Value of Sonola AA# Special Gigante

[AccordionSon]

My 88-year-old mother in central Virginia has decided to give up her accordions due to health issues which make it difficult for her to play. She has asked me to help her sell the two that she has, beginning with a working, playable Sonola AA3 Special Gigante, white/ivory colored. How would I go about determining a price for this instrument that is fair to both buyer and seller? I'm also asking for recommendations for the best forum(s) for selling these instruments. Please note: this is not a for sale advertisement. The instrument is not for sale yet. Many thanks in advance.

 

[Dingo40]

She has asked me to help her sell the two that she has, beginning with a working, playable Sonola AA3 Special Gigante, white/ivory colored

Hi, AccordionSon,
This is a pretty rare instrument these days and most of us have never seen one.
What is the other accordion?
If you want answers, we would need some illustrative photos.
(The file sizes that the forum accepts are quite small, so you'll need to reduce them when posting)
For the curious, here's a current ad of a Sonola AA3 ( not a "Special Gigante" ) being advertised for sale.:

Another:

Vintage Sonola AA3 Full Size 41/120 Piano Accordion | Reverb Australia

Vintage Sonola AA3 Full Size 41/120 Piano Accordion Made in ItalyFull sizeBellows are in good conditionStraps are missingBellows locks are in okay condition120 bass buttons41 treble keysKeys are levelKeys move wellNotes all playFinish has some wear6 treble selects1 bass selectsNo electronics C...

reverb.com

 

[Caps]

Sonola made some good accordions but to be honest you will have to take it to someone who can open it up, look inside, and play it to see if it is in tune and determine if any repair is needed. There are a thousand things that determine the worth of an accordion. The type and condition of reeds, leathers, pads, wax, springs, bellows, felts, smell, size, number of shifts etc all have an impact. You indicated you are in central Virginia. Do you know any pro accordion players in the area. There are a couple dealers who could probably help you, Dale Wise in Burr Hill (Accordions Plus) comes to mind. There may be another one or two. Failing that you could take a number of photos of it, both inside and out and solicit calls and be willing to show it on a video call so they can hear it. Best of luck and perhaps others may make some helpful suggestions.

 

[AccordionSon]

As requested

Hi, AccordionSon,
This is a pretty rare instrument these days and most of us have never seen one.
What is the other accordion?
If you want answers, we would need some illustrative photos.
(The file sizes that the forum accepts are quite small, so you'll need to reduce them when posting)
For the curious, here's a current Sonola AA3 ( not a "Special Gigante" ) being advertised for sale.:

Another:

Vintage Sonola AA3 Full Size 41/120 Piano Accordion | Reverb Australia

Vintage Sonola AA3 Full Size 41/120 Piano Accordion Made in ItalyFull sizeBellows are in good conditionStraps are missingBellows locks are in okay condition120 bass buttons41 treble keysKeys are levelKeys move wellNotes all playFinish has some wear6 treble selects1 bass selectsNo electronics C...

reverb.com

As requested:

 

[Dingo40]

Thanks for the pictures ( a picture is worth it thousand words!)
Personally, all I can say is it looks to be a 41/120 three treble reed (LMH), five bass reed accordion which is probably from the late 1950s-early 1960s from their "pro" range. The reeds are possibly hand made.
The "Magi-Colour Tone" coupler gives you the "LH" coupling ( often called "Organ", elsewhere) which may have been intended for playing the kind of jazz played on accordion in the day.
Since it has the standard set of keys and buttons, I can't imagine why they'd call it the "Gigante".
It's been well used (showing signs of wear) , but not abused.
I'm sure someone here will know a lot more about it (including the likely type of reeds installed).
What is the other accordion you're planning to sell?
Here's a link to a 2018 thread on a similar instrument (with comments by our member JimD, very knowledgeable concerning Sonolas such as these )
See here:

Sonola Model AA3 - Bought on the Street - Value?

Hi everyone! First time poster here. We recently bought a Sonola AA3 of a street vendor in Baltimore for $40 because we liked the look of it and thought it was kind of cool. We didnt know what it was when we bought it, just though it would be fun to maybe fix it up and try it out. Wife and I...

www.accordionists.info

 

[Tom]

I can’t believe you don’t want to play this beautiful accordion. Erna would be so proud……. It’s not that hard. Just a couple tunes is all you need.

 

[AccordionSon]

Thanks for the pictures ( a picture is worth it thousand words!)
Personally, all I can say is it looks to be a 41/120 three treble reed (LMH), five bass reed accordion which is probably from the late 1950s-early 1960s from their "pro" range. The reeds are possibly hand made.
The "Magi-Colour Tone" coupler gives you the "LH" coupling ( often called "Organ", elsewhere) which may have been intended for playing the kind of jazz played on accordion in the day.
Since it has the standard set of keys and buttons, I can't imagine why they'd call it the "Gigante".
It's been well used (showing signs of wear) , but not abused.
I'm sure someone here will know a lot more about it (including the likely type of reeds installed).
What is the other accordion you're planning to sell?
Here's a link to a 2018 thread on a similar instrument (with comments by our member JimD, very knowledgeable concerning Sonolas such as these )
See here:

Sonola Model AA3 - Bought on the Street - Value?

Hi everyone! First time poster here. We recently bought a Sonola AA3 of a street vendor in Baltimore for $40 because we liked the look of it and thought it was kind of cool. We didnt know what it was when we bought it, just though it would be fun to maybe fix it up and try it out. Wife and I...

www.accordionists.info

Thanks! I saw the other thread, but since I am completely ignorant of anything to do with accordions it didn't mean much to me. As for the Gigante designation, I can only theorize. My mother called it a "man's accordion" saying it was too heavy for her to play for long. Maybe it's bigger than most? Maybe it has a bigger/louder volume/sound? Maybe the color scheme is special gigante? Picture of the the other accordion is below. From my admittedly old and aging memory, I believe this is the accordion bought for my mother when she was learning to play. When that was is up in the air as I have clear memories of her saying that the case used to bruise her ankles as she schlepped it to lessons in St. Louis decades ago. I clearly remember her saying she was twelve. When I asked her last week when she got it, she said she was 20. So, maybe not her first accordion? I'll try to clarify this with her. She describes it as a Bel Canto, two treble, no bass shift, 120 bass. From what little reading I've done, maybe this is what is known as a student accordion? I hesitated to post it because Mom has waffled on whether she wants to sell it. I don't know if it holds great sentimental value or if she holds out hope that she may play again.

I can’t believe you don’t want to play this beautiful accordion. Erna would be so proud……. It’s not that hard. Just a couple tunes is all you need.

LOL...I do not play and Mom says it was too heavy for her even before she got elderly and infirm. She has loved music all her life. Played piano by ear, played glockenspiel for a community orchestra, played viola as a grade school student, founded a handbell choir, sang in church choir for decades, and played the accordion at home. Now, her strength and hearing are going and it is very sad. She has had to give up all her music making activities because they are too hard for her.

 

[Dingo40]

Picture of the the other accordion is below

Thanks for posting the picture and sharing your story.
Yes, this is more of an entry level instrument, but still useful for busking, folk music etc.
In general, don't be in any hurry: sell in haste, repent at leisure!

 

[AccordionSon]

Thanks! I saw the other thread, but since I am completely ignorant of anything to do with accordions it didn't mean much to me. As for the Gigante designation, I can only theorize. My mother called it a "man's accordion" saying it was too heavy for her to play for long. Maybe it's bigger than most? Maybe it has a bigger/louder volume/sound? Maybe the color scheme is special gigante? Picture of the the other accordion is below. From my admittedly old and aging memory, I believe this is the accordion bought for my mother when she was learning to play. When that was is up in the air as I have clear memories of her saying that the case used to bruise her ankles as she schlepped it to lessons in St. Louis decades ago. I clearly remember her saying she was twelve. When I asked her last week when she got it, she said she was 20. So, maybe not her first accordion? I'll try to clarify this with her. She describes it as a Bel Canto, two treble, no bass shift, 120 bass. From what little reading I've done, maybe this is what is known as a student accordion? I hesitated to post it because Mom has waffled on whether she wants to sell it. I don't know if it holds great sentimental value or if she holds out hope that she may play again.

LOL...I do not play and Mom says it was too heavy for her even before she got elderly and infirm. She has loved music all her life. Played piano by ear, played glockenspiel for a community orchestra, played viola as a grade school student, founded a handbell choir, sang in church choir for decades, and played the accordion at home. Now, her strength and hearing are going and it is very sad. She has had to give up all her music making activities because they are too hard for her.

Per information from Tom, I've located Accordion Plus LLC run by Dale Wise. It turns out that he is located in the county where I grew up in Virginia and where my mother still resides. She is about 20 miles from his shop. I'll get in touch with him to see what services he offers in valuation, assessment of condition, etc. He might be interested in buying one of both. If not, he can perhaps identify other resources in the area who might be able to help with these things. So, yay, for the Accordionists Forum! Thanks, Tom!

 

[AccordionSon]

I can’t believe you don’t want to play this beautiful accordion. Erna would be so proud……. It’s not that hard. Just a couple tunes is all you need.

So, Erna you think is someone who owned the instrument? It's not something the manufacturer put on it?

 

[Dingo40]

So, Erna you think is someone who owned the instrument?

It says "Special Gigante".
So, it's quite possible it was made to a special order by the factory for a particular client called "Erna". Hence the name may probably have been put on the instrument at the factory: a common practice with professional players.
Assuming your mother's name isn't Erna, this is highly suggestive she bought it second hand: i.e. it was already some years ( even decades) old when she got it.
Age, with instruments such as these, is not necessarily a disadvantage since the older examples in this range were frequently of a much higher quality (even if they should currently need some maintenance).
For example, it may well have "hand-made reeds and better timbers: a big deal!
"I'll get in touch with him to see what services he offers in valuation, assessment of condition, etc. He might be interested in buying one of both. If not, he can perhaps identify other resources in the area who might be able to help with these things"
Now you're thinking!

 

[Dingo40]

OK, a bit more searching and it's looking like "Gigante" is the name of a specific model (41/120, 19 inch keyboard, LMH, 5/2 couplers including a LH "Magitone" combination, often with higher status treble reeds) in the Sonola lineup.
Also, they've been selling over the past few years (in decent playable condition) at around the $US1,000+/- dollar mark.

 

[Tom]

So, Erna you think is someone who owned the instrument? It's not something the manufacturer put on it?

Yes, as Dingo noted above.

 

[Caps]

Per information from Tom, I've located Accordion Plus LLC run by Dale Wise. It turns out that he is located in the county where I grew up in Virginia and where my mother still resides. She is about 20 miles from his shop. I'll get in touch with him to see what services he offers in valuation, assessment of condition, etc. He might be interested in buying one of both. If not, he can perhaps identify other resources in the area who might be able to help with these things. So, yay, for the Accordionists Forum! Thanks, Tom!

Your welcome!