What accordion is this?

njplayer

Hello All, I’m new to the group and accordions. I’ve been playing guitar for 20 years. I’m actually looking to buy a used accordion locally and there is a beautiful one I need to try out. It doesn’t seem to have a brand name on it, just Italia No 18. I’ll try to add a photo here. Can anyone help with what brand this is, if they are any good, and what they should sell for? Thank you!!

njplayer

To add to the original post, I did try to Google search "Italia No. 18" and nothing relevant seems to come up. Appreciate any help you can give!

BillDaCostaWilliams

Looks beautiful.

ChrisMartin

The style certainly fits any of the Italian makers from Castelfidardo. It would be normal to have the makers name on the plain cartouche area above the bellows (between the two arrow designs), it looks strange to have that part left blank, are there any screw holes or other marks where something could have been fixed? Many of these makers also had their own small shield or 'scudo' type insignia, is there anything like that, even without any obvious name written in it these can identify makers too.

A good resource might be;

http://www.accordionlinks.com/manufacturer.html#m:pasco_italia

it could be worth asking if someone there can help.

njplayer

Thank you. I haven’t seen it in person yet, seller is out of town. But they say no repairs have been made and no other insignia can be found. It’s a beautiful instrument to me, I just don’t know if $300 is reasonable asking price. Thank be looked into these enough so I know to check all keys and buttons to make sure no sticking parts, as well as no leak in bellows. But before I drive out to seller for 30 min, wanted to get a good gauge on price.

billyshakes

This would go great in combo with some of those guitars from the "sicilian" thread. Agreed it looks naked without anything in that cartouche area Chris spoke about.

https://djangobooks.com/forum/discussion/17305/sicilian-gypsy-folk-guitar

njplayer

Honestly I would be buying it for someone who would not care too much that there is no name in the cartouche area, and I myself don't mind too much either. My concern is overpaying for something that has no brand associated with it. I'll do my best to test it out in a week or so, but price wise I'm just not sure.

billyshakes

@njplayer I would think the opposite would be the case. Having a name associated with it would establish its value, where lack of name would mean it could be anything (so you should assume it is from a lower quality brand to be on the safe side). If you are testing it out, and you like the sound, then I would think you would know the standard value of what a generic accordion would be. If you later find out it was hand made by some exclusive artisan, you wouldn't have paid that premium for the brand. If the seller is trying to get you to pay a premium without information to support that claim, I would be wary.

To me, it looks nice. If it sounds nice and plays nice, and you think the price is reasonable, go for it!

Buco

I saw some unbranded accordions in good shape for $250. So that one is in the ballpark with possibly some room to make an offer if you end up liking it.

Svanis1337

I can't see any register switches on it. It's either a 16+8 or 8+8 accordion, maybe it has a palm switch to change sounds.

8+8 together means you get that tremolo "musette" like sound which is called violin when using two reed sets and musette when using three. 16+8 means you get an octave below the fundamental. You need reed switches to change between sound 1, 2 and 3 or you're stuck with one of them.

Looks like maybe a 50's or later instrument. Earlier accordions had the wood exposed and painted. You'll want to check for sticky bass keys, sticky piano keys, out of tune reeds and missing notes. Remember to check both pull/draw. Also check bad straps and that the side hand strap has a working adjustor wheel.

If it's an older instrument with issues I would try to haggle a little. $300 is more than I'd pay.

njplayer

Thank you so much for the detailed information! I really appreciate the help. What a fantastic experience here for a first timer! I'll let you know if I end up getting it.