Hohner Accordions

[nedchaney]

I've been wanting to learn accordion, and looking at the Hohner Panther. What is you alls' opinion of that instrument? I'm also trying to decide if I want to go button, or keyboard. The button accordions seem to allow one to play in one or two keys, whilst the keyboard models seem to be more polychromatic. What advice would you offer?

 

[Dark Phoenix]

There are both chromatic (play in all keys, notes the same on both push and pull) and diatonic (notes differ on push and pull) button accordions. So a chromatic button accordion is comparable to a piano keyboard accordion. The difference between the latter two is that the chromatic button accordion usually has a larger octave range than a piano keyboard accordion. Learning the chromatic button accordion is a bit less straightforward than learning a piano keyboard accordion, but it is preferred by many non-US accordionists. Here's a link to basic info on the chromatic button accordion: https://www.accordions.com/index/how/but/how_but.shtml.

My first accordion was a Hohner Panther (with piano keyboard), which I found quite adequate.

 

[Dingo40]

What advice would you offer?

What type of music do you want to play on your accordion?

 

[nedchaney]

What type of music do you want to play on your accordion?

Country, and Tex Mex.

 

[Dingo40]

Country, and Tex Mex.

In that case, you may be best suited by a particular type of accordion (called a "diatonic button accordion " or "melodeon") specifically designed for Mexican and Tex Mex music (a kind of three row melodeon )?
I wonder if our member Waldo would be able to chime in: he's made the journey himself!
Like this:

And here:

And here:

 

[Morgan28]

The Hohner Panther is a decent starter accordion affordable and durable, but a bit heavy. Button vs. keyboard depends on your goals: buttons are compact and great for folk/traditional music (limited keys), while keyboards are more versatile for chromatic playing (all keys). If you want flexibility, go keyboard. If you love folk/off-the-beaten-path styles, try button. Try both if you can!