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Hohner Fun (China) Nova 80 light

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Well, it finally arrived today in one piece. Customs do not appear to have opened it up, although the charges are different to what I originally posted. They worked out at Import Duty £34.96, VAT £225.51, and there was in fact a £13.50 Parcelforce handling fee.

The instrument was securely packed in its soft case in the original Hohner cardboard box and was padded out with bubble wrap and polystyrene chips. There was consequently no damage.

It is a rather funny looking little instrument and when you play it there is definitely a cramped feel to it until you start getting used to it. The straps are way too short for a big (fat) guy like me, but they'll do until I get some larger ones.

Straight away I hit a problem, as there was some sort of blockage in one of the reeds, and I had to strip out the offending reed block. However, a " wee bit of sook and blaw" as we say in Scotland freed the reed, and with great satisfaction I put the accordion back together again. All of the notes are in tune in both treble and bass voices. The treble keyboard is fast and responsive, at least as fast as my Cavagnolo bal musette, but with lower action. It cannot compete with my Maugein, but we're talking about an instrument 6 times the price of the Hohner. The bass side feels very cramped and I have difficulty at the moment with accuracy.

In keeping with the Hohner name it is very loud and has a fairly cute French sounding two voice "musette". When you play it in the single flute register you have to be careful not to pull and push the bellows too hard otherwise it sounds like Larry Adler is playing it. If you are too young to know who Larry Adler was he was a harmonica player.

Here's the bits I don't like about it:-

The bellows valve button is almost as long as the little feet on the bass side, and I reckon it could be prone to damage. The treble coupler selector on the back is very cheap and nasty, and I think it will also be suspect. Having had a chance to look inside at the guts the reeds look acceptable, but the rest of the instrument looks and feels a bit inferior.I've already commented on the shoulder straps being too short (for me).

So, what is the verdict?

A cheap and cheerful little instrument suitable for a beginner or as a second instrument, which is what I bought it for. The tone is acceptable and sounds as good as some more expensive instruments. However, I would recommend any future purchaser to try one first, as I would reckon it might be worth paying the extra cash to get a French built student model. Or better still, save your money and try to find a quality Italian instrument.

Sorry I cannot give you any sound samples, but my laptop microphone is useless at recording accordions (I have tried several times), and I doubt whether I'll ever bother to get a decent mike, as I'll probably never use one.
 
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