Which accordion might be better to buy?

[Julia]

Hi there - complete newbie here. A person at the local used instrument store suggested I check this forum (the local accordion club recommended the store, so it’s overall reputable). I am looking for a used piano accordion for my husband’s birthday at the end of the year. He played when he was a kid and has talked about wanting to pick it back up. At the store they have 2 in full working order with a 30 day guarantee, both for $500. They have a third, but it’s being sold “as is.” I will go look next week with a friend who plays a different instrument, who will hopefully bring along another friend who plays an instrument related to the accordion. The two accordions are a Giulietti 3993 (made in Italy???) and a Petosa Americana Roma made in Seattle. The salesperson said both look to be from around the 1970s but doesn’t have much more info. He suggested I ask for help here. Any suggestions as to what I should look for and if either of these are well-known and good manufacturers? I’m looking for a reliable, solid instrument that my husband will have fun relearning to play. Also, the nearest accordion repair specialist is in another state, around an 8 hour+ drive, if that’s pertinent. Thanks in advance for any help and suggestions!!!!!

 

[Tom]

Since they are both the same price, I would recommend really checking the overall condition. This would be that all the keys work, it's in tune, no smell, no bellows corners ripped, good compression, good leathers, if you can open it to look.

If one is significantly better condition wise, that's the one to get. If they are in similar condition, get the one that seems like it's calling to you. Imho, with these two brands, condition is key.

 

[Julia]

with these two brands, condition is key.

Thank you! Are there general concerns about these brands? I still have a few months - are there other brands I should be looking for? $500 is a chunk of change right now, but would there be a different accordion that I should look for that would be better at that price?

 

[JeffJetton]

What a thoughtful idea for a present for your husband! But in my opinion, you should spoil the surprise and just let your husband pick the accordion out.

After all, he's the one with accordion experience and knowledge,. He's the best person you know to evaluate which accordion is in best shape. Plus he might have very strong preferences about the sort of accordion he'd like to play (I know I do!). Accordions aren't like pianos, where there's more or less a standard set of basic features that they all have. They're more like cars, with all sorts of different possible bells and whistles. Don't buy him a automatic transmission station wagon when he'd prefer a stick shift convertible, or visa-versa.

To put it another way, imagine your husband wanted to surprise you with some new, very expensive, bras. He found a few types at the bra shop, consulted with the bra salesperson, and posted questions on the brawearers.info forum. At the end of the day, wouldn't you rather he just let you be involved in the decision? Such is the accordion.

 

[petch]

A 30 day guarantee seems a little low to me

 

[mtj]

"and if either of these are well-known and good manufacturers"

I didn't see an answer to this question, yes they are Giulietti and Petosa are well known and excellent brands. I don't know those individual model numbers but if the Giulietti is from the 70's it would be a Zero Sette built which would be very good (a few decades earlier would not be as good). A picture would be helpful.

$500 however is not a lot of money for an accordion especially expensive brands like these. Yes you would definitely need to have a friend who plays evaluate the instruments or as JeffJetton suggested let your husband pick it. The other thing you might consider is what kind of music your husband plans to play because you would get a different kind (different tuning) accordion to play polkas than say jazz.

 

[LibraryJoe]

Both brands are quality names--- though earlier respondents mention the importance of the "insides." Very true! Yes, the 30 day guarantee is a bit low. Mr Jetton is also absolutely right.... Among (the many) reasons accordions have lost their popularity is price. One can purchase a pretty decent new guitar for $500; but a used accordion at $500 is really a coin toss. If you feel you must surprise your husband, perhaps bring a musician friend who can at least press the keys on both sides of the accordion-- assess their accuracy, and assess their response. Respondent Tom is a regular here, whose advice is always spot on.

 

[Ventura]

in the desert, albequerque and new mexico environs in general, it is
very common to find old accordions that look like new,
but that are terribly dried out inside. There are hundreds of little leather flaps
which react under control of the opening and closing of the key (valve) and must
resist or allow (depending on direction of airflow) air to the individual reed(s)
at any given moment.. these must be flexible and return to their correct position each time.

the gaskets are also subject to drying out, and the leathers which "pad" the individual
notes to seal the holes between keypresses can become dry and hard as well

it is best to look inside (carefully removing some pins and allowing
the bellows to separate from one or the other end)
dried inside flaps would be obvious

if looking inside is not possible, you can feel for how "airtight" it is,
and as notes are played, are there slapping and popping underlying noises,
or is the sound clean and pure

finally, it is a huge difference in usefulness and versatility if there are 2 or 3 or 4
"reedblocks" in the instrument, which is to say in practical terms as if you held
3 or 4 harmonicas in your hands, each a different octave, each sounding rather normal
when played alone, but if combined in variations of these octaves together,
more interesting tones are achieved, or even two the same octave, blending
for a more european sound

look for dots on the switches above the keyboard that give a clue,
and your musician friend should use his ear as well

i believe Grandma's Music closed a few years ago, hopefully
this music store you have now has picked up the slack.. good luck !
and tell your husband he is expected by next year to bring
his accordion and newly renewed skills to the Balloon Festival
and play everyone a few songs

ciao

Ventura

ps: if anyone here gets a chance to visit,
the finest Chile Colorado in the West can be found in the kitchens of Alberquerque

 

[JIM D.]

Both of these accordions should most likely have been made by Zero Sette of Italy. Base a decision on condition.

 

[mtj]

Both of these accordions should most likely have been made by Zero Sette of Italy. Base a decision on condition.

She said it was made in Seattle? I'm curious what the transition timeline was for moving manufacture to Italy. Petosa history said it started with student models in 1945 (re https://petosa.com/pages/petosa-history-since-1922). This model appears to have a 17" keyboard and two treble side reeds which seems more characteristic of a student model so maybe makes more sense that it was built by Zero Sette.

 

[Dingo40]

Julia,
First, congratulations for being a great wife!
Second, as has been said, both instruments are by reputable makers.
Third, as also has been already said, the simplest solution may be to let him make the choice himself, especially (as suggested by mtj, above) there may be a difference in keyboard dimensions.
(Whenever gifting my wife with perfume, I always have her make the ultimate choice)

 

[Julia]

Julia,
First, congratulations for being a great wife!
Second, as has been said, both instruments are by reputable makers.
Third, as also has been already said, the simplest solution may be to let him make the choice himself.
(Whenever gifting my wife with perfume, I always have her make the ultimate choice)

Such awesome information here on this forum - I am overwhelmed with gratitude!!!!! I totally hear the great suggestions to let him pick it out. My dilemma is I have a fabulous husband who is really busy and never ever wants to do special things for himself. He’s been talking about this for 30 years so I know he wants to do it, but unless I get the whole thing together, he’ll wait another 30 And unlike me, he’s not super particular about things and loves all styles of music. I’m the luckiest person to have a generous, loving, and accommodating spouse, even if he always puts everyone and everything ahead of himself. So, unfortunately, I’m stuck buying it for him, since he seems to have the idea he can just take lessons and borrow the teacher’s instrument somehow (he hasn’t thought this through enough to realize he’ll need his own to practice). But I figure if I can get him started and he loves it as I suspect he will, I can save up and buy him exactly what he wants in a few years. That seems to have worked out well for most things in our life so far. Hopefully this will work out well too

 

[Tor]

An older playable condition, good maker instrument for $500 isn't too bad, especially if it's a 4/5 reed. If it's what gets him started, a few years out of it doesn't cost that much in the scheme of things, and it may well still be repairable for within the final value. Things to look for include if the reeds sound reasonably together at lower volumes (tricky voicing to get right, though) and if each reed of each block sounds properly - remember you have to both push and pull to get both reeds.

If he really gets back into it he'll probably end up with multiple instruments anyway, so a less than ideal starter instrument is very unlikely to go to waste.

 

[Tom]

Such awesome information here on this forum - I am overwhelmed with gratitude!!!!! I totally hear the great suggestions to let him pick it out. My dilemma is I have a fabulous husband who is really busy and never ever wants to do special things for himself. He’s been talking about this for 30 years so I know he wants to do it, but unless I get the whole thing together, he’ll wait another 30 And unlike me, he’s not super particular about things and loves all styles of music. I’m the luckiest person to have a generous, loving, and accommodating spouse, even if he always puts everyone and everything ahead of himself. So, unfortunately, I’m stuck buying it for him, since he seems to have the idea he can just take lessons and borrow the teacher’s instrument somehow (he hasn’t thought this through enough to realize he’ll need his own to practice). But I figure if I can get him started and he loves it as I suspect he will, I can save up and buy him exactly what he wants in a few years. That seems to have worked out well for most things in our life so far. Hopefully this will work out well too

Well, if they're both from the same store, and in good condition, if you get him the "wrong" one he can probably exchange it, even after a few lessons to get his besrings, so, no worries!!! Good luck to the both of you!

 

[Scuromondo]

Along with the overall condition of the instrument, my main areas of interest would be:

Does it have at least 3 sets of reeds, i.e. “voices” on the treble side?

Is it in tune?

Does it have at least 2 sets of “M” reeds?

Does it have at least 34 keys and 72 bass buttons?

Are the keys roughy “standard” width? You definitely want to avoid child-sized keys, and probably also so-called “ladies” key width.