Repair Services
Repairs
We do everything from complete overhauls to minor repairs.
Some of our repair services include:
We have restored instruments as much as 160 yrs old to playing condition. These included family heirlooms and instruments for Civil War reenactors and other historical eras (that had accordions).
Due to the nature of these complex instruments, no quotes for repairs can be given over the phone. Please bring your instruments in for inspection. (it's sorta like guessing the condition of a cars engine from a picture).
We charge a $50 fee for appraisals but the fee is waived if you elect to get the repairs done. This can take over an hour and can't always be done while you wait.
We will not only let you know of the condition, but what the general quality of the instrument was when it was built.
To avoid needless repairs do not store your accordion in a damp (detached garage, basement) or hot (attic ,or car on sunny days) location.
We do everything from complete overhauls to minor repairs.
Some of our repair services include:
- Cleaning and Rewaxing: reeds & valve replacement (every 50 years)
- Revalving noisy or missing leathers: Overly stiff or curled (or missing) valves can greatly affect sound and performance. Heat, humidity and age are big culprits.
- Tuning: Reeds will naturally drift over the years due to excessive volume, rust. See my blog for an whole discussion about rust.
- Bellows taping: Regular maintenance of your bellows tape will reduce cost of repairs and may prevent the necessity of a costly bellows replacement, which is hand made overseas. Typical wear points are on the bottom and on the back where it touches your body.
- Cracks and scratches: We can buff out and fill in scratches and gouges.Cracks should be repaired quickly because these can affect the structural integrity of the accordion.
- Bass strap replacement: We sell and install bass straps. Special tools are often needed to remove and install them. We can also shorten and lengthen existing straps to fit you better.
- Rebuilding Keyboards: Keyboards become "gummy” over time due to hardened oil, chemical reactions between various keyboard parts. The felt padding under the keyboard and on the key arms often suffer attacks from Wool Moths! Or in the case of keyboards made out of rubber or foam, they tend to disintegrate after 50 years.
- Rebuilding and or adjusting bass machines: Bass machines are the most complicated part of any accordion. They are basically a mechanical computer. They operate very well for decades, but occasionally need to be taken apart to be cleaned or adjusted. Sometimes the valve pads under the machinery fall off/deteriorate, and cause air leaks and make the instrument unplayable.
- Custom Parts: We can often custom make missing parts on old instruments.
- Change Tuning: We can adjust the factory tuning to suite different folk musical styles (Examples: classical Italian, French musette, Latin style)
We have restored instruments as much as 160 yrs old to playing condition. These included family heirlooms and instruments for Civil War reenactors and other historical eras (that had accordions).
Due to the nature of these complex instruments, no quotes for repairs can be given over the phone. Please bring your instruments in for inspection. (it's sorta like guessing the condition of a cars engine from a picture).
We charge a $50 fee for appraisals but the fee is waived if you elect to get the repairs done. This can take over an hour and can't always be done while you wait.
We will not only let you know of the condition, but what the general quality of the instrument was when it was built.
To avoid needless repairs do not store your accordion in a damp (detached garage, basement) or hot (attic ,or car on sunny days) location.