Matt,

Check out Bubba Brown's comments in link #2. He likes 'em.

Nedro

Had a D for a while, better than an Ariette, better playable than a H114, sounds OK, but not like a Binci fitted LA built accordion, less volume, "sweeter" sound.

- Some people like them as an affordable starters instrument. Cost around 900 dollars here in Europe:
http://www.akkordeon-weltmeister.de/deutsche-harmonika-102iv4-cajun-p-62.html?language=en.

- I am not sure if they're Just or Cajun tuned; probably equal as most folk players want them.

PS: see an older post about Weltmeister reeds: i think reeds in a Weltmeister are less sturdy than bincis .... http://pub21.bravenet.com/forum/static/show.php?usernum=1722942123&frmid=16&msgid=891700&cmd=show

- Nout

I tried the Weltmeister Cajun accordion a couple times when I visited The Button Box. There are nice boxes for the money. They are fairly comfortable to play and can be ordered with dry or wet tuning. Generally, they go for around $1000. Another comparable box for the same money is the Gabbanelli Cajun King. I owned one and liked it very much. I feel that it is better than the Weltmeister and can be ordered with hand made reeds. The Gabbanelli is usually in stock and ships within a day or two. You can get dry or wet tuning. Either box is good for beginner to intermediate players.

Now that you have read the comments you see that the non cajun built boxes are fair at best.. Why waste your money save up for a good used or new cajun box. I made the mistake and then I got a like new cajun box on ebay and I realized I had wasted money and time. You will always get your money back on a nice cajun box and will never get your money back on a cheaper one. I also found that they are easier to play.
Good Luck
Chuck from Kentucky

You have read only about the Weltmeister and the Gabb and from only a couple reports. That is not enough , nor is it empirical data, sufficient to make a judgement about non Cajun made accordeons.

The Weltmeister comes on many flavors such as REGAL and GALLOTTA. They are reasonably well made, much differnt from the Hohner HA114 and certainl;y different than the majority of Cajun made accordeons.

Yes I have owned them, they are decent, but buy used, grossly overpriced if more than $900. As to the Gabb... not remotely like Cajun or Welty or Hohners. Handmade reeds.. certainly you are joking.. Gabb does not put handmade reeds in these and if you do order upgraded reeds, at best they will be Cagnoni tipo a mano.. not that they are bad.. they simply are not
in the same league as any of the other accordeons mentioned. They are different specifically in their reed block construction..

Speaking fo construction, expect platic slides in the Welty built boxes.

To review... A cajun accordeon is an accordeon made by a Cajun. All others are 1 row, 10 button, diatonic, bisonoric aerophones usually with tow bass buttons and an air button. These are commonly known as accordeons, harmonikas, melodeons etc.

There is no doubt in my mind the Cajun boxes are made by Cajuns, however there a dozens of Quebec and English and Euro builders who build to a higher standard. Among them would be but not limited to:
Wesson (England)
Castagnari ( Italy)
Melodie ( Quebec)
Messervier ( Quebec)
Breton ( Quebec)
Beltuna ( Italy)
Gaillard ( France)
Van Der AA ( Netherlands)
Van Der Leeuw ( Netherlands)

A Cajun accordion is a Cajun accordion built by some of the best builders in the world and most built to play Cajun music. They don't get any better than that and that is exactly why they hold their price and are in such high demand all over the US and Europe.
Chuc from Kentucky

You wear your ignorance like a Red Badge of Courage. I admire your loyalty and jingoism.

Cajuns make the best Cajun accordeons. I do not disagree.

Many builders make much better 1 row, ten key, 4 reed, 2 bass accordeons.

Have you played any of those I have listed...?
I have played every one and owned many of them.

Forgot to mention Eric Martin or France.

Although I don't agree with the aggressive tone about someone's 'ignorance', I do agree that the Quebec builder's boxes are less bulky, usually lighter in weight and slight differences in construction. BUT..... many Quebec players have played ACADIAN's through the years, and they are not playing Cajun music on them.
The only negative about Quebec boxes are the prices! PHEW!

Hello everyone!! I'm here to tell you that I'm now a PROUD owner of a brand new German made Weltmeister Cajun Accordion. It's black and in the key of "C". It's also tuned "dry" or "Cajun-style" as I prefer since I'm a Traditional Cajun Musician. I love this accordion. It feels somewhat like an old "Sterling" accordion, especially on the "bass box". According to some research I've done, "Weltmeister" built the old "Monarch" and "Sterling" accordions. I figured this out because of the "crown and lace" graphics on the right hand facing of the accordion. These "Weltmeisters have a nice, full, rich and clean sound and are very well tuned. These accordions are very loud. They sure pack a punch!! My brother and my sister-in-law bought my "Weltmeister" accordion for me for Christmas through "Liberty Bellows" in Philadelphia. They ordered it by mail. They sent an order through E mail and made my request. I was the last U S customer to recieve one as of last year. The next U S customer won't recieve their "Weltmeister" accordion until February. Check out my video on YouTube of me playing that accordion. These accordions are about as good as any made domestically. I think they're as good as Junior Martin's accordions and Randy Falcon's accordions. These accordions really outshine all the other imports including Hohner's "Ariette" and Gabbanelli's "Cajun King" models. I've played those other imports and they just don't measure up to Weltmeister's quality in my opinion. OK, so I might be just a little prejudiced because I'm more partial to the "Sterling" quality. I've dreamed of owning a "Sterling" for a very long time. I've played quite a few including one that belonged to none other than IRY LEJEUNE!!! "PaPa" Aldus Roger offered me his "Sterling" for $1,800 but much to my dismay, my parents said "no". I was 13 at the time. I thought I was going to get that accordion which now sits in the Hall Of Fame. But now that I got my Weltmeister my "dream" is pretty much over, thanks to my brother and my sister-in-law. If any of you have a "Sterling" or "Monarch" accordion and you plan to get rid of it, I would advise you to hang onto it because someone like me may want it. Those "Sterlings" and "Monarchs" are very, very scarce but if you want something similar to that quality, buy a Weltmeister. They're the nearest to the "Sterling" and "Monarch" since they are made in Germany BY THE SAME COMPANY!!!

Hey Bubba, you made me really curious; they must have certainly improved then, my experiences were quite different .... that D one i bought new end of 2006 was popping out reeds, a friend breaking one, air needy, buttons coming loose ... definitely not on par with even a 80-ies Zero Cette "Acadian" D i bought later, the latter being great for sound, but by far as loud and punchy as my first Acadian: as said you got me curious now! PS mine had Weltmeister on the front panel, but it looked quite similar as the Harmona branded ones i saw earlier. - Nout