Macerata accordion
mindw...@gmail.com
another label that says "Made in Italy" with an ivory type plate that
shows "L650/41". Believe this would called a 41 key/120 bass with "3
voices"(basson, piano, clarinet). This instrument is probably over 20
years old but is good shape and all the keys but one(it sticks)
works. Need to know if anyone has any idea about this accordion and
what it might be worth. Thanks
David Kastrup
Sigh. 90% of all accordions offered on Ebay have something like "no
idea whether this needs tuning, I don't play" "I am not a musician" and
so on on it. It would appear that the main purpose of accordions is
being traded rather than played.
When we are talking about money, I'd rather hear "what do you think I'd
need to invest to have a really well-playable accordion again" than
"what do I get if I sell this thing".
Sorry for the rant.
--
David Kastrup, Kriemhildstr. 15, 44793 Bochum
mindw...@gmail.com
your welcome to your rant, but you really should get all your facts
first. I acquired this when a relative died and I don't play and
neither does anyone else in my family. so we have no use for it and
thought SOMEONE ELSE might have. but I do not know of what value this
instrument may be. I don't want to cheat anyone including myself.
Alan Sharkis
I hear what you're saying. I bought such an accordion from a friend
in who was in similar circumstances about three years ago, and it
prompted me to start playing again after fifty years of not playing. I
found a teacher (rare in these parts) who still performs on the
instrument, and that accordion took a few hundred dollars in repairs
so that I could get started on it again. At that time, there was
still an accordion dealer with a qualified technician just a
fifteen-minute drive from me.
I also have the first full-sized accordion that I played when I was
much younger. It's about fifty years old, and I suspect that the one
that you have is much more than twenty years old, as well. My first
full-sized accordion is in much worse condition than the one I bought
from my friend. I also recently bought a very modern reedless,
midi-equipped instrument, so I'm not in dire need of an accordion at
this time. But let me use my old, first full-sized accordion as an
illustration of how an accordion of that age gets a value affixed to
it.
The first step would be to take the accordion to a qualified
technician. At this time, I'd have to drive a minimum of a hundred
miles to do that. I could prepare the instrument for shipping and
then ship the accordion to a technician, but that presents other
difficulties and expenses. I would ask the technician for an
appraisal of the accordion in its present condition, a list of repairs
and their cost if that technician could restore the instrument, and a
rough idea of its value after restoration. I would have to pay that
technician a fee for the appraisal and the accordion would have to be
left with him for a period of some weeks. At the end of that time,
armed with a list of repairs and their cost from the technician, I'd
have to decide whether to go ahead with the restoration or not. If I
decide to have it done, I'd have to wait perhaps several months for it
to be done, and then arrange to either drive to pick it up or to have
the technician prepare it for shipping and then ship it to me at my
expense.
Now, let's consider what might have to be done on my first full-sized
accordion. Just from looking at it, I see lots of cosmetic blemishes.
Structurally, because the bellows taping is worn through and the
bellows cloth is showing cardboard, I'd need a new set of bellows.
They would be custom-made at a cost of about $400. I'd also have to
have a hole in the case, which represents an air leak, repaired, the
treble keyboard leveled, and a few miscellaneous minor adjustments
made. But beyond that, I realize that the accordion has never had a
complete overhaul, and that it will probably need to be tuned, and the
old wax that holds the reed plates into the reed blocks might have to
be replaced. Those items would cost at least $700. The technician
may also find other problems that I cannot foresee. So, we're already
at significantly more than a thousand dollars for a student-quality
instrument that cost my parents $230 some fifty years ago. Is it
worth that much to me for the sake of nostalgia? Is it worth that
much to a beginning student who can get a newer instrument, even a
brand-new one in much better shape for about $3000 or less?
Would a collector, who recognizes that there's no historical value in
the instrument be willing to pay me what I would have paid for the
repairs?
Now, your instrument might have historical value far beyond mine. It
might need fewer (and less expensive,) or more (and more expensive)
repairs than mine. But only a qualified accordion technician would be
able to tell you that. And once again, they'd have to spend time with
the instrument, charge you a fee for their time, and you'd have to get
it there and back.
Take care.
Alan
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whatsanike
<mindw...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:95a32518-3906-4df0...@a70g2000hsh.googlegroups.com...
Dear Macerata,
This accordion is probably just the next notch above the entry-level student
120 bass with 2 sets of treble reeds. Yours has 3 sets, and they are
configured LMH. This is not he most popular configuration for 3 sets of
treble reeds, but some people may prefer it to the more popular and less
common LMM. LMM allows for "musette" tremolo betyween the two middle "M"
reed sets. what you have is Low Middle and High. A few LMH accordion are
professional in quality rather than student grade, and seeing a photo would
be very instructive. If you could post it online I would like to comment
further for the further edification of the group (of mostly know-it-alls
like myself).