Does anybody know if Randy Falcon has a website for his accordions. I am wanting to retire the accordon my late father made for me and purchase a new one, and I want a falcon dual key. I cant find anythingn on the net about them really. I would like to know prices etc. Thanks

John, he does not have a website but you can call him @ 3379813431

Jr Martin has a web site how can anyone in business today not have a web site. Forget Falcon buy Martin see link #1. He may even deliver crawfish sha

Randy you still haven't answered my question.
Le Piquant

randy4u, i have been reading your post and couldn't help but notice that you are always pushing martin. i think people are capable of deciding what brand of box to buy and shouldn't have someone like u always pushing martin down their throat. i hate it when someone tells me what to or not to buy, and yes i own two martins, but would never tell anyone they are the best, or think any less of anyone who owned anything other than a martin. I like Junior Martin, but i have heard of Randy doing work for friends of mine in exchange for strohe's sausage (when it was open), or a six pack, junior everytime i go he never cuts me any deal like i have heard with randy, also you talk about a website, i don't know for sure about randy, but i know of some builders who build a limited number of boxes a year and don't want the extra demand a web site creates. also why should randy even need a website when he has a legend, Wayne Toups playing and endorsing his accordions, if that doesn't sell boxes i don't know what will, just my 2 cents.

Brian you are entitled to your two cents for whatever its worth I would not want Wayne Toups (jail bird, drug user) being the spokes person for my accordions, but maybe thats all he has. I happen to like Jr Martin, own a Martin, and take lessons from Joel Martin so I will continue to push the brand I see fit and if you dont like it tough. And why would anyone want to work for a sasuage or beer get real this is the new America we work for money not barter.

randy4u, you can talk about wayne toups, and yes i know about what you mentioned (jail, drugs, and so on) but i'm not god and neither or you and we don't have the right to judge his personal life. what i was saying is wayne is a master accordion player who happens to play falcon thats it and whether u believe it or not it sells boxes. u play whatever floats your boat i was just giving you my opinion. in case you didn't read all of my post i do own 2 martins, but my next one will probably be a falcon for my own reasons,

Brian I read what you said and I could list numerous big name players that play Martin. You picked Wayne he is a master player but he also has a bad rep and I would think most people would remember that as well as his playing ability. When you look at manufactures of goods they usually drop a person as soon as something negative is said about that person. When you look at it that way Wayne surely is not the person I would want to represent my product.

u know what dude i could spend all day arguing with you about who makes the best stuff, but i actually have a life, you are probably some kid who jumps from site to site saying what you have is better than what others have and they should buy what you have, you probably go from this site to an auto site and say i have a ford, you shouldn't buy junk like chevrolets. i'm finished with this discussion, i got better things to do than argue with u.

When I think of Wayne Toups, I think of how viral his influence is and has been since he hit the scene back in the late 80's. He has, in my opinion, been the most stylistically copied Cajun artist in the past 20 years. His troubles with the law aside, Wayne is a genius -- and a very warm, friendly, and approachable guy. He owes a lot of his style to Walter Mouton, another very talented Falcon accordion player, and perhaps one of Cajun music's most unsung hero.

I've never heard either of these guys profess to be the gifted players that they are because they were playing a particular brand of accordion. This also goes for Travis Matte, Jackie Callier, Sean Vidrine, Kevin Naquin, and Travis Benoit, just to name a few more artists with a Falcon in their arsenals.

It took Toups and the rest of these guys a lot of hard work and a lot of study of the music they love to be credible -- not the label on the box.

It's a very easy thing to sit in the audience and pick an artist apart for a number of reasons. But until you've been in their shoes -- if you're even lucky enough to form a band and get it out of the garage -- then you don't know how dirty socks can really get.

In other words, it could be possible that your squeaky-clean musical hero that can do no wrong and you think hung the moon just hasn't been caught yet.

R!CK

L P since your so interested in the extent of my education I will tell you. I have a chemistry degree from the University of Southern California. As a chemist I have created a highly advanced strain of mushroom which I produce and sell to the residents of the lower 9th ward in New Orleans. Its sort of a supply the demand kind of business. I must admit it allows me extra money to pay the late fees on the cd's I borrow from the library to burn for my own library. On the side I have a small trucking business which I use to transport pirated CD's out of Juraze Mexico and distribute to various music stores such as Floyd's records in Ville Platte who then SELL them to unsuspecting buyers in lets say Thibodaux, La. Now I hope that puts your mind to rest as to what I do and how far I went with my education. I know that you study yourself in the mirror and make believe you look like Jesse but others have a business to run.

Randy,

Magic mushrooms, I knew it .

Seriously have you ever eaten stuffed mushrooms?, actually I've been thinking of running a commentary on culinary delights on the menu of my household, OK i'm only kidding, well kind of .

Bon Appetit, K.K

BTW R.Falcon provides different menus to go with his rices,they are printed on the packages, ( genius, isn'he) are you that advanced? .

Hey guys and gals, Hold on to your panties and let's just be happy we have three good builders left in Louisiana. And hopefully, Rusty, Jay, and Penny will follow suit. And to chirp in on Randy, I spoke with him today and you cannot ask for a nicer person, and Jr. is always nice, and Marc was very nice and is always nice. Just be happy. Let's not forget we are all in this thing together; called life! Michael

Well said, Michael.

I hope this is the end... I agree with Michael and feel that we should be thankful that we have all of these different builders to choose from.

A question as simple as "what is the best accordion" can never be solved for the same reason that you can't answer the question "who is the best accordion player". I can argue with myself all day about who I think is the best accordion player and then again, I might like the style of a certain player better than someone else who may not be as talented as another. There are so many different pieces of the puzzle that make some players and builders do better or worse than others. I have played many different accordions from different makers and can shoot holes and critique all of them, even my Falcon. Some accordions may sound better, but might not look or feel as good. Some may feel and sound good but may leak more. Some may be better suited to a certain type of player. And then again some players may not be able to make any accordion sound descent. I have played several accordions from the same builder and they all played/sounded different as well. So I think it is a never ending battle and should be saved for face to face chit-chat and not for this public thread.

It This would be a good topic for a local reality show though...

I can see it now "And coming to TVs near you; KLFY presents Joe Accordionaire".

Naw man -- never the end. This is exactly the kind of fodder that public forums are made for! And debates about accordions is exactly what this forum is all about!

Now what you've all got to realize is; the x-amount of us Braves who've gotten a snoot full of accordion playing under our belts all have opinions about who builds the best and what accordion player hung the moon.

Exposing these opinions is what makes a forum like this interesting.

Why just this week whilst driving down 75 through Dallas, On the back window of a pickup truck, I saw a Calvin sticker pee'ing on a Bon Tee logo.

People are passionate about accordions everywhere.

I do believe you have to be a good player to have an opinion about a particular "brand" or builder. I mean, if you knew a guy who owned a BMW and was always telling every car owner in the world how BMWs were superior to every other car, but he never took it out of the garage because everytime he did, he ended up in a ditch -- would you choose to believe him -- or just placate him by just agreeing so you can move on to the next subject? Or would you really choose to debate? It's not worth getting any feathers ruffled. It's only comedy -- just enjoy it!

R!CK

Well he may be a nice guy but, he is a self professed theif. So he can be nice and a theif, I just don't care to hear him brag about it.
Le Piquant

I spoke with Mr.Falcon to clarify myself. Sorry!

Man you scared me for a minute
Le Piquant

No website and still a demand for the product. That says a lot about the quality of a Falcon accordion.

I guess the old axiom applies, "Is there a need?"

I wonder if Junior knows that he has a theif hawking his instruments. I know I would disasociate myself from someone of such low character. Randy needs a life, perhaps his business is so slow that affords him all the time he needs to go to the library. I'm for one have tired of his juvenile antics.
Le Piquant

Hey john, seen your question and the thread and had to reply. He does not have a website. The best thing to do is to call Mr. Randy and set a time to go sit and talk to him. He is a great guy and "IN MY OPINION" make the best accordion. But he makes what i like. As much as i would like to say "hey run and go buy one", what you actually need to do is play as many different name accordions before you go buy one. You want to make sure what you buy is exactly and i mean exactly what you want. I've played alot of accordions and just so happens Falcon's is the best for me, and extremely convenient when having to switch keys. Martin make a great accordion and i may just own one one day. But my duel key suits me just fine for now, i love it. What i can say also about Mr. Randy Falcon is he ALWAYS stands behind what he makes so if you have any problems he will take care of you. And another thing, i've never heard anyone else do this, but Randy called me every week for like 6 weeks asking if i still liked it, was there any problems or any adjustments needing to be made. And he still to this day, had it about 10 mths, calls every now and then asking if its still good, do i need anything or whatever. I strongly endorse Falcon's BUT play as many as possible before you decide. For what my opinions worth.

Good point Stewart and well said.
Le Piquant

I have 3 dual-keys, had them since the early to mid-90's. Love them and they are the finest machines I use. I've never had any problems with them.

I have a Martin. I love it too.

I've never met a handmade I didn't like -- but HEY, that's just me. I love accordions, especially handmades, and I admire that they are all slightly different from each other. If they were all built the same exact way, to the same exact specifications, it would be rather boring.

The dual-keys are works of art and are very unique. They are also extreeeeemely useful if you're playing them in a band.

Randy is a very talented builder. I highly recommend his accordions.

~R!CK

Rick one question when you need work done to whatever accordion you have who do you take it to for that work to be done????

I usually take my boxes to Jr. because he understands internal mic'ing and the zydeco sound since he has a lot of Creole/zydeco customers. Most of the work Jr. has done for me has been either installing internal mics, working on my triple-rows, or tuning for a zydeco sound. I like zydeco. No wait... I LOVE zydeco and Jr. is the zydeco guy in town.

Jr. is also very accessible via the web -- which makes my limited time in Lafayette more manageable.

You love zydeco, right Randy4U?

R!CK

Rick I save love for my wife I like zydeco not as much as cajun but I can live with it. I also like you and respect all the posts you put out. We understand what we are saying I think. And Jr is the man whether it be tuning, building, micing, or just be an all round good guy. Plus dont forget the commish I get.

Right on Randy4u...

Since you have so many, would you mind donating one to me?

Well, John, I've been putting my boxes together and hopefully I'll get a litter soon! (just dunno what keys I'm gonna end up with!) I'll give you the pick when that happens!

BTW, you've got a very fine band -- sounds fantastic -- excellent songwriting and vocals. You could use some accordion, but it sounds plenty fine without. Kudos to you, brother!

R!CK

I have the opportunity to play on a dual key instrument from Randy Falcon and it was a very fine accordion.
The feeling was different than all the normal one rows I have played on. The flappers are longer and that gives a different feeling while playing.
Did you think about that before buying a dual key machine ?

also don't forget to think about the rusty, the guy with the second post, he too has his own line of accordion, never played one but they have a good sound. he posted some videos of his accordions on youtube.

This whole thread was a pretty interesting read. You should all go back and view the entire thread. You too Piquant. LOL. All the bickering and passion! Brian, you handled yourself well against Randy. That dude is a very argumentative son of a b**** LOL. He's worse than me!

Let me put to rest the myth of the best accordion. You can take a guy and have him play a top of the line Martin, Acadian, Acadiana, Sterling, Regal, Globe, Monarch, Bon Temps, Lanse Gris, Starling, Falcon, Professional, Cajun Brand, Teche, Foreman, Mouton, Sidney Brown, or Gabenelli King accordion. Then someone like me can come along with a $10 little toy accordion that you can buy at the truck stops along I-10 in Louisiana, and put him to shame with one song even to the point that he begins to worship me and my playing ability, and wants to take lessons from me for money even. It all comes down to the player and what he prefers as his "TOOL" to make good Cajun music. Pretty is just a bonus. Color is just a look. Name brand popularity is just a bonus. The playing ability and the way a player presents him or herself and the music is and always will be what matters. The feel and sound of the accordion come right after that. And this feel and sound may vary by accordion. No two accordions, even made by the same maker, are the same.

FALCON accordions have been made popular by Wayne Toups, but its the power of the name FALCON as it goes with Cajuns. FALCON means to a lot of younger and even older Cajuns...."BAD ASS ACCORDION". Its the way it's pronounced down here Fal K'ON that seems to be a big influence on a lot of accordion players. As if it were the greatest AUTHORITY of all accordions. But I will smoke your FALCON with that $10 toy accordion if I have to. Hahaha. I wonder for how much longer Randy Falcon will be making FALCONS. I wanted to go try out his brand before he quits building. And maybe sell one of my children to the black market to be able to afford one of them dual key boxes of his. If I like the way they play, that is. I don't need no name brand or popular accordion to make my playing any better than it already is. LOL. Wayne Toups would cry and hug me if I played just one song for him. LOL, it only takes one song. Look at Canray Fontenot. Barres de la Prison. The only song that man ever had to play defined his essence. Just one gat dam song!

Greezy,

You can make Wayne Toups weep by playing a $10 toy accordion? And hug you, too? C'mon, Greezy, the drugs are taking their toll on you.

1. Where can you buy a toy accordion for $10?

2. If you can achieve such excellent results on a toy, they why own anything else?

3. For all the talk, we haven't heard a single note of music produced by your hands.

You have given us NO reason to believe you can play a lick. If you pontificate, then you must demonstrate.

When may we expect your video post? We don't demand Perrodin in the 3rd position, just give us a simple sampling, your choice of tunes. You CAN, can't you?


-Testy in Texarkana

Don't be too hasty. I can assure you that my intent is that everyone climb the ladder and then kick it out from under us. Then float down from above as we were meant to do. Bull Sh*t won't do that. It's not sufficient enough. It is good that you are skeptical of all this. Keeps you on them double jointed toes of yours. LOL. Now go and play with your Cajun Pandora's Box. You have the rest of your life to master it. But watch out for them last 10-5 years. They have a way of biting you on the ass really hard if you are not prepared brother.