There are a lot of beginners out there who, like myself, can not afford a top of the line LA built accordion and must go with a cheap made in ??? one. Well at least for a while anyway. Any suggestions on what they can do for stiff cheap bellows or other problems that would not equal the price of a top of the line? You have to remember that more often than not, most of these beginners will eventually purchase a top of the line accordion while the rest will either give up or just mess around occasionally with the cheapo.
I hate to respond, for fear that someone will buy an accordion with a cheap bellows and expect my procedure below to make it as good as a good one, (it won't) but here goes.
But if you already have a cheap, stiff one, yes you can "soften it up" quite a bit with some work.
First, if you are not handy with tools, stop and read no further.
Second, remove the bellows from both sides of the accordion. (Usually only two screws on each side.)
Then grab the bellows frame on each side and pull the bellows open as far as you can go. Then push it together completely. Sit in front of the TV and do this for a whole episode of American Idol. (constantly) As fast as you can without wearing yourself out. Be sure to change your hand position to a different part of the frame from time to time to be sure you "work" the bellows evenly.
Then make a u shape up, and a u shape down and a u shape sideways, (only stretching the outside of the bellows each time) Do this for another 30 minutes during a rerun of Seinfeld.
This will loosen up your cheap bellows quite a bit. It will also wear it out some too, but when is a bellows "worn in" vs "worn out"?
The concept is that you are flexing the bellows without putting air pressure on it. This will loosen it up white a bit.
But again,
There is no substitute for a good quality bellows.