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Barcarole PA, any good?

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Casey.E

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Recently a 96 bass Barcarole piano accordion has come up for sale about a 20 minute drive from me. The person selling it doesn't seem to know much about it as it belonged to their grandfather. They are selling it for $400 Australian, which seems like a good deal to my inexperienced eye. I currently have a cheap Baile 48 bass, which I bought to learn on and determine if I wanted to commit to learning accordion. I have decided that it would be worthwhile to upgrade, but wanted a second opinion on whether this particular accordion is worth checking out. I would greatly appreciate any information about Barcarole accordions so that I can make a more informed decision.
Cheers, Casey.
 
That's not it. The one I saw is almost identical to that one but only has 5 switches on the treble side and 96 bass buttons. I'll try to put a link to it here somewhere.
 
There's a suggestion the Barcarole was made by a since defunct German firm Gebrüder Gündel, taken over by Bugari at some past time.
References are notable by their absence!:unsure:
 
Barcarole is very similar to old (DDR) Weltmeister, made in the same area and the same mediocre quality. Usable but not great. And certainly over 30 years old. $400 AUD for a 3 voice one is not too bad if it turns out to be in good condition.
I once got a Barcarole (CBA, no convertor) in for tuning. Pretty low quality instrument compared to what I usually get, but it was functional.
 
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An older communist era German or Czech made accordion. Extremely similar to the same era Weltmeister's & world Masters.
Mediocre build at least.
The present Czech's still make them.
 
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Casey,
An accordion builder/repairer told me once, from his perspective ( reliability and repairability), it was best to stick with Italian built accordions .
:)
 
Dingo40 said:
Casey,
An accordion builder/repairer told me once, from his perspective ( reliability and repairability), it was best to stick with Italian built accordions .
:)
Click to expand...
I fully agree. There are some people who also like the older Hohner accordions, lower end, built in Germany, and technically these are fine too (and the bass mechanism is much easier to work on) but they were always somewhat overpriced. Mind you, the Morino N series and any after that are Italian built accordions.
 
Thank you all for your replies. I think i'll take your advice and look for an Italian accordion when it's time to upgrade.

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If you don't mind me asking, what would you all suggest as a good step up from a 48 bass, 3 voice accordion? Should I go straight for a 120 bass or try something in between?
 
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Casey.E said:
Thank you all for your replies. I think i'll take your advice and look for an Italian accordion when it's time to upgrade.

edit:
If you don't mind me asking, what would you all suggest as a good step up from a 48 bass, 3 voice accordion? Should I go straight for a 120 bass or try something in between?
Click to expand...
A good step up is 96 bass or 120 bass. The bass side does not make much of a difference but a 96 bass PA typically has 37 treble keys and a 120 bass has 41. You may want these extra notes... But the most important factor in the choice is whether a 96 or 120 bass accordion is a better fit (physically) for you. A 48 bass will always feel like it is in fact too small for you, but depending on your physical size you may feel better with either a 96 or a 120 bass. Only you can tell.
 
Remember, there are also "ladies size " 120 bass 41 treble key accordions: 17 inch keyboards and generally 3 treble reeds. Also, lighter than 4-reed 120/41models.
Depending on your build, one of these could suit?:unsure:
I have two myself: both Sonola, one LMH, the other LMM.
They make a pleasant variety from the larger, 19 inch keyboard models.
 
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Casey,
"Should I go straight for a 120 bass or try something in between?"
All of my erstwhile accordion teachers owned and used 120/41 19 inch keyboard 4/5 instruments.
If you look around the "I did that " Forum or, indeed, the internet, apart from folk musicians, some CBA afficiandos, and jazz players ( particularly those addicted to French made accordions and Roland electronics), by far the vast majority use 120/41 instruments.
As they say a billion customers can't all be wrong! :)
 
In the past 100 years the 120/41 key with 17"to 19" keyboards have been owned and purchased as the instrument of choice
here in the US.
 
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