I strongly believe that breaking in the bellows by any other means than by playing them is taking years off their life span.

I promise you, if you learn to slightly tap at the air regulator when playing at appropriate moments, the tightness of the bellows will be an advantage. Some people worry that they won't be able to play loud enough if they're too tight.

stiffness = compression.... compression = volume. This is why most experienced accordion builders to not let the bellows hang before they are shipped.

Stiffness is yet another thing you learn to work with over time, I'll say it again, it is an advantage.

I played an accordion where the bellows were very very worn. There were NO leaks, they opened and closed real quick like an old rag. If you want the old rag effect, than hang your bellows.

This in turn weakens the corners of the insides of the bellows. Those corners are sewn tight for a reason.

Jim,

I was answering, Maz, not you ,sorry!!!.
I'm chocked, that Larry would suggest that kind of remedie, to one of his customers, that's all,obviously he has a different opinion then Marc,on how to fix the problem, and Larry is a player as well, go figure, but I'm of the same opinion as Marc, insofar as his method of breaking the bellows in, and maybe I was not patient enough using his method..

C.

Great,

What do I know anyway,I just said that whoever built the box , shouldn't sent it , if the bellows are "stiff", I mean to the "point" that the fabricator suggest to you, such as a drastic method of hanging your little baby by his "derriere" for a day or two, and why didn't he do it himself to start with, maybe he wants you to bond with it, kind of a "cavalier" attitude ,like a do it yourself deal, don't you think?.
You and I have a different point of vue on quality control,that's all,no big deal really .

C.

Maybe we should also make a distinction between what an experienced player needs and what a beginner needs. Loose bellows make things much easier during the first months. You are more relaxed (I started really progressing and playing steadily once I had a loose bellows accordion). And on the other hand I have seen an experienced accordion player play great even on an Ariette (hard to find stiffer bellows).

Christian

I have to say that times have changed somewhat. A good quality bellows will be nice and flexible when new. (that is not to say it will not get looser after broken in)

A cheaper bellows will be overly still when new and acceptable when broken in, but will wear out sooner.

One sign of a cheap accordion is a cheap bellows. Beware builders that try to save money by using cheap bellows. They are probably cutting corners elsewhere as well. (pun intended :)

DP

Cutting corners? That mitre might not be true!

-David

DAVE AND DANA,

CRITTERS,FRITTERS,CITERS,CATERS,MISERS( BOY,THAT
WAS CLOSE!!!)BATERS,BITTERS,DIMMERS,
AND SO ON AND ON, AND NICE TRY DAVE,BUT I WON'T
BE ENTICED TO SAY THE BAD WORD M.TT.R
BOY, THAT'S TEMPTING, YOU GUYS ARE DEVILS!!!.

C.

Claude,

Sorry, I couldn't resist. Although, I was not taking a poke at you, I just like bad puns.

-David

thief!

Sorry Dwight,

Actually, it was a lot better when you said it.

-David

Actually, I had forgotten all about it until you repeated it to me that time. Seems there was more to it, but who remembers.

There was more - I remember it well. It went like this:

"This mitre might not be cause for re-butt all."

with corn like that, I could run my car on ethanol.

O.K. I've been reading this thread & find it entertaining & educational, so I'll add my 2 cents to the original question. "To push and pull takes just about all my effort" "Is this just because it's new?"
Yes. The accordion and bellows are new & probably require more effort.
"I don't play much at all, just learning"
If you are just learning & not playing much than this is also a reason that playing is difficult.

I started learning, for real, on a new accordion. I found the bellows to be stiff. The solution for me & the bellows is to PLAY MORE. I found myself getting tired after playing for 1/2 hour. I found that doing push ups helped me get in better shape to play this instrument. Playing the instrument helped get it into better shape to be played by me.

I had asked for suggestions, about 3 years ago, on caring for a brand new accordion. It was suggested that I not hang it up by it's B-ass. (I believe David Sousa told me that, thanks David!) I had never heard of doing that but readily agreed not to try it. Playing is the key. Play play & play. For me, anyway, that's what's it's all about & ends up answering most of my questions about how to do it. No need to be hanging it from a tree or obsessing about it's corners & such. (unless your into that sort of thing) Enjoy Daniel!

good call Tom, glad you didn't hang yer accordion like a criminal.

Good analogy..... Don't hang the accordion like a criminal.

Use the air regulator! tap it very gently with the meat of your palm, think of the air regulator was a baby's bottom. The trick is to figure out when to do it. EXPERIMENT.

Keep them bellows like NEW. LIKE NEW

Jim

just think of it as Gravity Shoes for your accordion. Stop before the box gets glaucoma.

Some people might not be old enough to make sense of this.