Braves, here I was wishing, hopeing and fishing to get builders to post on Bravenet for some dialogue.

Well looky here:
Thanks to Greg's post, I visited that boxbuilder site which he spoke of in his post here. There are some dandy dynamics taking place on that site. John Roger seems to be a consulting entity as a builder.

I don't meen to take you from Bravenet and flock to that site with a gob of questions . They have every need to keep focused on the building within their own group of folks without a ton of migrating questions. It is worth looking at however.


Profound respect for what is taking place there.. and, for the coaching and time given by John Roger to those project builders attempting to getter done right.

Nonc D

Steve that posts on here is responsible for the boxbuilder group.
We are fortunate to have folks like John Roger, Marc Savoy and other builders who are willing to pass on what they have learned over the past 45 years or so. It has taken the learning curve and reduced it to a matter of honing ones skills in building as opposed to having to figure it out first and then get the skills down.
Glad you stopped by to check it out.
We are also fortunate to have so many braves here willing to share their wealth of history amd music.

Yes, that site is a godsend to those of us wanting to give it a try. I cant thank Steve enough for starting it, and to John and Bruce Fraser for their input. Since getting interested in building a box, and talking to several builders, and some who just built one or two, I have been overwhelmed by the willingness to help and share their knowledge of these folks. And like what was hinted at in a few posts here, I am beginning to see that with the amount of time and money that goes into the accordions on the builders part, its not like they are making a fortune on each box, even though the buyer probably feels like he is spending a lot.

So even if machines and some premade parts are used, there is obviously a healthy amount of man hours that go into these things. So how far should a builder be expected to go to please a customer? People have to be a little reasonable in their expectations, and it would help if a buyer knew a little more about what goes into them so they would know what desires they should expect to pay more for.

Maybe potential customers should visit that site the same way Nonc wishes more builders would visit this site. Helps to understand each other.

Thanks Bryan.... I know Bruce ... we have met.

Honestly, when I had heard that Bruce was interested in building an accordion (this was a ways back), I thought it was nuts for anyone outside of a builder to think about it!
I also know Bret... he is pretty progressive and can be analytical as a businessman for what he does. It would be like him to step up and say "why not build one of these things."

You all are venturing into something (this building thing) I would personally fear (but that's just me). There are those who have the tools, resources and the ability to do things with machinery (and beyond) that scares the crap out of me personally. Any thought I held as being Nuts, has evolved to shear respect for you folks going out on that skinney little limb of building your own contraption.

Our needs are differant I suppose, but be that as it may, we each share the pleasure of what these accordions do for our love of the music and more. I was thrilled to death to see that site, as I was thrilled to see you guys taking matters to the next level by building something of your own. As for your Coaches and Advisors, that places a whole new outlook in my perspective (I am proud of these guys), they are passing the spud and not hording it or dropping it... Which is the right thing to do as a preservation of the culture and heritage segment of this musical adventure. This is a big part of the reason I advocate that this overall thing extends far beyond just the music, it must include forms of immersion (sp) for deeper understanding of the Culture and Heritage... Jude wrote of the old ways (his grandfather utilized) to not be forgotten ... we carry on, and, it involves many facets beyond just sitting and playing an accordion or eating some red beans and rice.

Nonc D

The part that worries me is not so much putting the thing together, it is making it sound like something after it is put together. I like making my own things, whether it is furniture, beer, ammunition, or whatever, and am obsessed with keeping old traditions alive. I am willing to accept the fact that mine will probabably not sound as good as the handmades you guys spent good money on, but it will be mine, and hopefully I can at least get it sounding better than my Hohner.

I have seen nothing resembling any hording of information. EVERYONE I have talked to spent much more time with me than I would ever have expected, and I hope to pass that on someday. And I'll let you know how nuts it was to spend several hundred dollars on parts to try something like this.

Ti Lou... Price is the message, absolutly (what you're willing to pay).
And yes, for any first time buyers, they need to understand what a hand made accordion represents, when it comes to building these contraptions. We're not talking about builders "getting rich" off'a the creation of these things, though they (handmade accordions) are pricey as a standard off the shelf item... Perhaps as a reason that there are bargin hunters always asking and always looking to snag em up.

No matter what level of craftsman a builder may be, there is mega time put into the building of any handmade (I believe this to be true). All said and done, I would estimate they only make 8 or 9 bucks per man hour (if that) period.
If say I wanted a gob of hoots and whistles... there is that much more time (and perhaps materials) involved, just add $$.

I understand money in these times are tight for the vast majority... bargin hunting for a new accordion to avoide price, is what sometimes prompts the sales of Non-Handmade products like that Chinese box and more... these are not in the same league of instrumets which the time consuming handmade represents. But they are a pacifier.

Naturally, it would seem reasonable to get a cheap-o accordion to pacify the time, while saving your money month after month, till ya got the kinda dough that it's gonna take to get that primo handmade, your way.
If say I shell out that kind'a dough and I get that kind'a prize ... you can very well bet that Ms. Linda is gonna be telling me "mister man, you best stick with it and get good on that thing, for that kinda money!" Oh what'a price I had to pay for loving you! hummmmm sounds like a song, eh?

For those just coming into this thing, I would make dang sure you are ready for commiting to the process of all things French music including the cultural aspects, otherwise ya may be better off playing a nose flute or a kazoo, something far cheaper. Also be ready to invest a lot of months and years to learning and not just the music.... it is not an over night, just add water routine achievement. Yes sir Ti Lou (and others) you are right, it is the price.. and more.

Nonc D

I am glad to hear that several people are trying to, and by the way pretty sucessfuly, build cajun style accordions. If nothing else, a better understanding of what goes into building one may prove invalueable.
Everyone will benifit.

I appreciate the feedback.

Everyone realizes that a good instrument costs money.

Based upon price one can obtain a certain caliber of instrument, but how much you want to further dress up the instrument is what ups the price. And obviously one shouldn't make such a purchase if not serious about it. I'm not trying to "bargain shop" (to an extent)

So suppose that price is not an issue, and we can assume that these builders have a standard "make", and we can pick out extras if we choose. This will be our price we are willing to pay, and no doubt the builders deserve to be paid.

Not sure you all have grasped what I'm trying to get at here.

What I'm trying to better assess is how you all have purchased your accordions; is it the norm to aquire these instruments thru phone calls and ebay descriptions vs. seeing them in person prior to buying?

What is your take on the smaller builders, or do most of you too play only the big name brands?

And how happy are you with the builders artistic sense and style when you finally see it vs. how you imagined it to be?

For example, when I've narrowed a specific guitar make that I want to buy from a shop I can choose a individual one from the bunch, maybe based on the how cool the wood grain looks in one, or maybe a certain color scheme looks cooler in person than what I would have imagined from just a picture alone.

I've seen 3 bands within the past week, and talked with all of their accordion players about how they had acquired their instruments, and all played Bon Cajuns mostly, also saw a Master, and an Acadian. All instruments looked very pretty, and didn't have all the fancy trimmings either. All of the players had also gone thru Larry Miller directly for both new and used. Most had also never purchased their instruments in person either.

I'm thinking of giving the smaller builder my order for the reason that his look great, and got good reviews on sound and playability, but mostly because there is the possiblitiy that he really does put out a great product for the cost. I think too, that I will be pleased with what the builder ultimately turns out.

Really I haven't seen an authentic accordion that I could say I wouldn't want myself. They've all look cool to me. And I have a good feel for what a good instrument resembles and represents. Gotta respect owning one of these prizes, and I will.

Name brands are reliable and you know what to expect, sure. But maybe the smaller builder will be the future "Master" craftsman that everyone craves. Then I'll have had bought his when the gettin was good.

What'da y'all think?

I see nothing wrong with going through a smaller builder. I do think that many smaller builders provide a more personalized attention to your needs ... before and after the fact. That would include future tuning (if need be) any repairs due to your potential damage (if need be). They will give you time to discuss their creation during and after the finished product.

I think the "name game" is pretty well a mis-nomer (in my estimation).
There are brands out there that few have heard of, and remain a fine instrument. The other side of this is; You will need to do a bunch of research to determine exactly what all the hoots and whistles represent when it comes to a commissioned accordion.
If it is your first accordion... go with your builders suggestion... when you learn your instrument (and it will be very very suitable for learning)and begin to contemplate another accordion (perhaps differant key) this is the time you can get down to the cats whisker about details for what you want.

My first accordion is like my first love... I like it and will not turn loose of it for what it is, BUT I now have another accordion that I much more prefer to play (same key) as it is my ultimate "I Want in the Key of C." Oh I still give my walnut C (first one) it's share of playing still, but I gravitate to the other one as my primo. I just dont think you will go wrong regardless if it is "a name game accordion" or one from a lesser known/smaller builder.

Incidentally, my primo C accordion is one built by a man few have heard of out of Lake Charles... afterwards I had Jude place some of his magic into special tuning and spring tension/adjustment. So there is a glimpse of some of the variations for the before/after on this accordion thing-a-ma-jig.