion/s and I am just a beginner on the long path to proficiency which I may never even approach before I expire.

As to your other mention of the difficulty for beginning musicians to find a decent accordion, I spent many long hours searching the 'webs' for likely prospects, eliminating so very many potential sellers.
I live in a rural village, some 350 Km from the nearest large, but remote, city where there are few accordion players and fewer, barely competent, technicians; I really, really wanted a B griff CBA and ended up with a delightful, but damnned heavy instrument sourced from 3,500 Km away on the other side of the country and later a fine and lighter weight one from Ukraine, via Germany.
Getting to know the merits of the seller was critical, for which I must thank the amount of time that I had available to me in order to comprehensibly trawl the internet.
...and don't mention "rabbit holes" - it is a veritable expanse of "rabbit warrens" out there.

 

[dak]

"...if you have a cat the cat runs from the room ,cats don't appreciate accordion music:"

Not all cats, my two join me in my music room whenever I start making noises on my accordion/s and I am just a beginner on the long path to proficiency which I may never even approach before I expire.

It's one out of three with me (one will not be affected, and one will decide that she needs to get outside fast), and I am not entirely sure whether the one positioning itself in my sight and staring at me is not doing so in order to make me nervous enough to stop.

 

[Dingo40]

A cat we once had would often "howl " in sympathy, outside the window, when I began playing the accordion .
If allowed inside, he would come right up and look at me in a concerned way still "howling".
I imagine he may have thought I was in pain

 

[dak]

A cat we once had would often "howl " in sympathy, outside the window, when I began playing the accordion .
If allowed inside, he would come right up and look at me in a concerned way still "howling".
I imagine he may have thought I was in pain

Maybe it was supposed to mean "I foresee someone being in a lot of pain". You know, in the "you seem to be quite attached to your arm. Wouldn't it be a real shame if something bad happened to it?" sense.