Accordions: how to buy an instrument for learning or the stage
Button or piano accordion
A button accordion has a keyboard of buttons, a piano accordion has keys like a piano. The button type is more often chosen for classical study, and the piano type for stage music, folk groups and children's classes. There are also converter instruments, where the left hand can play both ready-made chords and single notes.
Size is set by the number of basses: full-size instruments have 120 basses, popular ones for learning have 96, 80, 60 or 48. For a child people usually take 3/4 or smaller, while a music school for adults often requires 96 or 120 basses.
What not to forget
The instrument is heavy: a full-size accordion can weigh several kilograms, and a button one even more, so for a child the weight and comfortable straps matter. Ask whether it has registers (tone switches) and how many, because this affects the sound and the price. Makers and older factories have their own reputation: you can discuss it with a teacher or a repairer so as not to go wrong. Also ask about the layout: button instruments have different systems, and the choice must be agreed with the teacher, because it is hard to relearn.
What to put in your request
- Instrument — button accordion, piano accordion, converter;
- Size — number of basses, for example 96 or 3/4;
- For whom — school, child, professional;
- Brand and model, for example Weltmeister;
- Condition — new or used, and the defects you accept;
- What is included — case, straps;
- Budget and city.
Example: “For a music school I am looking for a 96-bass accordion, Weltmeister or similar, used, with bellows that hold air. With a case and straps. Gqeberha, budget up to R 5,900 I can come to see it.”
How to check a used instrument
The most important part is the bellows. Pull them open and press the air valve: if the sound drops or you hear hissing, the seal is broken. Play every key or button in turn: they must not stick, and the sound must come at once. Check the left and right mechanisms and the pads, the register switches and the straps.
The tuning of the reeds matters too: out-of-tune voices are heard immediately. Old instruments with damaged reeds need costly repair, so ask for a video of it being played and, if you can, inspect it in person. In humid weather, ask how it has been stored, because damp harms the reeds and the pads.
How searching through BlaBlaPrice works
You write a request on the home page, and sellers of instruments and owners answer in the chat with offers: photos, video, price, condition. They see where their offer stands and compete for your request. Contacts stay hidden until you choose a seller. Details are on How it works.
For practice you will also need accessories, and to choose other instruments see pianos and grand pianos and synthesisers.
