Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Dan Gordon]

I'm looking for a starter b/c accordion to play Irish and eastern European music.  Everyone has recommended the old Hohner Black Dot.  They look nice, but most of the used ones ship from Europe and I'm trying to find something in the U.S. that's similar but a little bit cheaper, but not a piece of crap.  What other alternatives should I look at?  I'm looking for something small, and the Hohner Lilliput also seems to fit, but I don't know how difficult it would be to learn a different key.  Any ideas?

[Theo]

If you want a Hohner BC then one of the Double Ray/Black Dot models is what you want.  The Liliput was never made as a BC, but could be converted which would likely cost you more than a Doubler Ray.  The Liliput also has a third row of 4 extra buttons which for most BC players would be redundant.

[Stiamh]

You could consider the Linnet from the Button Box in MA. They are made in China, but then so are modern Hohners. (I haven't tried one.) The Button Box is run by good people and they will allow you to take something on approval (i.e. they will refund the purchase price within a certain period provided you pay the return shipping).

[richard.fleming]

I don't think you would regret waiting until a good Black Dot turns up.

[hickory-wind]

I have two Hohner Double Ray Black Dots in stock in BC. I am going into a Zoom meeting with a student now but will post pictures when I'm done. I am in western NY state. The Button Box is closed but I'm still open.

Scott Bellinger

BellingersButtonBoxes.com

[hickory-wind]

Both are restored except for tuning so I can tune to your specification. Red one is newer and in perfect condition. Black one is older but marvelous condition for its age.

PM for details and prices.

Scott

[tirpous]

I don't think you would regret waiting until a good Black Dot turns up.

I'll second that (or triple, or centuple...), even if a bit more expensive they're money well spent.  I got an older black one (from Theo, as it happens) and never regretted it.

Now you even have a choice of color ! 

[hickory-wind]

Since these two aren't tuned yet I don't have videos. Here is a link to YouTube with at least 10 Double Ray's I've tuned in the past. Take a listen to get an idea of what you might prefer.

https://www.youtube.com/user/buttonboxbellinger/search?view_as=subscriber&query=double+ray

Scott

[Mark Anderson]

I've been renting a Linnet in C#/D from the Button Box for a couple of months.  They've been very easy to work with and the rentals terms are quite reasonable (e.g., half the rental costs can be applied to the purchase of an instrument).  Unfortunately, while I have experience with the Linnet, I've never played a Double Ray nor any other button accordion so I cannot offer comparisons.

However the above may not really matter to the OP since the Button Box is closed these days due to the SARS-II pandemic.

[Tone Dumb Greg]

...However the above may not really matter to the OP since the Button Box is closed these days due to the SARS-II pandemic.

It won't last forever.

[Peadar]

...However the above may not really matter to the OP since the Button Box is closed these days due to the SARS-II pandemic.

It won't last forever.

Reading Scott Bellinger's post his shop may be closed but he apears to be still open for business  on line / by post.
A lot of small businesses that would usually do a lot of business face to face are doing this at the moment.
They need to.
(Or is lockdown different in the States? )

[Mark Anderson]

...However the above may not really matter to the OP since the Button Box is closed these days due to the SARS-II pandemic.

It won't last forever.

I certainly didn't mean to imply that either the Button Box closure, the lockdown or the pandemic were unending.  However, any or all of them could exceed the O.P.'s patience.

Reading Scott Bellinger's post his shop may be closed but he apears to be still open for business  on line / by post.
A lot of small businesses that would usually do a lot of business face to face are doing this at the moment.
They need to.
(Or is lockdown different in the States? )

The B.B. had been open by phone/internet for awhile, now the website says 'closed as per state order', and that they are not currently accepting orders.

Your final question gets down to, perhaps unintentionally, some of the deeper oddities of the federal system in the U.S.A.  The lockdown is different in the States versus, say the U.K., but more to the point, the lockdowns are different from state to state (New York, Massachusetts, etc.) and even from county to county or city to city within each state.  Nearly all responsibility and authority for public health response(s) here lies at the state, rather than national, level---an interesting point to consider if/when watching the daily press conferences from the national capital. 

At any rate, it looks like the O.P. may be able to get what he says he wanted soon from Scott in New York rather than something else from the Button Box in neighboring Massachusetts.

--
Mark in Utah with totally different rules than the aforementioned states

[hickory-wind]

I don't have a public shop. It is a dedicated space in my basement (appointments only) so I'm under no legal obligation to close. My daughter (grown and living independently) usually helps me weekly but that has stopped. She is hunkered down in her house 20 minutes away just like we are. As a quilt maker and seamstress she has been frantically filling orders for custom face masks. https://www.emilybellinger.com/shop

If anything, I have more time to work on instruments since my normal travel time to/from university is freed up and it seems the students are 'stopping by' for help less often than when I was in my office. I am getting pretty good at Zoom though and was wise enough to borrow a document camera from campus so I can help students solve engineering problems remotely. Fortunately the postal service is still working so I don't even need to leave my house to ship and received boxes.

Scott

[BradInNL]

Dan, I have to agree with the above comments, get a Double Ray! If you don’t stick with it and decide to sell it, it will retain far more of its value than a cheaper box. If you do stick with it and start playing a bunch, you’ll be glad you have a decent instrument! Also the Double Ray can be customized and repaired by pretty much anyone who fixes accordions. I bought one this year...it stretched the budget a bit because of shipping/customs from the UK (to Canada) and but I haven’t regretted it! It’s great value!

Good luck with the search

[Kimric Smythe]

Weltmeister Monica (if you can find one) in BC is a reliable german made equivalent of the Erica. It was available in BC.

[hickory-wind]

The black Double Ray mentioned above is now up for sale with a demo video. It has modern bass/chord arrangement.

http://bellingersbuttonboxes.com/product/hohner-double-ray-black-dot-in-bc-from-germany/

YouTube demo video here: https://youtu.be/KNNHyXfMGbQ

Scott