accordion I saw in the thrift shop today

[timothy42b]

They had a kind of beat up looking Hutschelli accordion in a Floh/Troedelmarkt I stopped at today. 

The guy wanted $50 Euro for it, and with the exchange rate that's around $70.

I don't actually play accordion but have wanted one for a while.  But it's pretty beat up and I don't know how to test them or how hard fixing them is.

Any advice?  I have no doubt it will be there next week.

I squeezed it in and out (couldn't really figure out how to hold the thing.)  It played chords when I pressed buttons and notes on the keyboard. 

[thalbergmad]

I went through an "Accordian" phase a couple of years ago and it really is a great instrument.

I would say it is well worth risking $70 even if it is a little beaten up. I paid $2000 for mine (far from top of the range) and now it resides in its case in my loft.

If it plays a tune, i say go for it. If air hisses out all over the place, perhaps not.

Thal

[quantum]

Accordions are cool.  Great for folk music.  Tangos sound uber on them. 

If it is a dud, you might even be able to trade with an accordion dealer. 

I randomly take out mine every once and a while. 

[Petter]

I got one for ~2000 dollars aswell as a graduation gift and it sounded and looked fantastic but after a while the glue started dissolving and some notes got stuck. I went back with it and got it repaired. But it kept happening again and again. I still feel the agony from having to carry that monster on the train numerous times and eventually I switched it out for another one that is starting to fall apart now aswell. I suppose the dealer was a fraud, or I was just unlucky.
 But to be honest all the accordions I´ve played on have given up on me, including an old friends that I still havent repaired and our relationship is quite chilly by now.
 I dont know if this would be helpful to you in any way but I felt like telling 

[timothy42b]

I got one for ~2000 dollars aswell as a graduation gift and it sounded and looked fantastic but after a while the glue started dissolving and some notes got stuck. I went back with it and got it repaired. But it kept happening again and again. I still feel the agony from having to carry that monster on the train numerous times and eventually I switched it out for another one that is starting to fall apart now aswell. I suppose the dealer was a fraud, or I was just unlucky.
 But to be honest all the accordions I´ve played on have given up on me, including an old friends that I still havent repaired and our relationship is quite chilly by now.
 I dont know if this would be helpful to you in any way but I felt like telling 

This is indeed helpful, or should have been.

I did some research on the Internet and found buying a used accordion is usually pretty stupid.  Not only the leather but the wax deteriorate with time and by 40 years most need a complete rebuild, which is more expensive than buying a new top of the line one. 

I also found there are some inexpensive new ones that would be great for learning on before spending the $2500 or so that a good one costs.  So again it's pretty dumb to buy one from a thrift shop.

Of course, I did that research AFTER I'd bought it.  Hate it when that happens. 

[quantum]

So you got it?  How is it?

[timothy42b]

So you got it?  How is it?

It is a 24 bass piano accordion, meaning the left hand has 24 buttons and the right hand plays a keyboard.

The 24 buttons are 8 columns of 3 buttons.  In each column the top button plays the root, the next a major chord, and the next a minor chord.  As you move from column to column you always go up a fifth.  Fairly ingenious.  You've got I, IV, and V chords next to each other for most keys. 

The tone is good on most notes, the tuning is atrocious, and I seem to have minor leaks in the bellows.  So this will not be a performance instrument but just for fun and learning.  Not sure if I'll put the effort into learning to repair it - could go either way at this point.