3) get the seller to open up the instrument so you can inspect things like leathers, potential rust on the reeds, dirt and smells, woodworm, pallets that are disintegrating, etc.
an excellent listing !
it has been a habit of my entire life to try and be in touch with what we
refer to as "the industry" the Music industry
everywhere i have traveled, i visit the local Music stores
i had my own personal subscription to "the Music Trades" since i was in my 20's
so it is natural that i keep tabs on things... such as i have since the beginning monitored
the accordion listings on eBay, and Craigslist, and such platforms
if you do this consistently, you see trends emerge, like when the same accordions are re-listed
over and over for YEARS and if you watch the sellers with their descriptions and how they use
the same language and hype regardless of the actual instrument
Bills Music, in Catonsville, couldn't put a new bellows gasket in if their life
depended on it (they are actually an awesome and very legit mainstream Music store)
but they know nothing about accordions, except they have a few for sale
that they have had for sale for 4 or 5 years sitting there...
and it is totally up to YOU to vett them before you buy
it really is an eye opener to monitor the market offerings and i totally
recommend ANYONE looking to BUY an accordion to spend at least
3 months watching the Market before they begin to attempt selecting
an instrument (or take someone like Jim or Debra with you)
then there are the Websites of the Boutique accordions and flavors of the month
amazing stories told ... the lies told so often that eventually become
accepted truths on the Internet and referred to by the innocent flock
and perpetuated as accepted fact
as if farfisa, after being bested in the modern Accordion races by an upstart company
from Chicago USA... who took Lowrey Organs and stuffed them into boxes then
connected them to generic Accordions they purchased quietly in Italy from
an all-acoustic factory...
as if suddenly, while they scrambled to get Something ANYthing to Market
to compete in this new and lucrative category
as if suddenly they would embrace Chordovox as their Brother... give them
their special Reeds to use just like the ones the use in the Super Six... even offer
to build their accordions for them
oh yeah.. as if
20 years ago there was a mountain of bloated, dead Organ Accordion bodies
of all brands on the market that you could not give away
(until the new legend grew into Internet reality)
the one that always kills me, when you go into an accordion showroom
and they tell you about "our factory in Italy" over and over
as if they actually had ANYTHING to do with ANY factory in Italy outside
of being a customer (like everyone else, including YOU)
the famous overpriced North-Western USA accordions have the
Greatest institutionalized Hype built up over Decades
to get Steinway Prices out of Wurlitzer level instruments
(Wurlitzer level is still damn good !!! just not worth an extra ZER-0 on the
end of the price tag)
"Rare"
"I have never seen an accordion like this"
(a person who has never really looked at an Accordion until they had one to sell)
"Hardly used... like new"
oh, Sir how long have you owned this obviously 1960's era accordion...
"i got it at a local auction last week"
how do you know it was hardly used ???
* sigh *
ok, rant over... see you all next week...
