Philharmonic CBA accordion: Who is the manufacturer?

[caiyun...@gmail.com]

Any idea who makes the Black Philharmonic 5 Row Chromatic C System LMMM I found on Liberty Bellows? Was told it's Italian but according to some online maker's listing, there're two Phils, one by Vignoni and one by itself(?). Was told this box is 40 years old. Haven't got it yet. Will find out how it plays. Hope 40 years old is not too old... Was buying a new Weltmeister but was delayed for 4 months now so I switched to this. Hopefully I made the right choice. Thanks in advance!

[Excelsior960]

suggest you search the archives of this newsgroup - we
have discussed that brand name several times and as
recently as earlier this year

it is only a "jobber" brand, and does not command
a premium price though the quality was sometimes
quite good

you probably are buying it in haste and
considering the source, likely paying too much

wait for the Weltmeister, which you obviously
made a careful, researched decision over

if you need something in the meantime, pick
up an earlier model Roland V-accordion - there are
tons available (chromatics) and dirt cheap this year.
why? because then when the real Accordion gets here
you'll still have a use for the Digital, as it is
quite diferent and gives you an expanded palette

check Roxy's Music on ebay for new/old stock

[caiyun...@gmail.com]

The reason I went along with Liberty Bellows is based on my research so far, Mike the owner seems to be a warm, responsive and knowledgeable guy who has a long good reputation and, I did the switch because the Welt seems to be on hold forever and from the youTube clip, it sounds somewhat like my Hohner NoveIII 96 bass CBA, the dry clean German sound, which I do appreciate. But the Philharmoic is not too wet but clearly different from the German sound and on the Youtube it sounds pretty good. Don't have any Accordion dealers around what I live and so I don't really have much choice for hands on trial. Got the first Hohner from Amazon only based on online info. Anyway, I posted this after I told Liberty to switch my order. So the box is on the way here now and I'll see what it really sounds like. I suspected my maybe paying too much for the used box but, hopefully, it's worthwhile (sounds good a last a long time). It has 60 day return policy, but I really want to love the box, not getting refunds, not after waiting for so long. Also, I am secretly hoping the buttons on the old Italian box respond quick and nicerr than the Hohner, which is kinda too bouncy and stiff to my liking. Will check Roxy too. I prefer the acoustic over the digital even though digital has tons of pros the old fashioned stuff can't possibly match. Only thing is the digital doesn't feel real and sound real to me :) The sound is too clean and perfect. But will try if I run into one around here. Will search the archive here as well. Really appreciate your informative reply. Thank you so much!

[caiyun...@gmail.com]

On Wednesday, July 29, 2015 at 5:40:30 PM UTC-7, Excelsior960 wrote:

Just got the Philharmonic today and tried it. At around age 50, this box sounds amazing (full body, precise and sweet) and the button action is way way better than what's on my Hohner nova iii, on both hands. Above all this is a musette model that has some of the sounds I've been missing on the Hohner. From what I heard on YouTube, the Welt Romance 874 sounds like bigger version of the Hohner, so I do feel I made the right switch. You are probably right that I paid too much for this used Philharmonic. But good 120 bass CBA is not easy to come by around here and so I guess I have to suck it up this time. Only thing is the Phil is quite a bit taller than the Hohner so now I am learning to stretch my limbs quite a bit more to handle it. But from the touch to the sound, I am completely sold on Italian boxes, even 50 year old ones! LibertyBellows told me they did a thorough check and adjustment on the use box and put it back to great working condition. I have to agree and I hope they didn't have to do too much in the first place and what they did last a long time!

[ike milligan]

Good accordions are not that easy to find, so never sell it.