Pease help assess this accordion.

[jackandkarenhop]

Can you help me assess this accordion? My daughter has been playing for about a year on a older hand me down which isn't in great condition. An older lady has given her this one to try and doesn't seem to want much for it. It seems to be in perfect condition and more of a professional model and plays beautifully. There seem to be so many Giulietti's listed online and we want to give her a fair price.

 

[debra]

From the outside it's difficult to say much about the value of an accordion. It looks like it is a full size 4 voice LMMH configuration without cassotto. Depending on age and condition such instruments tend to go for between 1.000 and 1.500.
The sound (timbre) on these isn't very even when you compare white to black keys and this is caused by the shape of the grille. (One row of pallets is where the grille is "open" and the other row is where the grille is "solid". But The difference is small enough to not bother anyone (but me). And the difference can be diminished by inserting a strip of felt (1 1/2 inch wide) under the grille at the "far" end.
These instruments are very well made, good quality. The value isn't higher because it has no cassotto (if that's the case, we cannot see inside). A Giulietti like this, with cassotto, could go for double of what a non-cassotto one does.

 

[Scuromondo]

Can you help me assess this accordion? My daughter has been playing for about a year on a older hand me down which isn't in great condition. An older lady has given her this one to try and doesn't seem to want much for it. It seems to be in perfect condition and more of a professional model and plays beautifully. There seem to be so many Giulietti's listed online and we want to give her a fair price.

If the inside of this accordion looks as good as the outside, this would be a terrific gift for your daughter. The accordion I played for my first years of lessons was nowhere near this class of instrument. But, as is always said on this board, it’s like buying a used car without having a mechanic check under the hood (bonnet): until you have an expert look at the inside you won’t know how well maintained this accordion has been and whether or not it is in need of expensive repairs. Depending upon how much you pay for the accordion, it it needs only $200-300 of work, that might be a bargain for such a nice instrument

 

[Valski]

It's very difficult to tell from your photos however it looks as if the instrument hasn't been played much just by judging the condition of the straps. This could be a good thing or not so good because an accordion should be played at regular intervals. It could be a terrific find and unless there are obvious issues like notes not sounding, buttons sticking and obvious odors this could be a good opportunity to purchase something nice for your daughter. It should serve her well for several years since it appears to have been well kept. If you were purchasing this from a dealer who could certify that this accordion having been checked and small adjustments made then I would expect to pay perhaps $1,200-$1500 because it looks like it was built in the 1970's.

Not knowing exactly what's inside perhaps under $1,000. I'm not being overly critical and it’s a nice accordion for a young lady but not a professional instrument.

 

[JIM D.]

Nice low mileage 60's era Zero Sette made Giulietti 4/5 reed box. In White they fetch $1500 to $2000, In Black $2000 to 2500.

 

[jackandkarenhop]

Thank you all for the information. This really gives us a starting place. She’s going to play it on trial for a couple of weeks and also hopefully get the inside inspected. I’m not an accordion player but every note rings true and there are no sticky keys. Seeing this beautiful instrument is making me think about taking it up.

 

[Scuromondo]

Thank you all for the information. This really gives us a starting place. She’s going to play it on trial for a couple of weeks and also hopefully get the inside inspected. I’m not an accordion player but every note rings true and there are no sticky keys. Seeing this beautiful instrument is making me think about taking it up.

That’s good to hear!

If you have patience, you might try performing the checks detailed at the link below. They are not a substitute for getting a professional check-up, but they can help to rule out some more obvious common problems.

Tips on Old Accordions from the experts at House of Musical Traditions

We can't give you specific information on your older accordion, but you may find some useful guidelines in this article.

hmtrad.com