Czech Hohners?

[jozz]

I'm looking into a small practice/travelling PA of the same quality as my 1981 Concerto III.

Students vs. Concerto vs. Weltmeister vs. Delicia etc. etc.

Was wondering if anyone knows of any differences between Made in Germany (?? labeling says Hohner International) and Made in Czechia early 80's?

I've been looking at some Students (IV) and they are either "Hohner International" or "Czech". Can't find any obvious differences besides optical. What is the story behind this, were those manufactured by Delicia? Did they use the same reeds?

 

[OuijaBoard]

Im looking into a small practice/travelling PA of the same quality as my 1981 Concerto III.

Students vs. Concerto vs. Weltmeister vs. Delicia etc. etc.

Was wondering if anyone knows of any differences between Made in Germany (?? labeling says Hohner International) and Made in Czechia early 80s?

Ive been looking at some Students (IV) and they are either Hohner International or Czech. Cant find any obvious differences besides optical. What is the story behind this, were those manufactured by Delicia? Did they use the same reeds?

I would stay away from the old Czech/East German/Harmona stuff.     The older Czech/harmona/Easter German stuff can be stiff, resistant, choky, frustrating to play.  Yes, Hohner International was one.

The older West German Hohners were great, but time is getting on, and it can be tricky to find one in excellent condition.   People USE them! 

I think, but am not 100% certain, that the Student and the Concerto were essentially the same thing.  FYI, the Student came out in successive series, with Roman numerals after, like, Student IV.  Im not in the know, but the cosgnescenti prefer certain editions of the Student.  Might be true of Concerto I also, I dont know.

There was also the Hohner Junior 48 which was quite pricy and came in different colors.  I love them, but back in the day those in the know didnt want them made after X year due to having a plastic chassis rather than wood.  or somethig likek that. 


Now, contemporary Delicias and Weltmeisters, Harmonas (and other badges that are essentially Weltmeisters), have improved a lot.   Say, mid 2000s to present in truly excellent condition. can be a blast for folk music, practice, travel, etc.  Or gigging, hell.  Earlier this year I bought an excellent-condition blue Weltmeister Perle 26/48 on ebay for like $600, that turned out to be like new, and I LOVE it.

Dont forget the Perles cousin, the unique Weltmeister Rubin in the exact same size as the 26-key Perle, just giving you 30 keys by making the keys slimmer.  A super-condition used Perle or Rubin can be a ticket to Funland.

 

[StargazerTony]

Don't forget the Perle's cousin, the unique Weltmeister Rubin in the exact same size as the 26-key Perle, just giving you 30 keys by making the keys slimmer.  A super-condition used Perle or Rubin can be a ticket to Funland.


Or even the Westminster Juwel which I the same size as the Rubin but has 5 voices and 72 bass buttons

 

[Corsaire]

I think Jazz has already said in another topic that he wasn't sure about the Rubin's slimmer keys.

For its price, the Rubin is a great little box, really light and plenty of volume - ideal for carrying around and playing standing/moving about.  I don't have a problem going from slimmer keys to 'normal' sized keys - I just treat it as a different instrument, same as going to diatonic (which is super-light !!)

 

[jozz]

Thanks for the info Ouljaboard,

I was browsing around some webshop in Germany that has all types. I emailed them some back and forth about how they had done them up prior to selling. They have all varieties from Students to the east-german and czech stuff but everything is in the same price range like 400-600 euros. The Concerto's are mostly in the upper range of that.

I know my old teacher swore by the 60's Students and I know they play nice, but I wasn't sure about these comparing to the 80's ones (like the Student IV N) and I was too far away to try.

Anyway I've come across a dirtcheap Weltmeister Unisella, that I was able to play test.

Today I opened it up because the bass D was hitting the reed hole. It's mostly plastic valves so I guess it has been serviced at some point. Older wax but no cracks visible, still a bit flexible. Overall very tidy inside certainly not much worse than my West-German Concerto. It has a aluminium soundboard at the treble side which kind of surprised me. Response is good and air is tight.

Unsure about its origins though...