• What?
  I re-build and sell old button accordions, converting them to Irish tuning where necessary. I work mainly with "Made in Germany" Hohner boxes (and the occasional Paolo Soprani) and generally tune to C#/D or B/C, but I also work with other makes and keys. While the term "Irish tuning" is commonly used, it would probably be more correct to say "Irish/Scottish tuning", since the same "half-step" system is popular in Scotland. For example, a "Hohner Double Ray Black Dot B/C Scottish Melodeon" is exactly the same as a "Hohner Double Ray Black Dot B/C Irish Accordion", except perhaps that the Scottish one might (or might not) have a little bit more tremolo (vibrato) than the Irish one.


• Where?
  I am based in Ireland and I work mainly from my workshop in Rathfarnham, on the Southside of Dublin City.


• When?
  I have a large collection of accordions awaiting restoration, but I have a very heavy workload at the present time and it will be some time, several months at least, before I have any completed instruments ready to sell. I realise that this is not what you want to hear if you are looking to buy an accordion right now, but, until I find a way of doubling the number of hours in a day, it's the only option I have available to me at the present time! If you have specific requirements, you may wish to let me know, so that I can contact you if/when I have a suitable instrument available.


• Why?
  Hohner button accordions, made in Germany during the last century, especially those made from around the 1920s to around the 1960s, have a classic Hohner sound, a rich beautiful tone, loved by many. These button boxes were made in Germany in an era when the quality of craftmanship was very high and it was economically viable to use only the best quality materials. Some of these great instruments have been played regularly down the years and others have lain idle for half a century or more. It gives great pleasure to bring an old accordion like this back to life and hear it emit it's beautiful sounds once more.


• Who?
  They're for anyone and everyone, from someone starting out, to professional musicians performing on stage. Most Irish box players will have a box in C (i.e. B/C) or in D (i.e. C Sharp/D). Many box players will also have one or more accordions in other keys, such as C Sharp (C/C#), E Flat (D/D#), B Flat (A/Bb), etc. Professional musicians will often bring several boxes on stage and switch between them during the performance. My restored instruments can be played by anyone, from someone learning their first tune at home on their own, to professional musicians on world tour.
  
  


• How?
  I buy vintage Hohner accordeons, some of which haven't been tuned since they were originally made, maybe 80 years ago. I take them apart, fix anything that needs fixing, re-build them and tune them. Where the original instrument was not tuned to the Irish/Scottish system, I move reeds around, within the accordion and between accordians, so as to produce an Irish "Bosca Ceoil", tuned to C#/D, B/C, or other keys, on request. By the way, I am not limited to half-step tuning, I also work with other systems, such as A/D, D/G, G/C, C/F, Bb/Eb, Eb/Ab, E/A, as well as Club System boxes.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ) re. button accordions for sale in Ireland:

• Is there a list of the accordions you have for sale?
  There is a brief list of the typical type of accordions I have for sale here, but the best way would be to let me know what you are looking for via the contact form.


• Can you send me photos, videos, sound-clips, or a detailed description of the accordions you have for sale?
  I would rather meet you in person and show you the actual instruments I have available - if/when I have an accordian for sale that meets your requirements, I could meet you in Dublin, or elsewhere in Ireland. This way, you get to see and try out the instrument before making a decision and, in the event that you decide to buy, there's no waiting around for the payment/shipping process to be completed, you can pay me directly and take the accordion away with you right away.


• I'm interested, how do I proceed?
  As a first step, let me know what you are interested in. Click here to contact me by email - please note that it may be some time before I get back to you and even longer before I have an instrument available.


• How many voices/reeds are in the accordions you have for sale?
  The most popular Hohners for Irish music are two-voice and three-voice, for example:
  • the Hohner Erica / Double Ray Black Dot and certain Club models are 2-voice, i.e. they have two sets of reeds per note,
  • the "Deluxe" version of the Double Ray Black Dot, the Corso and certain Club models are 3-voice, i.e. they have three sets of reeds per note,
  Four and five voice models are also available.


• Can you describe the tuning?
  An old Hohner accordian which hasn't been touched for maybe 70 years is typically tuned "flat and wet", i.e. it is in old pitch, with a lot of tremolo/vibrato. Unless asked to do otherwise, I re-tune to modern "concert" pitch and reduce the tremolo somewhat, resulting in a box which is in tune with other "concert pitch" instruments and has the distinctive Hohner sound. If you have specific requirements, I can tune wet/dry, high/low, or whatever way you want.


• Do you modify the fingerboard to limit button travel?
  Yes, on Hohner boxes where the buttons go deep into the fingerboard, I take the keyboard apart and modify it to prevent the buttons sinking into the fingerboard. This makes it more comfortable to play and in the opinion of some musicians, allows it to be played faster. This modification is completely hidden once the accordion is put back together and, if you prefer playing it the way it was originally made, I can remove the modification in just a few minutes.


• What else do you do when re-building a box?
  The most time-consuming part is working on the reeds. I generally remove all the reeds, clean off the old wax and valves and then re-valve, re-wax and tune all reeds. Other than that, I'm a great believer in "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" - if something needs fixing, I fix it, if not, I leave it alone. My main focus is on sound and playability, I don't generally try to do anything about the minor marks and scratches that an old instrument will most likely have picked up during it's lifetime - they show that previous owners of the instrument considered it to be to be worth playing!


• I'm new to all this, what's the difference between C-Sharp/D and B/C & which should I choose?
  The instruments themselves are exactly the same, except that B/C is tuned lower than C#/D, i.e. C is lower than D by two semitones. The main difference is in the style of playing - for example, you can play a tune in the key of D on one row of a C#/D by playing "up and down the row", since the D row has the full D scale. To play the same tune in the key of D on a B/C box, you play "across the rows", since neither the B row nor the C row has the full D scale. Neither style is better than the other, they're just different. Most musicians stick with one style, so it's worth putting a bit of thought into which style to start out with.
  
  If you don't know which type of instrument to select and you plan to attend classes, then the easiest way would probably be to ask your teacher which key your should go for.
  
  If you plan to teach yourself, or if you haven't yet selected a teacher, then one way would be to choose based on the playing style of your favourite accordion player. For example, the "C#/D style" is favoured by many musicians from around Kerry and Cork and especially by players of Sliabh Luachra music. The B/C style of playing across the rows is popular throughout the rest of Ireland and in Scotland, but there are no hard and fast rules, there are B/C players in Cork & Kerry and there are C#/D players in Scotland and throughout Ireland and, of course, there are players of both styles all over the world.
  
  Here are some examples of the main style of some Irish box players, past and present:
  
  C#/D Style:
  • Joe Cooley
  • Breanndan O Beaglaoich
  • Tony McMahon
  
  B/C Style:
  • Paddy O'Brien
  • Joe Burke
  • P.J. Hernon
  
  After playing for a while, in whichever style you choose, there may come a day when you decide you'd like a second box (or third, or fourth - be warned, it's addictive!) and, at that stage, you might like to explore the various keys you can play in by switching to another box, while keeping the same fingering.


• What about the bass side?
  By default, I set up the bass side in the most popular layout for the relevant key, but I can set it up any way you want, for example, if you have an existing accordion, I can match it.


• Do you have accordions suitable for left-handed players?
  There are two types of conversion that can be done to cater for left-handed players:
  
  
  
  • 1. Air button only: the simplest way to play left-handed is to take a standard box and turn it upside-down, such that the treble is played with the left hand and the bass with the right. Apart from perhaps switching the shoulder straps over for comfort, so that the buckle is not on your shoulder, the only modification required for this type of playing is to move the air button, so that it is under your right thumb, rather than your little finger. With this method, the low notes on the treble side are now at the bottom and the high notes are at the top. I can do this modification for most boxes.
  
  
  • 2. Full mirror: the alternative is to switch all the reed blocks around, to mirror a right-handed accordion. With this method, the low notes on the treble side are on top and the high notes are on the bottom, like it was before being turned upside down. I don't generally do this type of modification, but I do have a Double Ray Black Dot in stock at the moment, which has been modified in this way.
  
  Given that left-handed players are likely to be left-handed from the day they start out and are unlikely to suddenly become right-handed, option 1 seems to be the most logical choice. It has the advantage that the modification is simple and can be easily reversed, which makes things easier if/when you ever decide to sell the box and/or buy another one. It also has the advantage that you can pick up any accordion and knock a tune out of it, using your little finger for the air button - not something you want to do all the time, but perfectly workable to try out the sound of an instrument, or play a tune on someone else's bosca cheoil when you forgot to bring your own. The downside is that you are on your own when it comes to learning fingering - the standard books, tutors and classes will be based on the low notes being on top and the high notes on the bottom. In any case, fingering has to be learned either way and my guess is that, if you're teaching yourself, it's no more difficult to learn with an inverted keyboard than with a "standard" one.
  
  Option 2 has the advantage that using tutors and books will be easier than with option 1 - in fact, you may even have an advantage over your right-handed classmates when it comes to copying the fingering of your teacher, since your instrument will be an exact mirror image of the teacher's. The downside is that you will not be able to play any other accordian at all, until it has been modified and, since the modification is not easily reversible and the number of left-handed players is limited, you may have to wait longer to find a buyer if you ever decide to sell it.


• Do you also sell boxes in other tunings?
  Yes, while most of the demand in Ireland is for two-row semitone-tuned accordions, such as B/C, C#/D, I can also supply instruments in other tuning systems, such as:
  
  
  • Two row, fourth-tuned ("Quint") boxes with two diatonic rows spaced a fourth apart, with low notes or accidentals, such as: D/G (popular in England), C/F (popular in Germany), G/C (popular in France), A/D, Eb/Ab, E/A, Bb/Eb, etc.
  
  
  • Two and a half row fourth-tuned "Club System" boxes with one diatonic row, one "almost diatonic" row, spaced a 4th apart, plus a half row of accidentals. The "almost diatonic" row has one button in the middle of the row that plays the same note in both directions. All other buttons on the row are in standard diatonic layout, so this row is missing one note from the scale - the missing note is available on the adjacent row. This one button, referred to as the "gleichton", is the only unisonic button on an an otherwise bisonoric instrument.
  
  
  • "De-clubbed" club system 2-1/2 row boxes with the gleichton re-tuned, resulting in a standard fourth-tuned accordeon, with two diatonic rows and a half-row of accidentals.
  
  
  • Three row fourth-tuned boxes with three diatonic rows spaced a fourth apart, with low notes or accidentals, such as: G/C/F or A/D/G, generally with 12 bass.
  
  
  • Three row Irish accordion with three diatonic rows spaced a semitone apart and 12 bass, e.g. C/C#/D, C#/D/D#.
  
  
• Do you take trade-ins?
  Yes, I will be happy to have a look at any button accordion as a trade-in.


• What is your refunds policy, e.g. what if I take it home and then decide I don't want it after all?
  If you change your mind, you can return it, in the same condition, for a full refund within 14 days of purchase. This is useful where, for example, you are attending classes and you want to get the opinion of your teacher.


• I'm interested in the technical stuff, can you describe the tuning in a bit more detail?
  You may wish to skip this section, unless you are interested in the nuts and bolts - most musicians are more interested in what it sounds like, rather than how it's made, but, for those interested in the technical detail, here goes.
  
  Unless asked to do otherwise, I generally tune in the standard way for an Irish accordion, i.e:
   
  • two diatonic rows, spaced a semitione apart in the Irish/Scottish "half-step" system, e.g. c#/d or b/c, giving a chromatic range of almost 3 octaves.
  
  
  • in modern ("concert") pitch of A4 = 440Hz,
  
  
  • in equal temperament,
  
  
  • not as wet as original Hohner tuning, but somewhat wetter (more tremolo) than is typical of many modern instruments. However, I can tune as dry (less tremolo/vibrato), or as wet (more vibrato / tremolo) as you want,
  
  If you have specific requirements, just let me know - I can tune any way you want, for example:
   
  • Pitch: many vintage instruments are in old pitch (A4 = 435Hz), so they would sound flat if played "as is" alongside other instruments in modern concert pitch. I re-tune to concert pitch as part of the restoration, but, if you would like to have a box in old pitch, let me know and I'll be happy to tune one for you in old pitch.
  
  
  • Temperament: the commonly used Equal Temperament is a "one size fits all" compromise, made many years ago, and accepted pretty much internationally. It has many benefits, such as enabling individual instruments to be played in different keys without having to be re-tuned and enabling manufacturers to produce components which can be used in many different instruments, regardless of key. Some musicians prefer other temperaments and I'll be happy to explore any specific requirements you may have.
  
  Or, if there's any other "special" you need, just let me know and I'll be delighted to explore whether or not I can meet your requirements.


• I want to do the work myself, do you have any old instruments that need a bit of work?
  I don't sell unrestored boxes, just ones that I can stand over.


• I'm thinking of buying an old accordion I saw advertised, what do you reckon?
  A decent quality accordion will last "forever" if it's well cared for. But, just like a vintage car, a dusty old accordion will need to be serviced before "taking it on the road". When considering what price to pay for an unrestored secondhand accordion, you should factor in the cost of having it serviced. At the very minimum, an old box will need to have all reeds removed, re-valved, re-waxed and tuned before it gives optimal performance. If you can do this work yourself, then an unrestored box is worth considering, but, if you don't plan to do the work yourself, then it will almost certainly be more cost-effective to buy one which has already been fully serviced.


• I have an accordion of my own that I want tuned/repaired, can you do that?
  At the present time, I don't have the capacity to take on maintenance work. I have a collection of vintage instruments waiting to be given a new lease of life and my current plan is to focus on getting these ready.


• Do you sell concertinas?
  I sometimes have 20-key German concertinas in various keys and I occasionally also have a "standard" 30-key C/G anglo concertina, but I don't have any to offer for sale at the moment.


• Do you sell piano accordians or chromatic accordions?
  No, just diatonic button accordions and the occasional concertina.


• Are the different spellings intentional?
  There are many spellings of the word used to describe these instruments, including accordion, button box, squeezebox, accordian, melodeon, bosca ceoil, bosca cheoil, accordeon and probably a few more. To keep everyone happy, I use them all!

Glossary

How to order:

Set Dancing