Hohner Serial Number Lookup

11.12.2020

Hohner Accordion Serial Number Search
Hohner Serial Number Lookup
Hohner Bass Serial Number Lookup
Hohner Guitar Serial Number Lookup

If you own a vintage Hohner accordion, or are interested in buying or selling one, you’ll no doubt be interested in establishing its precise age and provenance. Since 1930, every accordion which left our factory bears a serial number and we maintain an extensive library, documenting shipping date and destination of every single instrument. From 1986 up to 1999 The Hofner instruments received new serial numbers with six digits: The first digit means the year of manufacture, the second and third the month, the fourth and fifth the day, the sixth is the number of the guitar made this day. In the year 2000 the first digit changed to a letter. 'A' means 2000, 'B' means 2001 and so on. Like the CE and EG models the serial number is located on the neck plate on the back of the guitar. The following number determines the model: 8 or SA for the Swamp Ash Special, then the sequential number for that particular model. the first 200 Swamp Ash Specials were given a CE serial number. Guitar serial number lookup how old is this guitar? - Hohner Music question. Hohner headless bass guitar the jack wiring diagram, 2 volume 1 tone 1 toggle. Jan 5, 2012 - I was bought my guitar a few years ago but being the foolish. It's an electric and it does have a serial number on the back but I have tried typing it into Google and all the. Chromonica is a term that Hohner uses for several different ones. The 12-hole version is the Super Chromonica, or 270. The 16-hole version comes in the traditional '64' 280 version, the Super 64 (introduced approx. Ate 1970s), and the Super 64x version (1980s). All these models have been in production for over 20 years. A seven-digit serial number beginning with six, for example, indicates 1996; a seven-digit number beginning with seven denotes 1997; an eight-digit number beginning with 98 denotes 1998, etc. A “KC” prefix was introduced on Korean-made instruments in 1997, designating instrument made in. I have a strat model 3 single white Hohner professional ST Special electric guitar. The serial number is 893437. Is it possible to know which year it is made and where it is made?

We receive inquiries nearly every day from people searching for information on an older accordion - usually either from a relative's estate, or that they bought from a yard sale, etc. We receive so many inquiries, in fact, that it's not possible to answer each one individually - so we direct inquiries to this article, which we hope will be helpful to those searching for information. There is also this Facebook group you can post in, and you may get some guidance from the accordion community.

You may have found our website after a fruitless internet search trying to find information on your accordion's brand name. Perhaps you're thinking you have a rare and valuable accordion because you can't find out anything about it - unfortunately, that's probably not the case. In the 'Golden Age' of accordion manufacturing in Italy (the mid 1900s), there were literally hundreds of accordion companies and brand names making instruments. Though a handful of them are still in operation, most stopped manufacturing decades ago, and there is little historical information available about these companies. Your accordion may even have a serial number, but in most cases there are no records for tracking these numbers.

Some accordions were even manufactured without brand names, so that a retail shop could add their own name later when they offered it for sale. There are also quite a lot of these nameless instruments floating around out there, and there is no way to identify which company originally made them.

When it comes down to placing a value on an older accordion, the brand name often doesn't mean a whole lot anyway, except in a handful of cases. Appraising an accordion's value is not a straightforward process, because they generally do not have 'Blue Book values' like many other instruments (such as guitars) do. Below, we offer some information to assist those who may be looking to sell their accordion.If you are within driving distance of our shop in Takoma Park, MD, you may email us photos and any information you know about an accordion you're interested in selling, and we will let you know if we're interested in having you bring in in for sale/trade/consignment consideration. We are especially interested in piano accordions of 48-72 bass sizes that are in good condition. We do not accept accordions for sale or consignment that would need to be shipped to us.

So -how much is your accordion worth?The short answer is, it's worth what someone is willing to pay for it. This could vary widely depending on where -- and by what method -- the accordion is being sold (by an individual on Craigslist or eBay, at a pawn shop or antique store, by a reputable accordion shop, and also by geographic region; the same instrument might fetch a higher price in New York City than it would in rural Arkansas). We always suggest taking a look on eBay (at current and 'sold' listings) to see what a similar instrument is going for - and you will likely encounter a very wide price range. The 'sold' listings will probably give you the most realistic figures. You can also take a look at ourcurrent used accordion listings for sale.

With older accordions, playing condition is the most important factor. Like cars, accordions need to have regular servicing every few years to remain in good condition. When they sit for decades unplayed - even in a case in a climate-controlled environment - the moving parts inside can tend to deteriorate, especially the leather, felt, glue and wax. Not all of these problems may be evident from the exterior condition or even a quick play-test. For an accurate evaluation, you really need to have an accordion repair expert open up the instrument and examine the interior. These folks can often be hard to find these days, so if you scroll further in this article, you'll find a guide to walk even a novice through checking out the condition of an accordion.

Repairs by a trained expert can end up being very costly if a complete overhaul is needed. This is why the potential value or selling price of an accordion is based largely on its playing condition, and what repairs it might need. Most of the used accordions that we sell have had some type of repairs done before they go up for sale.

We also look at the features a particular accordion has. There are numbers of bass buttons: 120 is the most common and considered 'full size,' although there are different sizes within this designation. An interesting phenomenon is that in recent years, people have been tending to want to trade their larger and heavier 120-bass accordions for smaller, more manageable sizes. So we have found that the selling prices of even professional-model 120-bass accordions have gone down recently, as they are tending to be less desirable.

Another important feature is how many treble reed banks the accordion has. You can determine this by looking at the switches located above the treble keyboard. If there are only 2-4 switches, the accordion probably has two treble reed banks (most commonly a Low and a Middle bank, or LM). The switches will also illustrate with lines or dots how many reed sets there are. Accordions with more switches may have 3-4 treble reed banks, perhaps Low-Middle-High (LMH) or Low-Middle-Middle (LMM), or LMMH. Accordions with two Middle banks are often referred to as having 'Musette' tuning. The two middle banks are purposely tuned slightly 'off' from each other to create a vibrato-type effect that can be desirable for certain types of music. The more reed banks an accordion has, the more professional a model it usually is - but this also usually means the accordion is larger and heavier, which again, may not be as desirable anymore.

Other desirable features can include:

- 'Waterfall' keys with sloped ends, which can be more comfortable to play

- A Palm Master Switch located on the keyboard's outer edge, which allows the player to make a register shift quickly

- An internal electronic pickup (look for a 1/4' input jack)

There are plenty of cosmetic niceties you may find such as pearloid keys, rhinestones, fancy binding or trim, or 'deco' style grilles. But depending on the accordion's overall condition, these cosmetic features don't necessarily make it more valuable.

Selling an accordion yourself:
If you don't have a music store in your area that deals in accordions, you can always try a pawn or antique shop, though you probably won't get much for it at those places. With a little effort, putting it up for auction on eBay is probably the best possibility, and one that we've had success with ourselves.

Check out other listings for sale to find accordions similar to yours, to help determine what you might want to start the bidding or fixed price at. Include several pictures of the accordion and as detailed a description as you can about its features and playing condition. In our experience, the more detailed description we provide, the more bids we get -- even when we note that repairs are needed. There are lots of accordion collectors and people who do their own repairs who look for good deals on eBay. They'll know what they're looking for and will bid on the accordion appropriately. Set a low starting bid and see where it goes; you might be surprised! You also may get a fair amount of interest from international bidders. Shipping accordions internationally can be fraught with difficulty -- so if you don't want to bother with that, specify US bidders only on your listing.

Checking out the condition of a used accordion:
Except for the section about registers, this advice also applies to button accordions and concertinas that have no switches. Have a notepad and a pencil handy, so you can take notes as you go along, especially when you get around to checking out the reeds.

Check the condition of the carrying case.Look for broken or missing hardware. A musty smelling case or bellows is an indication that the instrument may have been improperly cared for and stored, probably in a damp basement. Not only is this smell difficult to get rid of, but it's possible that mold has caused damage to the wood and leathers on the interior, and the reeds may be rusted.
Check the body of the accordion, looking for chips missing from the corners, cracks in the celluloid or wood, scratch marks indicating abuse, etc. Check the condition of all the leather straps, particularly the ends that go through the metal holding brackets on the accordion, top and bottom. If the straps are very worn, it's safer to remove them entirely than to risk their breaking while you are wearing the accordion.
Check for missing or broken hardware-- bellows clips, bass feet, strap hardware, register switches, etc.
Check the bellowsall around, look for signs of wear, especially on the folds at the bottom and facing the chest of the player (belt buckle wear). Check the bellows corners, look for metal corners that are missing or coming loose. Depress the air release button and open the bellows, looking for dirt, dust, and lint deep between the folds, and also in the inside corners. The air release button on a piano accordion is found poking through the bass cover at the left hand side, towards the top of the accordion when held in playing position.
Check the Compression:Unhook the bellows clips (usually, 2 metal or leather straps that hold the bellows closed, top and bottom of accordion. On some button accordions, these are on the front and back). Hold the instrument, or strap it on, and pullgentlyon the bellows without depressing any buttons or keys. There should be a very strong resistance. With a concertina, it is safer to hold the instrument by one end and allow gravity to open the bellows, which should happen very slowly. If it is easy to open the bellows, or if you hear or feel air hissing out anywhere, you have a problem with leaks. There will not be enough compression to drive the reeds properly. It may be the bellows themselves, or the gaskets, or a loose reedblock, or something else internal, such as your air release button being stuck or the valve pad not seating properly. Obviously, if you also hear notes sounding and you are not depressing a key or button, the instrument needs repair.
Look at the keyboardedge on, particularly the white keys. What you're looking for are keys that are out of level. A properly levelled keyboard is unusual in a very old instrument, unless it has been well cared for. If you rest a ruler flat across the tops of the white keys, it may make it easier to see the ones that are off level. If the keys are only very slightly out of level, it may still be playable, but in most cases, the irregularity will impede performance.
Very old keyboards may have crazing, cracking or chips missing from the keytops, so that you can see the wood beneath. While this may not necessarily hamper every player, they do reduce the value of the accordion.
Strap on the instrument so that you can play it and check the reeds.Put your arms through the shoulder straps (one strap goes over each shoulder) so that the piano keys are to your right and you bear the weight of the accordion on your shoulders, and slip your left hand through the bass strap so that your wrist is between the strap and the left side of the accordion (take off your wristwatch first). If it is a button accordion, the side with the most buttons is usually the right hand side.
- Your goal is to listen to one treble reed at a time, if you have a separate register for each voice. Often the single-reed registers (switches, couplers, stops) will have a single dot on them, like this one below, which denotes the 'clarinet' reed.

Some 2-voice accordions have no registers at all, because they only make one sound: 2 reeds together (eithermusetteor octave tuning). That makes your job a little harder, because you have to listen very carefully for problems as you play each note. If one note sounds much thinner than all the rest, it is probably because one of the two reeds that should be speaking are silent.
If thereareregisters on the treble side, you can start by activating the lowest voice first (usually the 'bassoon' register, if your accordion has at least 3 treble registers). This is a typical bassoon register marking:

Let some air into the bellows with the air button on the left hand side, which should be near your left thumb.
Now play the lowest note on the treble side by itself, first by pushing in on the bellows, then by pulling out. Try this at different pressures. Listen for any funny sounds, squeaks, buzzes, spitting, hesitation or sourness. Listen also for the relative tuning of the push and pull notes - they should sound precisely the same. If you hear a problem, write down the note name and number of the key (for example, F-1, if this is a 41 key accordion, or C-1, if it is a typical 12 bass accordion with 25 keys) and which bellows direction has the problem. If you don't know the note name, just give its number.
Proceed all the way up the keyboard in this manner, until you have checked every treble note on this register in both bellows directions, both white and black keys.
Now find the register that plays the middle voice (often called 'clarinet'), and do the same thing as you did with the bassoon register. It may look like this:

Then repeat with the high register ('piccolo'), if you have one. You can expect to hear some problems on the higher notes in the piccolo register, on an old accordion. It may look like this:

If you have 2 (or 3) middle voices, you need to also listen to the musette register (it often has 2 dots side by side), like this:

After you've checked out all the individual treble reeds, activate each of the switches above the keyboard to see that all the different registers are working. Besides the 2-reed musette shown above, you might have any of these (with other possible nomenclature):

LM	MH	LH	LMH	LMM
harmonium	celeste	organ	accordion	bandoneon

MMH	LMMH	MMM	LMMM
musette	master	musette	master

Now set the bass switch (on the left hand side of the instrument) to the 'master' setting, if you have bass couplers, and do the same thing with each button: hold down a single button, pull out with the bellows, push in, listen for problems. There probably won't be any, but there may be some sticking buttons, that don't pop right back up after they are pushed. It's also very common to have a bass note that sounds all the time. Obviously, this is not right and will need to be repaired, not to mention that it will make it impossible for you to verify any of the treble notes or check on bellows compression.

You're all done checking it out as far as its physical condition goes, but if you're a player, you'll want to play it for awhile to listen for the intonation, overall tone, volume, dynamic range, balance between the left and right sides, and especially the action.
Do the keys spring up smartly at the end of the notes, can you do rapid staccato triplets or is the action too mushy, are they quiet or is there a lot of clicking, is the action too high or too low for your style, is the key width comfortable for you, are the black keys too thin, are the white keys too short, etc.
If there is another person with you who can play it, sit a few feet away and listen to them. Often an accordion sounds quite different when you're playing it yourself.

Compiled by Jeroen Nijhof.
Please let me know if you find any errors, or if you know of a link that should be included!

FAQ #1: I have recently come into posession of/ inherited/ foundin my grandfather's attic an accordion, of brand XXX.Can you tell me what it's worth? And do you know where I couldsell it?

The short answer is: not really. I can make a wild guess,but don't hold me to it..

The value of an accordion depends on a number of things:

Once you know those, you can estimate someballpark figures.Then you've got two options, of course:sellorlearn to play.Hopefully you decide for the second option!

The condition of the accordion

For second hand accordions, playability is valued higher than antiquity.Antiquity value would only start to kick in if it is _very old_,i.e. from the first half of the previous century; an accordionfrom 1829 by Cyrill Demian (that's the year it was invented, or patentedat least) would be worth quite a bit even if it was completely unplayable,but even for an instrument from around 1900 you couldn't count on that(unless it is a really nice mantle piece, of course).If the accordion is not in a good condition, one should probablydeduct the cost of the necessary repairs from the value of the accordion.If the bellows seem to be mouldy, that might be costly:In that case the reeds might be rusty and need replacement!To estimate how bad or how good it still is, have a look atan article aboutHow to check out the condition of an accordionorAdvice on Buying Used Squeezeboxes.

By itself the age doesn't matter, but for one thing: accordions have becomebetter over the years. But apart from maintenance and retuning,accordions can easily last 20 years.

The brand

Of course, apart from the condition, the value also depends on thebrand. There must be hundreds. Roughly speaking,Chinese and East-European accordions (Hero, Parrot, Delicia,Weltmeister/Bandmaster) are of lower quality and cheaper than German,Austrian or Italian instruments (Hohner, Zupan, Scandalli, Paolo Soprani,Fratelli Crosio, Pigini, Victoria.).(Zupan is Slovenian, though; and Weltmeister is 'West-European now.and it seems that their quality has improved).For some brands, the year in which the accordion was made is very important:for some, old accordions are ok, but newer ones have been 'cost-optimised',resulting in a lesser quality. Then again, for others brands the qualityhas increased over the years.

Hohner is huge, and spans the whole price range. Its top instrument isthe Hohner Gola. After that comes the Morino. At the other end ofthe spectrum, Hohner has imported cheap Chinese instruments, and relabeledthem; they might have used a separate B-brand name for that(different from Hohner), though.

US American accordions usually are Italian accordions, either importeddirectly or imported in parts and assembled in the US.An example is Titano; Titano is a good brand by the way(and so is Pancordion).And Italian accordions are (were) almost without exception made in thetown of Castelfidardo.

For diatonic accordions (with usually two rows of buttons both leftand right), 'good brands' are Castagnari and Saltarelle.

For concertinas, Wheatstone and Lachenal are 'good' brands.Bastari/Stagi/Hohner/Gremlin/Titano etc. concertinas are factory-made Italianconcertinas - closer in internal construction to accordions than realconcertinas - and have little resale value compared to a vintagehandmade concertina of English manufacture.Collin Dipper's instruments are quiteok again: he's got a waiting list of about two years!

As for bandoneons, I am not really familar with those; _the_ brandseems to be Alfredo Arnold, and then specifically the ones thatwere made around 1925. The first name is important: his sons/nephews/etc.also made bandoneons. Oh, and it should be a full size instruments,of course.

Size and possibilities

Finally, the value depends on the size and the possibilitiesof the accordion. A diatonic accordion is usually worth less thana piano accordion, and small piano accordions are worth less thanlarge piano accordions. That does not seem to be true for diatonicaccordions, though: there, as long as the number of buttonsand registers is the same, the smaller the box, the more expensive it is.Also, concertinas might be small, but that doesn't mean they are cheap.Don Nichols once said that his Wheatstone concertina was more expensivethan his pickup truck!

For piano accordions, the thing you need to know is the number of bassbuttons, and the number of registers in the treble and in the bass,and the number of voices on each side, i.e. how many reeds are maximallycoupled to one button/key.

A full size accordion has 120 bass buttons, 6 rows of 20. If it hasmore buttons, it is probably a free bass instrument (a.k.a. Manual III,a.k.a. bariton basses), and that is moreexpensive. But usually owners of free bass instruments know what theyhave, so you won't find that one in the back of your attic;also, apart from a few early models they were invented/ developedonly around 1960 (a later innovationis the converter, in which you can switch between the standard'Stradella' basses and free basses; that saves on buttons and weight).If it has less than 32 bass buttons, it is a toy, basically;if it has got 32 or 48 bass buttons, it is probably a (cheapish)student model. 'Professional' models start at 60 bass buttons, although someprofessional 'high octane' players play 48 bass instruments on stage:they are easier to run around with..

Apart from the number of basses, what is the number of registers?i.e. what is the number of switches on the right hand side?Often switches are duplicated (for easier access), so look for thenumber of switches with different names/dot patterns.Some cheaper instruments have two voices (two reeds per key) and noregisters; for (fairly modern) instruments you can easily figureout the number of voices from the register switches: they will showa number of dots, each representing voices that will be turned onfor that particular switch, so the number of voices is the maximumnumber of dots on one switch. That switch is the master switch.Does the instruments have chin registers (buttons on the top of the keyboard)and/or thumb/wrist registers as well (behind the keyboard)?In that case, the instrument will be nearer to the top of the range

Hohner Accordion Serial Number Search

On the bass side, the number of voices is harder to guess.If the right hand side has to or three voices, the bass side willprobably have four voices; if the right hand has four, the bass mighthave four or five.

So now some figures, please

120 bass piano accordions in good condition start at about USD 300,but you might find old, 2-voice instruments for about USD 100;on the other hand, full size, 3/4, 3/5 or 4/5 reeds, 120 bassinstruments of a good brand are a bit more expensive.Also, refurbished, guaranteed instruments will be more expensivethan 'as is' instruments, of course.

I paid about USD 150 (after conversion) for my 32 bass Hohner Student,and USD 400 for my 80 bass Parrot. That is in the Netherlands, though;prices might differ per country.

The high end of the range is pretty high:I've seen second hand Hohner Gola 404-s advertised foraround DEM 20 000 (ca. USD 10 000).And _the_ top of the line instrument is the Pigini/Yupiter Super Bayan,Friedrich Lips plays one of those.I believe that (new) that one retails for around USD 50 000!Unfortunately, these are never the ones you find in the attic :-)

To get a better idea, have a look at my list ofshops,some of them sell second hand accordions, and have a second handcatalog on-line. In particular,The House of Musical Traditions,ElderlyandThe Button Box,andErnest Deffner, Inc.do. All pages but the last list prices.

Fs19 game download for android apk data. Of course, you could try to find a local shop;The Accordion Yellow Pages,lists addresses of (amongst others) manufacturers and retailers, and repairers.

If that fails, you could ask your question on the newsgrouprec.music.makers.squeezebox,giving as detailed information as possible. It is easier to make anestimate if one knows the number of bass buttons etc;especially if you want to know more about your obscure brand, that couldhelp. It doesn't always, though: some brands are so obscure thatnoone knows them anymore; also, to estimate the value of the condition,it is vital to know its condition, and for that you would really haveto see the instrument.

If you need an exact answer, some companies will do an official appraisal,based on physical inspection of the instruments;for instanceErnest Deffner, Inc.(for USD 30.- or thereabout).

I'd like to take the money and run

Value and demand are independent variables, and in fact it may be avery long time before a buyer appears who is willing to pay what theinstrument is officially worth. If you want to sell it quickly, planon selling it to a dealer and/or getting a lower price.