To quote Satchel Paige, "If ya didn't know how old ya was, how old would ya be?" Jerry said, " I am on the downside of the slope and as much as I would love it, a new Hohner Gola would be a waste of money on me (haha), but if I was 13 again and starting over, I know exactly what I would be playing in terms of style of music and what instrument I would be wearing." I am on the downside of the slope and as much as I would love it, a new Hohner Gola would be a waste of money on me (haha), but if I was 13 again and starting over, I know exactly what I would be playing in terms of style of music and what instrument I would be wearing. Where you are in your musical path is also a big factor. Since I own a wonderful accordion that is pretty high-end and in very good shape, I am looking more at maintenance than anything else in my future. If I had the budget and was looking for an accordion today, I would be looking at 5-digit new ones. An older accordion in relatively good shape is going to be able to be restored, re-tuned and in most cases, even a brand new accordion is going to have to have some budget put aside for fixing/tuning and touching up the small things that the factory forgot to do in their haste, believe it or not. That, along with a healthy budget, is going be the two factors in finding the accordion of your desires. There are good and bad accordions on both sides of the vintage/new fence, and truth to be told if one is not knowledgeable about them, unless the gauge of the amount of money is used, one will have a challenge of telling the difference.Ī bit of knowledge goes a long way. From this perspective, it does not matter whether it is a new or used accordion. When purchasing them, it is necessary to carefully select and consider all possibilities and models if the purchase is to be meaningful. However, if we understand this money as an investment in ourselves, it’s worth it surely. In the case of an old instrument, its reparation and renovation from a purely economic point of view is not worthwhile. You must give the whole property for a new good instrument. Therefore, the cost of new accordions is often expensive. Nowadays, the price of labor has risen significantly and inflation (temporarily hidden) continues. New Italian companies are also emerging (Siwa Figli), however, it is questionable how much they will stand in brutal competition in the future. In the case of European producers, nowadays it is presented mostly stagnation, or in worse scenario bankrupt (Dallapé, Borsini,…). China also has an increasing share of this development.
The current global production capacities of accordions are considerably oversized in relation to demand. If you are lucky, you can find a great instrument among them, technically as well as acoustically. Nowadays, the market is saturated with lots of old accordions from the golden age. In the late 1980s, a gradual decline in interest in the instrument began. The golden times of the accordion were after the Wolrd War II, in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. We are currently living in a time of reduced interest in this instrument. I do not overestimate the technical possibilities of old instruments, but I have also no illusions about the quality of new accordions. Have fun no matter what instrument you play! Maybe the vastly better and more experienced accordionists on this forum would say the same about new vs. It had a vintage sound that made me smile, but I would probably still choose a new Yamaha CFX because it is much more versatile in sounding great with any repertoire or style. etc., so that it was as easy to play as a new Yamaha. I just played an 1896 Steinway concert grand that was completely souped up with a new action, new strings, etc. If you find a classic accordion, as listed in one of the threads here, it may still cost you as much eventually as a new one, but it may have “something” the new ones don’t. Finding a used accordion that is 10 years old or less can save you a lot of money and repair and tuning costs.ĥ.
Buy from a reputable dealer, whether you buy new or old.Ĥ. I asked the same question in a few threads because the members of this forum have so much experience and common sense.Ģ.