Am I mad or what?

[Jose EB5AGV]

Yesterday, while doing a late night browsing on the local accordion market (everybody has a confessable sin, right? ) I found an apparently good opportunity, just 10km from home, sold by a music store as "like new"... It was a Chinese accordion, 41/120 and 7/2 registers (3 voices on treble, so two registers were duplicate). Asking price was 200€. This is the big guy:



So today I have driven to the musical instruments store and have checked it. It is a NOS (New Old Stock) unit, about 7 years old (they were not confident on that, may be older). So, armed by my deep knowledge on accordions , I have checked all treble registers, bass buttons, smelled it for any suspicious odor, checked bellows air tightness and such. Everything passed.

What was not fine were the straps. They were disintegrating and there was some white powder mess on the bottom of the case. So I have directly removed and discarded them.

I was going to buy it, but then the case had a damaged hinge. Oh well... So the clerk, a very gentle woman, has gone to pick up another one from storage. So he has arrived with another accordion on an slightly better looking box:



Oh my!. This one had 13/6 registers... So, even if it was just to take the case, I have pressed the bass buttons. And some were immediately stuck

I have told the woman what happened with that one, so she knew.

So I have taken it out of its box, have cleaned the white powder and have moved the white accordion to it and the black one to the other box. It looked kind of sad to me (please, don't let me alone again!) . So, I have made an offer of 100€ for it... And she has accepted!

So, 300€ poorer, here you have the new B&W partners I have at home:



So, returning to the topic title, am I mad or what?

Once at home, I have checked the black one and even higher treble registers work. I need to open the bass cover but I am confident the mechanism just needs some care to being back to work. I will know in just some hours!

More to come!

Jose

 

[Tom]

Yesterday, while doing a late night browsing on the local accordion market (everybody has a confessable sin, right? ) I found an apparently good opportunity, just 10km from home, sold by a music store as "like new"... It was a Chinese accordion, 41/120 and 7/2 registers (3 voices on treble, so two registers were duplicate). Asking price was 200€. This is the big guy:



So today I have driven to the musical instruments store and have checked it. It is a NOS (New Old Stock) unit, about 7 years old (they were not confident on that, may be older). So, armed by my deep knowledge on accordions , I have checked all treble registers, bass buttons, smelled it for any suspicious odor, checked bellows air tightness and such. Everything passed.

What was not fine were the straps. They were disintegrating and there was some white powder mess on the bottom of the case. So I have directly removed and discarded them.

I was going to buy it, but then the case had a damaged hinge. Oh well... So the clerk, a very gentle woman, has gone to pick up another one from storage. So he has arrived with another accordion on an slightly better looking box:



Oh my!. This one had 13/6 registers... So, even if it was just to take the case, I have pressed the bass buttons. And some were immediately stuck

I have told the woman what happened with that one, so she knew.

So I have taken it out of its box, have cleaned the white powder and have moved the white accordion to it and the black one to the other box. It looked kind of sad to me (please, don't let me alone again!) . So, I have made an offer of 100€ for it... And she has accepted!

So, 300€ poorer, here you have the new B&W partners I have at home:



So, returning to the topic title, am I mad or what?

Once at home, I have checked the black one and even higher treble registers work. I need to open the bass cover but I am confident the mechanism just needs some care to being back to work. I will know in just some hours!

More to come!

Jose

Nah Jose, that’s pretty normal behavior for accordion enthusiasts! It will be interesting to hear which sounds better. You could have gotten a steal here……or not! Good luck!

 

[Jose EB5AGV]

Nah Jose, that’s pretty normal behavior for accordion enthusiasts! It will be interesting to hear which sounds better. You could have gotten a steal here……or not! Good luck!

Thanks for the support

Well, after doing some basic mechanical work, I have got the bass mechanism to work on the black (B) one . I have checked the keyboard mechanism and this unit seems like it was a demo one. It has some use, but not abuse. The white (W) is essentially new.

The bass straps were both messy, with some discomposed gummy material. But on the W it was just black powder, which I have removed just scrapping it and later vacuuming the strap, but on the B it was a sticky black thing which can't be removed so I have just got it out of the accordion and have cleaned all the gunk which was on the instrument, where the strap enters the body. It is now bass strap-less. I will buy two replacements.

I have installed a brand new leather strap set on the W. Those straps were 85€, so close to half the price of the instrument

Sound wise, they seem pretty identical on the common registers, but can't really check the B without straps.

They are now clean and happy!


Jose

 

[debra]

Are you sure these accordions are Chinese and not a relative of Weltmeister. The register switches look a lot more like Weltmeister than the old Scandalli style used on most Chinese accordions. A look at the inside of the accordions could help in identifying the origin. A search for "Conslat de Mar" des not bring up anything so it may point at a previous owner more than at a manufacturer.
These accordions look pretty decent but disintegrating straps indicates these accordions are likely a *lot* older than the 7 years they told you.
Still, for 300euro you probably got a good dea.

 

[tcabot]

The really bad news for you mate is that 3 months down the line you'll be looking at buying more accordions.
Things get really ugly if you don't seek medical help. You start buying boxes you don't even know how to play. Weird stuff like bandonions, chemnitzers, chromatiphones, diatonics with all types of keyboard layouts, and you might even fall as low as english concertinas (I've asked my wife to shoot me if I ever get there).
One day you find yourself hacksawing through solid brass bayan plates to liberate those sweet-sounding hand-made reeds into individual reed pairs so you can wax them onto regular reedblocks and you think to yourself "where in my life have things gone so horribly wrong?". And then you keep on sawing.

Welcome to early stages of SAD (Squeezebox acquisition disease).

PS The white powder hidden in the case lining might have been worth a lot more than the accordions

 

[Jose EB5AGV]

Are you sure these accordions are Chinese and not a relative of Weltmeister. The register switches look a lot more like Weltmeister than the old Scandalli style used on most Chinese accordions. A look at the inside of the accordions could help in identifying the origin. A search for "Conslat de Mar" des not bring up anything so it may point at a previous owner more than at a manufacturer.
These accordions look pretty decent but disintegrating straps indicates these accordions are likely a *lot* older than the 7 years they told you.
Still, for 300euro you probably got a good dea.

There is an interesting thing... There is a typo on the stamped name!. It should be "Consolat de Mar", which is the name of the shop selling them to me. Today there was not anyone there who knew the full story, but it seems a Chinese manufacturer offered them a customized accordion line and these maybe samples. And they goofed with the name

About the time they were stored, I really don't know, but yes, it looks suspicious. All in all, still a good deal IMO.

Yesterday I looked all around and found they are sold in other countries as Todeskini brand. This one looks very similar to my white one:



And I have just found the black one!. Another Chinese Italian name, Morelli

https://reverb.com/es/item/81435885-6781-black-morelli-piano-accordion-lmmh-41-120

Or, in white, and cheaper...

https://www.libertybellows.com/shop...lli-Piano-Accordion-LMMH-41-120-x60865517.htm

 

[Dark Phoenix]

The really bad news for you mate is that 3 months down the line you'll be looking at buying more accordions.
Things get really ugly if you don't seek medical help. You start buying boxes you don't even know how to play. Weird stuff like bandonions, chemnitzers, chromatiphones, diatonics with all types of keyboard layouts, and you might even fall as low as english concertinas (I've asked my wife to shoot me if I ever get there).
One day you find yourself hacksawing through solid brass bayan plates to liberate those sweet-sounding hand-made reeds into individual reed pairs so you can wax them onto regular reedblocks and you think to yourself "where in my life have things gone so horribly wrong?". And then you keep on sawing.

Welcome to early stages of SAD (Squeezebox acquisition disease).

PS The white powder hidden in the case lining might have been worth a lot more than the accordions

Hey, I _started_ with an English concertina and have worked my way up to accordions!

 

[dak]

Hey, I _started_ with an English concertina and have worked my way up to accordions!

Reminds me of "Asterix and the Normans" where one of the Normans states (translated from the German translation) "Ah, that is the educational part of traveling: that you get to study the culture and customs of the locals before you kill them." Now I flail trying to apply this to free-reed instruments, but flailing probably is a good start.

 

[noelekal]

You're mad. Barking mad.

Just kidding.

I would have fetched those two home for sure at those prices.