SOLD: Hohner Morino Artiste VI D

[Skari]

Partly as a result of various discussions on this forum, I got interested in the Hohner Artiste series. I wanted an early model from the Venanzio Morino era and ended up buying one from Georges Pellegrini that looked to be in good shape. A few years later, I find myself needing to downsize my collection and get this accordion to someone with more time to play and more space to store.

This is a C-system accordion, built in 1956 (see certificate from Hohner). The right hand has 4 voices (LMMH), 11 registers and a whopping 5+ octave range of 62 notes (A to B-flat). I replaced a few of the valves on low reeds and updated the marked buttons from A, C# and G# to the standard C and F.

On the bass side there are 5 voices, 3 registers and 127 buttons. The layout is the 3-3 French style with 2 rows of counter-bass and no diminished. You can approximate the diminished by moving over one button on the 7th row.

Attached is a link to the original listing by Georges Pellegrini. The text is in French, but copy/paste with Google Translate seems to work pretty well. The listing has sound samples by a really good player.
https://www.mon-accordeon.com/occasion/s0535-hohner-morino-artiste-vi-d

I made a simple YouTube video so you can hear individual reeds and registers. This model is a VI D, so as Paul De Bra pointed out in a previous thread, it doesn’t have a tone chamber. That aside, I think this survivor model sounds really good.

My asking price is $1,900 plus shipping from Minneapolis, USA.
Reasonable offers will be considered.
Includes straps and soft case.

 

[dak]

This model is a VI D, so as Paul De Bra pointed out in a previous thread, it doesn’t have a tone chamber.

There are two ways not to have a tone chamber for Morino Artiste VI models. There is the Morino way of collecting the L reeds behind the keyboard with individual round pallets and thus have the L reed exhibit a cassotto-like character by leading their sound through a zigzag passage from behind the keyboard: playing L an octave up will sound much more flute-like than playing M loco. That is in the Artiste VI D, the model you are selling.

Then there is the Excelsior/Pigini way of ignoring that part of Morino's design and just have one pallet covering all 4 reeds of a note. Naturally the pallet partly obscured by the keyboard will then exhibit a more subdued sound quality, but it is not one reed set that sounds more covered but one button row. That is not musically useful.

So as a rule, for a consistent sound quality you want a D (indicating a Morino designed generation) or an X (indicating a five-reed treble that contains two reeds in the cassotto behind the keyboard regardless of the generation) in your Morino Artiste name.

For the Artiste VI D, the absence of a double cassotto is a design choice (I find the L/M choice particularly useful with the large range of the Artiste VI D, incidentally also reduced in the Artiste VI N), while in the Artiste VI N it is a money saving design deficiency.

TLDR: don't worry: you actually have a tone chamber though it is called "déclassement" rather than "cassotto", is implemented in a different manner using couplers instead of sliders, and contains only one reed set (namely L) rather than two (L and M in the models with an X in their name).

Oh, and by the way: you get an "Umlenkstimmstock" in the bass that serves as a bass tone chamber giving the bass a bit more punch and roundedness.

 

[Skari]

Well put. Thank you for the clarification.

 

[Jaime_Dergut]

This could be a nice instrument for me to study further. If only I was well versed in the button systems.

 

[debra]

If you want a cassotto in a Morino Artiste that is more recent than the D series, have a look at the Hohner "Romandie". The Romandie is essentially an Artiste VI S, with cassotto. For some strange reason Hohner had a prototype Artiste VI S with cassotto built (by Excelsior) and then opted to have the Artiste VI S series produced without cassotto (perhaps for cost/pricing reasons). A friend of mine was very lucky to get the Artiste VI S prototype with cassotto. It is a wonderful accordion. So forget about the naming scheme and try to find a Romandie if you want a newer Artiste VI with cassotto.

 

[losthobos]

Is this tuned to A at 440hz and how wide is the tremelo.. thanks

 

[colinm]

Is this tuned to A at 440hz and how wide is the tremelo.. thanks

Did you miss something out?

 

[losthobos]

Did you miss something out?

Funny you say that... I did...
Does the 3 row bass run C,E,Eb or C,E,Ab......there were two systems of 3x3....
I've listened to tremolo and is fine, not too wide....but how close to 440Hz is important

 

[dak]

Funny you say that... I did...
Does the 3 row bass run C,E,Eb or C,E,Ab......there were two systems of 3x3....

The video makes very obvious that we are talking C, E, A♭ here.

 

[Skari]

Is this tuned to A at 440hz and how wide is the tremelo.. thanks

Yes it is tuned to 440 hz at A4. The tremolo is on the light side. Here is my data:

	Tuning A4*​	Tremolo**​
	(hz)1​	cents​	beats (hz)​	cents​
IN​	440.3​	1.1​	1.82​	8.1​
OUT​	440.4​	1.0​	2.24​	9.5​

* Tuner by Piascore
** Dirk’s Accordion Tuner

 

[Skari]

The video makes very obvious that we are talking C, E, A♭ here.

I checked with my tuner just to be sure that it is the C, E, A♭ system. I have never figured how to take advantage of the extra counter bass row.

 

[dak]

I checked with my tuner just to be sure that it is the C, E, A♭ system. I have never figured how to take advantage of the extra counter bass row.

There are two main uses I can think of: one is for the minor third (which is quite more convenient than doing it with the pinky), and another is when you want to do a bass run but are on the wrong row for the scale pattern you'd want to use. And for things like minor third basses you don't run out of buttons at the side as easily. All of this is pure theory with me: I may have found myself wishing for a third row at times, but have never actually had an instrument with one. Maybe I should ask my FR-1b for a test run...

 

[Uncle_Joe]

I own the same model only B-system. It's the only free bass I've found that rises in pitch in the same direction as the treble.

Unfortunately, it needs an overhaul. Playable but truly needs all the reeds reset and skins replaced. Big job.

Any advice on repair people for this instrument appreciated. Has anyone tried Hohner USA?

 

[Big Squeezy Accordions]

I own the same model only B-system. It's the only free bass I've found that rises in pitch in the same direction as the treble.

Unfortunately, it needs an overhaul. Playable but truly needs all the reeds reset and skins replaced. Big job.

Any advice on repair people for this instrument appreciated. Has anyone tried Hohner USA?

I do this work, but am in New Orleans. If you can find someone within driving distance, that is preferable.

 

[Skari]

I own the same model only B-system. It's the only free bass I've found that rises in pitch in the same direction as the treble.

Unfortunately, it needs an overhaul. Playable but truly needs all the reeds reset and skins replaced. Big job.

Any advice on repair people for this instrument appreciated. Has anyone tried Hohner USA?

I own the same model only B-system. It's the only free bass I've found that rises in pitch in the same direction as the treble.

Unfortunately, it needs an overhaul. Playable but truly needs all the reeds reset and skins replaced. Big job.

Any advice on repair people for this instrument appreciated. Has anyone tried Hohner USA?

You might try Chad Walker in Wisconsin. He recently rebuilt my old Pigini Super Bayan Sirius and did a masterful job.

https://walkeraccordion.com/index.html

 

[TimeSwan]

I own the same model only B-system. It's the only free bass I've found that rises in pitch in the same direction as the treble.

Unfortunately, it needs an overhaul. Playable but truly needs all the reeds reset and skins replaced. Big job.

Any advice on repair people for this instrument appreciated. Has anyone tried Hohner USA?

Hi Uncle_Joe, I'm in Columbus. Feel free to send me a DM and we can discuss options!

 

[John M]

I own the same model only B-system. It's the only free bass I've found that rises in pitch in the same direction as the treble.

Unfortunately, it needs an overhaul. Playable but truly needs all the reeds reset and skins replaced. Big job.

Any advice on repair people for this instrument appreciated. Has anyone tried Hohner USA?

Hi Uncle Joe,

TimeSwan -- Capital Accordion in Columbus, Ohio has repaired my accordion. He did a great job. He worked as a technician for Liberty Bellows in Philadelphia. His prices are very reasonable. It is only a 2 hour drive from Cleveland to Columbus.

John

 

[dak]

I own the same model only B-system. It's the only free bass I've found that rises in pitch in the same direction as the treble.

Ok, I did not pay proper attention here. The Morino Artiste VI D does not have a free bass: in this particular case we were talking about a model with 3+3 Stradella bass ("French bass", 3 bass rows, 3 chord rows).

So what is your actual model?

Unfortunately, it needs an overhaul. Playable but truly needs all the reeds reset and skins replaced. Big job.

Any advice on repair people for this instrument appreciated. Has anyone tried Hohner USA?

Can't help with that, I am afraid.

 

[Uncle_Joe]

My mistake. Mine is the model with the extra three chromatic rows apart from, and "on top\" of the standard stradella.

 

[Skari]

Time to for me to get real about the current market for vintage accordions. I have slashed the price by $500, so now $1400 plus shipping. Any interest out there?