Hello everyone. If you remember I posted for some help a few weeks ago about prices on my dads accordions that he had left us. I took them all to Mr. Martin for him to look over. They are all in good shape and ready to play. I made the trip this weekend to go pick them up. I will try to post pictures of them this week. Here is the list of what I have:

Le Capitaine - Red Mahogany - Key C

Martin - curly maple walnut stain - Key C

Martin - black w/ interior mic. - Key D

Acadian -Walnut Stain Key C

Cajun Classic - black with red & silver trim - Key Bb

Cajun Classic - black with silver & orange trim - Key C

Lee Begnaud - brown stain 9 button - Key C

I also have about 10 vhs tapes "Learn to Play".

They are all hand made accordions from LA. Wish me luck in trying to post pictures.

Yes please post some pics of them, I might be interested in a couple of them. Bruce

Who makes the Cajun Classic?

Laten Miller of Lake Charles makes the Cajun Classic. He used to live across the street from Charlie Ortego, but he did not learn from Charlie...I think he got started with help from Fred Cormier (Magnolia brand). Laten has made accordions for at least 20 years now, I would think. Jesse Lege played many of Laten's accordions. Also Nonc D has a custom built "Cajun Classic."

Chris how ya doing bub(?)....
Someone had mentioned that Laten was pretty well retired from building. An interesting man, this fiddle playing accordion builder.

The number of Cajun Classic accordions built each year (for when Laten had built my accordion) was less than 15. It's one of those boxes that was not to be rushed, and, well worth the wait for what I ended up with.

While we (most of us I suppose) tend to identify with just a very small hand full of builders that are out there, there are others that build very fine crafted accordions, and, may be seldom heard of (sorta behind the scenes). Outside of matters within certain areas of La (that is), perhaps Laten Miller (cajun classic) is prime example. Glad I came across this builder for my needs on a high end box back then. His creation is much more than what I had hoped it would be (and certainly a lot more than what I commissioned him to build as a custom ordered accordion with a host of "I wants including very accoustically strong/loud"), it continues to make me thrilled to pick it up and play it regularly. In a world of multiple accordions (which many can relate too), there remains a favorite among the lot which ya reach for naturally, for how it sounds and how it plays.. his creation is such a box in my bunch. Jude added a compliment to this box with 5 cents wet on a modified tune up (some years later)for a sound that is to die for.

like some bands, musicians or accordion/builders... sometimes it just pays to take a chance on matters. Glad I did (with many things, more than just accordions).

Good to hear from you Nonc...I am doing fine. Let me know if you ever need anything. My family really enjoyed our vacation/All-Star trip to California a few years ago.

Mr. Laten is still building; I saw him in his shop two days ago and he was working on two very fine looking instruments. Since Mr. Charlie Ortego passed away he has picked up many of his former customers. I do fear, however, that Mr. Laten won't be building for much longer.

Mr. Laten sure helped me out with a repair job on my Master. Larry Miller suggested that I should ask Mr. Laten about the work I needed, since it was a Master accordion, and he had been picking up on some of Charlie's repair work.

It all came out very well, and I am grateful to him. I got a great repair job, a more than fair price, and quick turn around - what more can you ask for?

-David

Are you selling them here or on ebay? At what prices? I expect after he inspected them, Mr. Martin gave you some kind of appraisal for each.

Kristy,
I think you will find that most members of this board are probably interested in your collection and are now drooling uncontrollably. ...myself included.

Hello,nice to hear from you again.

Tons of people on this board will , I'm sure, help you in learning how to post pictures on this board + Our web keeper , Joanie, has posted a step by step way of doing it, and that is the on the very first header on this board, just past the stickys.
Words are great, but pictures always, in some ways tell a story the best and also assert that it's bona fide.

Also I'm supposed to talk to Junior , soon, on an unrelated subject, and I'm sure you would'nt mind if I and for that matter anyone else on this board ask him for an assesment report on your dad's accordions.

I'm sure that you would'nt mind giving an ok on this, as after all he's one expert to ask and he's the one whom you ask for advice you on their individual keys.

That brings a good point, I think: What about their conditions: like wear, need of tuning, repairs, playability, age ,etc.

Photos can tell, but not about these things, unless you provide us with extreme close ups, and this is an extrordinary event.

Anyways no need to tantalise us anymore , bring on the pics, and the very best of luck to you.

Also, Im wondering why , no one in your immediate family, doesn't want to keep some of them as mementoes?.

Claude.

I was going to try to post some of the pictures tonight but I have to get batteries. I do not mind if you ask Mr. Martin about the accordions. He went through each one of them and fixed everything that needed to be fixed (a reed or two, gasket and cleaned each one of them). When I get the pictures to work I will put a description of each one of them. He had 5 of them sold when I went to pick them up but he wanted to charge a 100.00 fee for each one of them. The reason we are not keeping them is because we cannot play. We have tried several attempts. My dad was very musical and pick up any instrument and play it.

Surely Jr. charged you something for the inspection and repairs...never the less, do you have any prices set yet? Pictures may not be entirely necessary.
I am sure some of us would by them from the descriptions and Jr's appraisals alone.

I for one would like some pictures.

What i want to see:

Wood type,wood grain, a picture will tell how the grain runs, stain colour, if any,

Major nicks and scratches,

Strap brackets,

Inlayed stops tops,

The style of inlay srips,

Bellow decorations if any, and are the bellows worn in the boxe's rear, like with belts scratches?

The overall look of the box,in fact , on the list,there's a box that i personnally don't know
anything about , and for me it would be , of great interest to "see" what it looks like, before commiting myself further, I mean, what type of construction corners, the logo design etc. etc........

I really can't think of anyone whom would buy , "anything" at all especially a musical instrument, sight unseen.


Besides, and I say that with the upmost respect, I don't know the buyer, and as such I would like some validation of sort, like photos for instance.

C.

Sorry, I meant that , I don;t know the seller .

C.

I think she meant he wanted a commission on the sales. But I don't know for sure.

100 dollars per accordion is a pretty steep commission. But then look what he did to Tom and the lap steel guitar. Tom got the shaft.

Concerning the young womans desire to sell the accordions she could probably do much better on e-bay than on this page.

Pogoyo,

Just curious as to why you think the seller would not do well on this forum, but would be better off on ebay? I am not saying you are right or wrong, I just don't know where you are coming from.

-David

I understand that Jr. wanted a commission on sales. I think $100 sounds pretty fair, considering he spent time working on the boxes.

Yes, I would prefer pictures as well. I just meant that many (all?) of us here are totally NUTS for Cajun accordions and for the right price...who knows what we would do??? A red mahogony "El Capitaine" sounds fabulous as do both the Martins and the Savoy box. Who makes "Cajun Classic"???

Bring on the photos!!!

Got it, Laten Miller builds the Cajun Classic. Hadn't read the earlier posts. They sound like every bit the equal of any of the other boxes.

I don't think that Jr getting a commission for selling those boxes is such a bad idea. All salesmen get a commission usually. When you run a business and someone buys something from you, regardless of whether it is yours or not, you can spend quite a bit of time with a potential customer. Then if they don't buy it, you've killed an hour or two for nothing. Hey if I wanted to get rid of a box and remove the hassle of dealing with someone over and over till someone bought it, I'd give ole Jr a hundred bucks for selling it. But then again the way we are on here, a few of us will probably buy all of them she has pretty quick if the price is right. Bruce

Considering some dealers charge a commission of 25-30% on consignment boxes, $100 is not a bad deal.

I'm assuming he charged for the repairs, which, again, is legit.

ok to clear some things up. Mr. Martin charged me for the repairs seperately (275.00 for repair and labor) from the commission on the sale of each accordion. Mr. Martin does a very nice job on all of his work. The reason I did not let him sale them for me was I needed the 700.00 in commission that I was going to have to pay him (100.00 for each)to help pay for my dads funeral. My dads name was Freddie Hickman and he died with a major heart attack with out notice. The night before he was at the store at 9:30 at night looking for dip and chips. The next morning he was gone. I have borrowed a friends digital camera and trying to learn how to be computer lit. I am working on these tonight.

Sorry to hear about your loss. I sort of figured that was what was going on.

And I wasn't saying you should have jumped at the offer. Just that it wasn't out of line.

Dwight

I feel for you. I know what stresses you are under right now. Be assured you have found the right place to sell your father's accordions. You'll get a fair price for each of them. If I lived closer I could do all the photos for you and help with the computer stuff. In the mean time, we will all try and be patient.

John in Austin

I am interested in a couple of accordions as well...I know all of the accordion builders that are posted here...well not personally but have heard many great things from each one of them and heard their boxes played...

Prices are posted above.

Thanks