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I plan to buy this accordion but I need to know how much to offer for it
- Thread starter Vaulttecceo88
- Start date
I have no idea how much this instrument is worth.
What I do know is that this is NOT an accordion. It is some form of concertina.
What I do know is that this is NOT an accordion. It is some form of concertina.
JeffJetton
Prolific poster
Maybe a Chemnitzer?
Looks like a small chemniitzer concertina. Pictures of the buttons would help in identification. Do you see many of these played in Texas? Here in Wisconsin, depending on condition, these could go from $75 to $300.
Vaulttecceo88
Newbie
That's what I was thinking it might be but I do know it's a Hohner
Vaulttecceo88
Newbie
Gonk
http://mudlark-music.com
This was a modest offering from Hohner at the time, and I would make a modest offering now ; )
Dingo40
Been here for ages!
welcome Vault!
Now that we know this is not an accordion, think carefully whether you still want to buy it, as it will take you in quite a different direction to the one you may have intended to go.
For a start, concertinas are diatonic (a different tone plays for the same button pulling out or pushing in)
And, concertinas play in pre-set keys like mouth accordions ( harmonicas).
They are very different to accordion !
Now that we know this is not an accordion, think carefully whether you still want to buy it, as it will take you in quite a different direction to the one you may have intended to go.
For a start, concertinas are diatonic (a different tone plays for the same button pulling out or pushing in)
And, concertinas play in pre-set keys like mouth accordions ( harmonicas).
They are very different to accordion !
Vaulttecceo88
Newbie
Thank you good sir I definitely still want to buy it because i already have a full size chromatic hohner accordion from the late 40's I plan to post some pictures of it when I have the timewelcome Vault!
Now that we know this is not an accordion, think carefully whether you still want to buy it, as it will take you in quite a different direction to the one you may have intended to go.
For a start, concertinas are diatonic (a different tone plays for the same button pulling out or pushing in)
And, concertinas play in pre-set keys like mouth accordions ( harmonicas).
They are very different to accordion !
P
Perogie
Guest
Welcome to the nut house Vault, cool find!
mtj
Member
My guess is this is a picture of the bandoneon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandoneon which is very similar to Jeff's suggestion a chemnitzer. The reason for bandoneon is that I think they were more common that chemnitzer and Hohner did make bandoneons and I don't see any evidence on the web that Hohner made a chemnitzer. Personally I could not tell the difference between the two if I held them in my hands.
Bandoneons are relatively rare and so they can be worth a fair amount money ($2k-$4k) especially golden era, and it seem likely this Hohner could be one. But as people routinely point out on this web site, it all depends on the condition of the instrument.
As Paul points out it's not an accordion, therefore I would suggest posting the question on bandoneon or chemnitzer discussion site.
Bandoneons are relatively rare and so they can be worth a fair amount money ($2k-$4k) especially golden era, and it seem likely this Hohner could be one. But as people routinely point out on this web site, it all depends on the condition of the instrument.
As Paul points out it's not an accordion, therefore I would suggest posting the question on bandoneon or chemnitzer discussion site.
Vaulttecceo88
Newbie
mtj
Member
I didn’t have a specific recommendation but after a brief web search I would start with concertina.net
Vaulttecceo88
Newbie
You need to show us a photo of the keyboards before we can tell you what it is.
And no, regardless of what this is, it is not worth $2-4k, unless you fill the bellows with solid gold.
In regard to your original question on how much to offer - once we've established what this is, the picture will become clearer, but I'd be reluctant to part with anything more than $50 going by the couple of pics that you posted.
You need a photo of the insides too - without knowing the condition of the reeds, you can't put a value on the instrument, but by default assume that the reeds are completely dead and need an overhaul.
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mtj
Member
I don't know whether I disagree with what you said, but just to clarify, I did not mean to imply this instrument was worth $2k-$4k. I said a golden era bandoneons could be worth that and since Hohner was stamped on the instrument I thought it could be a good (original) quality old instrument. I don't see anything in the photos that indicated condition, and therefore made no comment about that other than the generic condition affects price statement.
All that notwithstanding I'll provide a couple of sources justify my valuation of bandoneons
https://www.libertybellows.com/shop/Concertinas/Bandoneons.htm
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandoneon
"Historically, bandoneons were produced primarily in Germany[citation needed] and never in Argentina itself, despite their popularity in that country. As a result, by the 2000s vintage bandoneons had become rare and expensive (costing around $4,000), limiting the opportunities for prospective bandeonists. In 2014, the National University of Lanús announced its plan to develop an affordable Argentine-made bandoneon, which it hoped to market for one-third to one-half of the cost of vintage instruments."
Also here in the Los Angeles area my teacher doesn't play them but does repair them often, said their are typically worth in the thousands.
On the contrary I do see some on eBay in the $300 range.
I thought all comments in the thread were valid probably the most insightful being Dingo40's because in the end it's "what's it worth to me" and the poster seemed to have no idea what he's in for.
I don't disagree with your or Tom's valuations, it's probably what I'd offer a random seller. But if the reason he's asking how much to offer is because he's, for example buying from a friend and wants a fair value then it's a more complicated question that probably cannot be answered on this forum.
The veneer is full of cracks & peeling and the metal bindings are really dirty. Some of the bindings look like they are coming apart and the lid retaining screws are covered in rust.
If there's so much neglect on the outside, it is safe to assume that the insides are no better.
Eyeballing the photos and comparing the size of the corner bevels vs the size of the box, my guess is that this is a small-sized instrument (but we don't really have much to go by, do we). If it is a bandoneon, it would have to be a 100 or 110 model.
This is a lot more likely to be a small konzertina, rather than a bandoneon.
By the way, concertina.net is a a lovely forum with very friendly folks, but it's all about the english and anglo boxes, and there's very few people who play the german konzertinas or bandoneons.
The only really expensive vintage bandoneons are "tango" versions, i.e. 142 & upwards (albeit I'm not 100% sure if 144 einheits is that sought after).
I've never heard of Hohner bandoneons - the really sought after ones are the tango pre-war Alfred Arnolds. In the state of complete disrepair, such boxes can be bought for under 1k EUR if you shop around. The "fully overhauled" price of $4-6k is mostly made up from the repairman's labour to get a cult box back into a perfectly playable shape. Smaller models in a state of disrepair are generally not wanted by anyone, as you'll have to invest a lot more time & money into them, than the price of an overhauled box.
