new accordion decisions to be made!

[eliascalles]

hello all! I am very happy to have found this forum. I am seeking advice/opinions regarding the choice between a new hohner bravo II and a new weltmeister Juwel. I understand that there are size/weight differences as well as a few extra treble keys and extra bass register for the hohner as well as small price difference, but none of these differences are enough to make the decision easier. To complicate, I cannot really try before I order due to my location. I have not played a modern hohner, but I have played a weltmeister rubin and found it easy to play. if anyone has any strong opinions on the choice I very much welcome the advice.

thanks!!

 

[debra]

It is a difficult question. The Hohner has more notes, which is always a plus, but it is made in China and therefore more prone to problems, either right from the start (with reeds not playing right) or later (springs that break). The Weltmeister supposedly is still made in Germany (but I don't know how much of that is true) and that should make it more reliable. But it has fewer notes...
In either case, you should first and foremost find a reputable repair person not too far from your location. Any accordion you buy will require maintenance and repair over time, so even when you cannot get access to a store where you can try before you buy you absolutely must have access to a repairer in case it is needed.

 

[Dingo40]

This reminds me of an old joke: the Hohner burns brighter, but the Weltmeister burns longer!?
What all that means is, a good used one actually made in Germany or Italy may turn out to be better??
Paul's advice, on the other hand, (as always) is not only sober but also helpful!??

 

[Scuromondo]

You might want to consider a used Weltmeister that is closer in size to the Bravo. Liberty Bellows has three nearly new Achats, a Topas, and an Opal—all under $2000. The Achats are priced very close to a new Bravo II and not only have 34 keys but are LMM as well.

 

[Tom]

"In either case, you should first and foremost find a reputable repair person not too far from your location."

Wouldn't that be something!

As usual, excellent advice from Paul, unfortunately as likely as......well, you know....

 

[JeffJetton]

Between those two, I'd go with the Weltmeister.

• The Welty has LMM instead of just MM. That extra lower reed is very useful.
• The Welty has 72 buttons on the left side, which should cover almost anything you'd want to play. 48 basses is fine for learning and basic folk music, but can be limiting beyond that.
• I own two Weltmeisters and also a Hohner Bravo. While they're all perfectly good accordions for the price, I think the Welties just feel more solid and better put together than the HB. A bit more "playable".

 

[jozz]

think you mean Bravo III?

otherwise it's comparing two different types of accordion

anyway I would stay away from the 'Hohner' and go with the Weltmeister

 

[Chrisrayner]

I had a BravoIII. I hoped it would be an improvement on a battered old Hohner which was my starter instrument. It was shinier, otherwise less good in every department. They’re made in China. No matter how much trouble the companies go to in order to conceal the source of their manufacture and to mitigate the relatively poor skill of the factories they contract to make these products, it is rare for a Chinese made accordion to play as well as a European one. The Weltmeister is alleged to be made in Germany. I’d go with that.

 

[Scuromondo]

I think you need to make a fundamental decision: do you want to buy the best accordion you can get within your budget?—or do you want the best NEW accordion you can get within your budget?

In this price range, if you are willing to carefully consider used accordions that are available, it might take a little longer to find something but you will absolutely be able to get a much much better instrument than if you buy new.

 

[eliascalles]

hi all. thanks so much! let me add some info. I live in rural remote Mexico and I'm a good 1000 miles from the closest repair shop. I already have 2 older accordions that both need repair and tuning and I really like them both (one is a frontalini 37/96 that I've had for going on 35 years and the other is a hohner tango IIm 34/96. at some point I will either get them to someone in MX city or get them back to the USA for repair. I am finding that I really don't need 96 bass for the ensemble stuff I'm doing lately and I had the chance to borrow a welt rubin for a recent project and I loved the light weight, ease of play and just that everything worked because it was new. I"lll be back in the USA this summer for maybe 1 week and I won't be able to bring my old accordions in for repair, so my thinking was to get a brand new one (I'll be quite near an accordion shop in the US that sells both welt and hohners new). and was looking for something I could carry on the plane with me. I didn't mind the small keys of the weltmeister rubin I used (which I understand are the same size keys on the juwel) and for my current needs, the 30 treble keys seemed ok.

As mentioned, I'll very likely need to make my choice before I get a chance to play them side by side due to time constrains and only being in the USA a week or two and the shop needing to order the ahead of time. oh and I did mean the bravo III that was a typo.

I am leaning toward the welt if only for the smaller size.

I really appreciate all your advice!

add on question.... does anyone have any opinions about the Myers accordion mics? If this current project gets going we'll probably tour with it next year and the Myers "grip plus deluxe " looks like it could be great for my needs but there isn't much info out there about them in terms of user opinions. I'm not sure if it's ok to post links here to commercial products so I won't. thanks!

 

[debra]

When you think that buying a brand new low-end accordion and having it shipped to rural Mexico will result in you getting an accordion that is in perfect working order and that needs no work at all, think again! Shipping and accordion do not go together well. Many accordions that are shipped incur some damage in transit. In addition to possible damage it is quite possible that some notes will be out of tune upon arrival and some notes may not even play... Voicing may also be a problem (because of the machine reeds) so some notes may be slow to respond. An accordion is really delicate. Since you like the accordions you have it may be a better investment to have them repaired, even though that also involves shipping. It's a matter of very careful packing with lots and lots of padding.

 

[eliascalles]

When you think that buying a brand new low-end accordion and having it shipped to rural Mexico will result in you getting an accordion that is in perfect working order and that needs no work at all, think again! Shipping and accordion do not go together well. Many accordions that are shipped incur some damage in transit. In addition to possible damage it is quite possible that some notes will be out of tune upon arrival and some notes may not even play... Voicing may also be a problem (because of the machine reeds) so some notes may be slow to respond. An accordion is really delicate. Since you like the accordions you have it may be a better investment to have them repaired, even though that also involves shipping. It's a matter of very careful packing with lots and lots of padding.

hi, yes I have felt the pain of shipping accordions lol. that was the situation with my hohner tango iim (did not ship well). This is why I am planning to get something in person on this trip to the USA that I can carry on the plane with me and avoid shipping. For this purpose the weltmeister Juwel seems like a good choice due to it's small size. I am guess that the juwel in a soft bag will be small enough to bring onto the plane cabin.

 

[jozz]

the juwel should have full size treble keys vs. the rubin ladies/kids size

its also a tad bigger and heavier being LMM and 72 basses

 

[eliascalles]

the juwel should have full size treble keys vs. the rubin ladies/kids size

its also a tad bigger and heavier being LMM and 72 basses

hmm. my understanding was that the Rubin and the Juwel shared the same size keyboard (and overall chasis size) but that the Juwel was a bit heavier with it's additional bass keys and treble reeds, with the welt models Achat and Kristal having the larger sized keys and overall larger size.

 

[Glug]

Apparently Juwel and Rubin are both 18mm key width:

Weltmeister Rubin 30/60/II/3 MT Black Piano accordion - Muziker

Weltmeister Rubin 30/60/II/3 MT Black Piano accordion , Piano accordion , RUBIN-60-BK, Top model from Weltmeister sale palette is the „Rubin“. Light,

www.muziker.co.uk

Weltmeister Juwel 30/72/III/5 MT Red Piano accordion - Muziker

Weltmeister Juwel 30/72/III/5 MT Red Piano accordion , Piano accordion , JUWEL-72-RD, Due to it's little key width of 18 mm (medium keyboard) this

www.muziker.co.uk

 

[jozz]

you are right

i was thinking about that other Welt, the Perle

 

[eliascalles]

Apparently Juwel and Rubin are both 18mm key width:

Weltmeister Rubin 30/60/II/3 MT Black Piano accordion - Muziker

Weltmeister Rubin 30/60/II/3 MT Black Piano accordion , Piano accordion , RUBIN-60-BK, Top model from Weltmeister sale palette is the „Rubin“. Light,

www.muziker.co.uk

Weltmeister Juwel 30/72/III/5 MT Red Piano accordion - Muziker

Weltmeister Juwel 30/72/III/5 MT Red Piano accordion , Piano accordion , JUWEL-72-RD, Due to it's little key width of 18 mm (medium keyboard) this

www.muziker.co.uk

the smaller keys aren't a problem for me (or at least I didn't find them to be so when I played the rubin)>. I did find the lack of an L register to be limiting for what I want to do, so I was very happy to discover the Juwel model. I think if it were to be my only instrument , I would likely want 34 or 37 treble keys and 96 bass (and possibly the larger key width) , but I already have 2 accordions of that size (thought both needing work) and being able to travel with the instrument as carry on is paramount for this project, hence the interest in the Juwel.

ideally I would get to play both the hohner and the weltmeister and make an informed choice, but I likely won't have that option.

so recognizing that my situation is far from ideal, I seek advice or opinions between these two new models (welt juwel and hohner bravo iii). the welt has advantages (though it is a bit more expensive) in that it's smaller and lighter which addresses my need to travel by air (and carry on in cabin).

I guess I just wanted to check with you experienced folk as this is a major financial outlay for me (esp with the peso weak) and to make sure that there wasn't some overt reasons why I should choose the bravo over the juwel.

I really appreciate the advice, this is a wonderful forum I have spent the entire morning reading though older threads and learning. cheers!!