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Author Topic: Hohner Club IIIM thoughts?  (Read 3305 times)

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Pat McInnis

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Hohner Club IIIM thoughts?
« on: November 03, 2019, 04:36:01 PM »

A friend of mine picked up this Hohner Club IIIM that looks to be in fair condition. I've yet to get my grubby hands on it but wondered about the general consensus of these systems? All I know is that they are made in the '50s and '60s; are all in CF and have five registers and three voice. Feel free to correct any of that web based research. Are these boxes worth restoring? Do they have a following if not de-clubbed? Enquiring minds and all that.

IMG_9442 by Pat McInnis, on Flickr
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folkloristmark

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Re: Hohner Club IIIM thoughts?
« Reply #1 on: November 03, 2019, 05:31:11 PM »

Absolutly.And as far as the club C button goes keep the old reeds and replace with two then put those on the leather not wax with two large pins and you can swap them out in a few mins. Or get another one.(box)  dont  change the bass side.

PS It should in an ideal world be marked 880.  thats modern not 870 which they might be.
« Last Edit: November 03, 2019, 05:33:09 PM by folkloristmark »
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Mark Taylor
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Pat McInnis

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Re: Hohner Club IIIM thoughts?
« Reply #2 on: November 03, 2019, 06:14:01 PM »

Absolutly.And as far as the club C button goes keep the old reeds and replace with two then put those on the leather not wax with two large pins and you can swap them out in a few mins. Or get another one.(box)  dont  change the bass side.

PS It should in an ideal world be marked 880.  thats modern not 870 which they might be.

Good to know.

Are you saying that I should keep the C button as a quick change between club and de-club system? Interesting. I was not planning on de-clubbing to be honest. 880 stamping equals 440hz?
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Steve_freereeder

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Re: Hohner Club IIIM thoughts?
« Reply #3 on: November 03, 2019, 11:35:33 PM »

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smiley

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Re: Hohner Club IIIM thoughts?
« Reply #4 on: November 04, 2019, 02:15:41 AM »

Are these boxes worth restoring?


I've got one of these sitting unused in its original case, plus a similar looking Club IIB, that I've never really bonded with.
In my opinion they feel quite heavy and unwieldy. Perhaps they would suit being played mainly on the pull with plenty of cross-rowing on the treble side to minimise bellows movement?

Both these club accordions were going for a song, so to speak, but now I don't think they are worth sending to a fettler for refurbishing.
If you're able to do the work yourself then it may be another matter.
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Matthew B

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Re: Hohner Club IIIM thoughts?
« Reply #5 on: November 04, 2019, 03:04:11 AM »

Lovely instruments, if a bit "niche".  Nice for playing German tunes -- they have all the chords and reversals set up for this kind of thing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYV8lYigLxs.
But they have also been repurposed for a very different tradition:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPof7SvgXGY
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rees

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Re: Hohner Club IIIM thoughts?
« Reply #6 on: November 04, 2019, 10:59:42 AM »

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Rees Wesson (accordion builder and mechanic)
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Alan Pittwood

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Re: Hohner Club IIIM thoughts?
« Reply #7 on: November 04, 2019, 12:09:15 PM »

Quote
In my opinion they feel quite heavy and unwieldy. Perhaps they would suit being played mainly on the pull with plenty of cross-rowing on the treble side to minimise bellows movement?

Bob stood at a microphone to play and call dances: he used two shoulder straps.

Bob's red IIIM was in D/G.  He was not alone in the West Country as there was at least one other red IIIM, also in D/G, active in the 1970s [I think his first name was Ken and he may have been part of Padstow as he was with Bob and Charlie Bate when I met him]
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Randal Scott

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Re: Hohner Club IIIM thoughts?
« Reply #8 on: November 04, 2019, 03:17:29 PM »

I play a IIIM as my main box - french tunes and latin styles.  I play a polka when asked.

Smiley, if you are in the US I'll take your clubs  :|glug
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rees

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Re: Hohner Club IIIM thoughts?
« Reply #9 on: November 04, 2019, 05:45:49 PM »

Quote
In my opinion they feel quite heavy and unwieldy. Perhaps they would suit being played mainly on the pull with plenty of cross-rowing on the treble side to minimise bellows movement?

Bob stood at a microphone to play and call dances: he used two shoulder straps.

Bob's red IIIM was in D/G.  He was not alone in the West Country as there was at least one other red IIIM, also in D/G, active in the 1970s [I think his first name was Ken and he may have been part of Padstow as he was with Bob and Charlie Bate when I met him]

He also played with lots of push/pulls.
 His grandson, Mark Bazeley also has a IIIM that he uses for sessions to save dragging the Ouverture around.
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Rees Wesson (accordion builder and mechanic)
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folkloristmark

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Re: Hohner Club IIIM thoughts?
« Reply #10 on: November 04, 2019, 07:51:31 PM »

Yes I did ;D but if your not going to declub then stick with it. Is your 880? They are good hohner boxes but most likely it will never be your first box :M However if it is 880 then assuming it has old wax, then with a rewax and new valves you may find it needs surprisingly little retuning :-\. If I get mine out it is to play with the club feel from the C row or I try to attempt play the old irish club style.You will play G from the C row going to the accidentals for Fsharp wich you have in both directions at least I do. I am very clunky and can not play in D. Play it a bit before you decide, you may find it comes into better tunes is the valves free up or worse if the wax, if there. starts to crack. Only a few bad reeds can make it sound far worse than it is.The are usually in quite good nick if they dont leak or not been near water condensation etc and will benifit from a full reed overhaul.
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Mark Taylor
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Re: Hohner Club IIIM thoughts?
« Reply #11 on: November 04, 2019, 07:56:57 PM »

It’s horses for courses.  If the Club IIIM suits your playing style that’s great, but they are not for everyone.  I had one for a while.  Build quality is impressive, but I didn’t take to it and found it took a long time to sell on.
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Re: Hohner Club IIIM thoughts?
« Reply #12 on: November 04, 2019, 08:31:54 PM »

I play a IIIM as my main box - french tunes and latin styles.  I play a polka when asked.

Smiley, if you are in the US I'll take your clubs  :|glug

How about we meet halfway .... Hawaii?

BTW that Brazilian guy's video shared by Matthew B was pretty amazing.
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Pat McInnis

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Re: Hohner Club IIIM thoughts?
« Reply #13 on: November 06, 2019, 07:30:20 PM »

Good bit of response on this topic. My friend's dad, who picked up the box for me lives on the coast and has yet to send it up. I'm looking forward to playing around with it and if it isn't for me then i'll move it along. Fortunately my fettling skills are coming along so I will be able to tackle most issues and I'm sure there will be some.
I'll give an update when it arrives.
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folkloristmark

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Re: Hohner Club IIIM thoughts?
« Reply #14 on: November 06, 2019, 08:17:18 PM »

It’s horses for courses.  If the Club IIIM suits your playing style that’s great, but they are not for everyone.  I had one for a while.  Build quality is impressive, but I didn’t take to it and found it took a long time to sell on.

Tell me about it I have a shed full that I hope to pass on :'(
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Mark Taylor
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Jimmy

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Re: Hohner Club IIIM thoughts?
« Reply #15 on: November 06, 2019, 09:08:22 PM »


[/quote]Tell me about it I have a shed full that I hope to pass on :'(
[/quote]

And I have an attic full of them  :D
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Pat McInnis

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Re: Hohner Club IIIM thoughts?
« Reply #16 on: November 06, 2019, 10:20:41 PM »


Tell me about it I have a shed full that I hope to pass on :'(
[/quote]

And I have an attic full of them  :D
[/quote]

Well the price was very fair if it does end up as a wall hanger but I'm not one to leave well enough alone.
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Squeaky Pete

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Re: Hohner Club IIIM thoughts?
« Reply #17 on: November 06, 2019, 11:05:16 PM »

I have one arriving soon. I'm wondering if it can replace a club IIIBS as it will have ally reed plates instead of zinc.
That's a lot of heavy metal.
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Squeaky Pete

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Re: Hohner Club IIIM thoughts?
« Reply #18 on: November 15, 2019, 10:09:06 PM »

It's arrived now.
First impression is it's a lot lighter than I was expecting.
However it's very leaky so I'm not going to make any decisions until I have sorted that out.
The reed layout is much more sensibly arranged so it only uses 3 blocks instead of the 5 in the BS.
I think I might like it once it's fettled. It's plug ugly so that's a plus point too. It depends on how dry it can be tuned before it becomes lifeless.
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Adam-T

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Re: Hohner Club IIIM thoughts?
« Reply #19 on: November 22, 2019, 03:45:18 PM »

I liked the IIIBS I had , it was the Square 30s shape with the two levers under the fingerboard and 5 reedblocks not the later Helmet shape like your IIIM with a more Corso like reedblock setup , it`s be a shame to tune that dry , they sound lovely and rich with a good hohner detune and the low reeds kicked in .... I`d like an Ouverture IV or V which was kinda the top end of these boxes before you hit heavyweight Club Morino territory - the Club Morino N I had was like wrestling a hippo, stunning build and sound though with none of the muffled outer row issues Elephantine Paolo 9 couplers suffer ..
« Last Edit: November 22, 2019, 03:49:54 PM by Adam-T »
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