Charles,

I haven't reviewed this whole thread, so please
forgive any repetition here ..

The Louisiana instruments can be found in .. Louisiana!
Google Jr. Martin, Marc Savoy, Larry Miller etc.

They are not "hard to find" but it may take time for
someone to build your instrument. Each one is hand
made and usually to order. Unfortunately, they are
not inexpensive.

Here's a link to my WEB page, discussing purchasing of
an accordion:

http://www.bignick.net/BoxLessons/boxlesson_2.htm

Best of luck in your endeavors!

--Big Nick

I went to an accordion association meeting last night, and I had a blast. All the people who played had piano accordions, but the coordinator brought a Hohner Cajun diatonic with 2 stops. I was able to play a little bit with it, and it was fun. One of the guys, knowing I was interested in the diatonic, suggested that I go for the 3-row button type so that I would have more keys to work with. Makes sense, but all I see on You Tube are all the guys playing one row button models, probably most keyed in C. Is virtually all Cajun music C-accordion centric? Is it common for Cajun accordionists to bring multiple one-row boxes to gigs to accommodate multiple keys? Do some or many use 3-row models to solve that dilemma? And how would this relate to the popular DVD instruction courses out there? Thanks.

Hi Charles. If you want to play traditional Cajun music a one row LMMH reed bank fitted handmade LA accordion probably is the best choice. If you're looking for a multipurpose instrument, Zydeco and f.i. Tex Mex, you might want to look around on other forums, like melodeon.net or the reyes forum for advice too. - Nout

The triple-row is a wonderful, versatile instrument but you need a single-row to play traditional Cajun music. Each instrument has its own capabilities, limitations, and distinctive sound. You cannot substitute one for the other.
More often than not, professional Cajun musicians gig with two or three single-row boxes. In addition to the single-rows, those who play Zydeco and/or Creole music typically have one or more triple-rows. But that’s not about covering more keys.
Who do you want to emulate? If it’s Octa Clark you need the single-row. But if it’s Boozoo Chavez you’ll need both. For a crash course in what the instruments are capable of, go see how Horace Trahan (or Jeffrey Broussard) choose among their single- and triple-rows for different parts of their shows.
Enjoy!

Check E-Bay Item number: 221021270008

It is a fine looking instrument. What do you know about the Acadiana line and the builder, Mr. Colligan?

Good accordion. Some like the way he tunes the instrument. Jimmy Breaux plays Acadianna.

Great builder I have one of his so do a lot of really good well known players.

He lives next door to me and is my wife's cousin. So I can vouch for him. Although that is Ebay and not being sold by him personally...