is this a good deal?http://cgi.ebay.com/Nicolo-Salanti-Sal-eri-Accordian-W-Hardhsell-Case_W0QQitemZ7397650938QQcategoryZ16218QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItemand would it be easy to fix those notes thAT are messed up? please tell mme fast i need to know!
thanks jesse
The listing notes that there are Bb, E, and F# Problems without going into any detail about what sort of problems those keys have.
If the keys are out of tune you don’t want it. It is not easy to retune an accordion. An accordion has metal reeds inside. To tune it you need to disassemble the accordion, file the reed or add metal to the reed to change the tune, reassemble the accordion to hear the new tuning. Then repeat until tuned. A professional tuning at an accordion shop is several hundreds of dollars.
If the notes are in tune then the accordion might be reasonably fixable, but you’re taking a gamble. If there are mechanical problems with the key action you can likely fix that on your own if you’re handy with mechanical bits. If some of the notes are leaking air you can likely fix that as well.
First thing to ask the seller is to find out if the accordion is in tune and then find out what problems those keys have.
hey john you play right? where could i find an affordable one prefferably w/ 120 keys but not needed.
thanks
also how is it to learn on a 12 key?
I have never played a 12 bass accordion. For specific music situations it could work well, but general playing you’ll find that you really really miss the extra bass buttons and the extra keyboard keys on the larger accordions.
The 12 bass is missing the counterbass row which is needed if you want to play a scale on the base notes or do a short little bass note run to liven up the bass line. The 12 bass is also missing the minor chord row and the 7th chord row and those chords are very nice to have. If you have the counterbass row you can actually play a full scale on the bass buttons.
I have a 96 bass accordion and a 120 bass accordion. The 96 bass is my “good” accordion (better sound, more reeds). The 120 bass accordion was a cheap one found somewhere used. It works OK but has an out of tune note on one of the reeds.
If you’re looking for something for general use a 96 bass or 120 bass would be the best choice. The 96 bass has all the rows that a 120 bass does (6 rows: counterbass, bass, major chord, minor chord, 7th chord, diminished chord). A 72 bass would also work if you can find one. A 72 bass also has the 6 rows.
Ask at your local music shops if they know of any used accordions for sale. They might even be able to get ahold of a good used one for you. Otherwise check places like Craigslist or do a Google search for “used accordion”. Pawn shops are another place to look. Just be sure to try the accordion out first to make sure all the notes are good. Check each note for both pushing and pulling on the bellows because there is a different set of reeds for air that is going in or out.
New accordions are quite expensive. Fortunately if you keep an eye out you can find them used.
i dont know the first thing about tryoing one to be in tune or any thing, i dont even know how to holdit or anything, but thanks your awesome
what about hese two?this one and this one do you think i could trust this company? they have the cheapest accordians i have ever seen!
if those 2 links didnt work then go here its two of the ones for like 120-150
thanks
Good find. The black one looks good. The red one doesn’t have as many reeds or sound settings. The black one is a LoDuca Bros. Symphonette. Looks like a good accordion.
Should be safe to buy from that store. They sell accordions so they’d know accordions and wouldn’t be likely to sell a used accordion that was a dud.
The nice thing about used accordions is that they are a lot less money than new accordions. The bad thing about new accordions is that they are expensive and don’t hold their value.
If you know how to play a piano or organ, learning the accordion won’t be hard. The bass notes look like they’d be confusing, but they are actually laid out very logically. They go by 5ths and 3rds which make a lot of sense for most music (especially marches and polkas, but also a lot of popular music). The piano side is just like a piano keyboard. It all makes sense and is fun to play. But just like bagpipes, you’ll get no respect as an accordion player.
For an example of the high end, Roland has an all digital accordion. Retail is about $6,500 
It is all digital samples. It does not have any reeds. It’s more synth than accordion.
i think i love you john. i dont play piano but do play bass clarinet in the school band and think i am quite good, with both playing and reading music. Weird al says that the new roland midi is bad, i forget why though (go to “ask al” on his website and it says) so im going to buy the black one.
thanks john, invisible rep to you
the website you gave discribes it as a midi i think, is it? cause i have no amps(you do need an amp for a midi right)
oh yeah, and i dont count on any respect (even w/ my own family, wich is why im gonna leave it at my moms so they dont even know that i play)
The Roland accordion is all MIDI and all electronic. It uses sampled sounds. Yup, MIDI is problematic. More flexible than a real accordion in some areas and less flexible in others. It’s a cool bit of engineering and audio geek.
There are some fancy professional level accordions that go for more than $10,000. There are some very expensive accordions out there.
The web site for the black LoDuca mentions that it has a mic built in and has a volume control along with an instrument out plug to go to an amp. That just makes it easy to amplify the accordion for live performances, like if you played the accordion in a band. You don’t need to plug it in to play. It has reeds and makes sound the old fashioned way. It’s neat if it has a mic built in. That’s something you pay extra for on other accordions. My accordions don’t have a mic (not that I’d need it).
again, i love you.
i have another question, about music. if i get the one w/ 7 treble registers, does that mean that i can use music for the 7 different instruments that each register is?
thanks
The seven registers give you seven different tones that you can play. The different tones are made by combining different banks of reeds. There are probably four banks of reeds in that accordion for the piano keys. Different tones are made by combining those banks of reeds in different combinations.
The clarinet register is not going to sound like a clarinet. Clarinet is just a name for a register. Same for the violin register. They’re just names.
I try to find music already transcribed for accordion. It’s easier to deal with. Music books for organ can also work well for the accordion (popular organ music like marches and such, not classical stuff like Bach). The organ music books that have the chords spelled out will work well with the accordion.
You should try to find a beginning series of accordion lesson books. The books will go through the fingering for the bass notes and chords and get you up to speed on the basics of how to play. Then once you have the basics down you can go on to organ music books or whatever interests you.
well i emailed the guy about the acc. and its been sold so ill probably have to get the red and white one or find something else, im sad
Accordians are incredibly expensive to repair and service. I would not even consider buying a second hand one unless I’d played it myself and found every note to be working.
(I do play a melodeon, which is a similar sort of thing. Accordians are even more expensive.)
well i have no money for a new one unless i wanted like 3 bass buttons, so ill have to deal w/ a used.
whats the best way to learn, are books fine? and if so, would you recommend one?
If you can’t already play one, and you don’t have a lot of background knowledge, is it the best instrument for you? There are various squeezebox type instruments (melodeon, concertina, button accordian, piano accordian) with various tunings, and various strengths and weaknesses.
Melody (the right hand) you can learn by ear. The left hand (accompaniment) is more difficult and requires some technical knowledge, and a lot of practice.
One advantage of having a good teacher and regular lessons, is that it structures your practice, and focuses you. (I write as one with a history of half-learned musical instruments!)