There are two interesting boxes on EBay. An old Marc Savoy key of D I think and a Donald Thibodeaux. I wasn't familiar with the latter. Does anyone know about these boxes in terms of quality/pricing etc?
There's also a King of Cajun (Gabbanelli) key of C with an integrated pick up. Has anyone tried one of them? I know they're not in the same league as the LA-made, but is there a big difference?
Maz

There is definately a big difference between a Gabbanelli Cajun King and LA handmade accordions. The Cajun King does not come close in any respect except for price! Other than price, my main complaint about them is that they use cheap reeds, and the sound is very weak when played un-amplified.

Having said that, they are vastly superior to Arriettes or other Chinese el-cheapo accordions.

If you could get it for a decent price, it would be better than an Arriette.

-David

I think that Gab with the internal mic is a great deal especially if you want to play Zydeco. The price is right and Leroy Thomas's American flag Gab sounds great. The one on Ebay should sound identical through a sound system. If it was in the key of A I would have alrady bought it.

One thing that has puzzled me about the Cajun King is the huge price drop since a few years ago. When I first heard about the Cajun King in 1998 they were selling for a whopping $1400 or so. At that time, that was comparable in price to an Acadian or a Martin (but not comparable in quality!). Now, I understand that they are selling for much less than that. What is it, $700, or even less? Does anyone know?

So the question is, when the price went down, did the quality go down too? Originally, the Cajun King was made in Italy - did they recently farm the manufacturing out to some other country? We all know that Hohner has done that, and is playing semantic games since they can't say they are made in Germany any more. It would be interesting to compare a recent Cajun King with the ones from a couple years ago and see if they have gone down hill since then.

-David

I would bet that they just ran out of suckers to pay that kind of price and had to face the facts.

I picked up a Bb Cajun King about a year ago. If I recall, and I'm not positive, they were the ones the Dad had made/overseen, and were going to be discontinued when the son took over. True or not, I got it for around 650. It is loud. My only serious complaint is how stiff the bellows were. Took a long, long time to break them in. Still prefer my Capitaine, but overall, it feels and plays pretty darn well.
-Steve

Well, I just won the Savoy D box... Anybody have any insights as to when it was built or who played it in LA? I'll give Marc a call once it arrives and arrange for the tune-up work. I'm psyched!!

Good for you man, I almost went for it.... I already have an Acadian in D. Once you know, let us know about the year & details.
Have fun!