giulietti accordion mf 115 - 10044 - appraise help. Pictures

Discussion:

(too old to reply)

m***@yahoo.com

2012-05-14 21:13:47 UTC

Hello, I was wondering if possibly you will be able to help me. I
have a giulietti accordion model mf 115 that is my mothers. It is
from the 50's or 60's and in pretty good condition. I really don't
know much at all about accordions but was wondering if you could tell
me an estimated worth and maybe a little bit about it. Here are a few
actual pictures :

Loading Image...

Loading Image...

Thanks, -Scott

Alan Sharkis

2012-05-15 02:56:25 UTC

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Hello Scott,

Unfortunately, there is no way to put a value on an accordion
sight-unsen, even for accordion technicians. If you bring the
accordion to a qualified technician, and plan to leave it with that
technician for some days or weeks, you will get an estimate. It may
cost you for the technician's time, but good ones will apply that fee
to whatever repairs have to be made to make the instrument playable.
An accordion of that age will probably need major work. I'm not a
technician, but I can see from the pictures that there are at least
two treble keys that are lifted. It may be that the entire treble
keyboard will have to be leveled.

Others here may try to guess from the picture, particularly from the
number of reeds, the size of the instrument, and its serial number,
whether this is an accordion worth all that trouble.

I wish that I could be more positive, but this is a question that
comes up very often, and the answer is always the same.

Good luck!

Alan

Post by m***@yahoo.com
Hello, I was wondering if possibly you will be able to help me. I
have a giulietti accordion model mf 115 that is my mothers. It is
from the 50's or 60's and in pretty good condition. I really don't
know much at all about accordions but was wondering if you could tell
me an estimated worth and maybe a little bit about it. Here are a few
http://oi49.tinypic.com/1htukn.jpg
http://oi48.tinypic.com/oj33a1.jpg
http://oi47.tinypic.com/2mzxvkg.jpg
http://oi50.tinypic.com/ms2df4.jpg
Thanks, -Scott

Ike Milligan

2012-05-15 04:01:44 UTC

Permalink

FIrst of all keep the accordion vertical even when photographing it.
Not that having it horizontal for a short time is so bad, but it indicates
that you might not know the correct way to store it. Storing it horizontal
can cause it to need expensive repair since the leather reed valves can get
deformedd and need to be straghtened or replaced.
What I can tell you from the pictures is,it looks like it was played quite a
bit but not abused, so I would not call it a "derelict" , i.e., an accordion
that would have a questionable future possibility, just from the pictures.
If it doesn't small musty, and the notes sound normal without strange noises
or being badly out-of tune, then the accordion would be aorth anywhere from
$1,000 to $2,000 being playable without being overhauled.
It has 4 sets of treble reeds an d is a professional model. Having it
overhauled would cost about $1500, since it doesn't look like it needs new
bellows. The added value would not be greater than what would be spent.
If a musician tests the notes by playing them all and hears more than a few
that sound wrong, then it needs a complet overhaul, and as-is would be worth
maybe $300 to $500.
Giulietti is popular with serious players. The wax and leathers hold up well
enough being of good quality, that the accordion might still bew very
playable after all these years, but that would need to be determined by a
musician listening to the notes. If repair were needed, minor mechanical
work would be musch less expensive than the "overhaul" mentioned which
refers to cleaning and re-setting all the reed plates and leather reed
valves, and tuning where necessary.
What Mr. Sharkis referred to, leaving it with a technician for weeks to
determine the value, if I do understand his meaning, should actually take 5
minutes.
I don't have to open an accordion to look at the reeds to know whether it
needs an overhaul; any musician can tell from the sounds it makes, not
necessarily an accordionist.
little houselhold ammonia on a damp rag could be used to clean off the
grunge, and it could almost look like new. I wouldn't try to brighten up the
faded finish, as that could damage it.

Best of luick with it

snavoyosky

2012-05-19 11:47:35 UTC

Permalink

Thanks, -Scott

The instrument was made in the 1950s according to the serial number,
and it is a student line Giulietti, not a professional line as was
previously alluded. The keyboard length is 18.25 inches and considered
slightly smaller than a full size accordion. The instrument, although
being a student model, is however the top of the Giulietti student
line and a good accordion.

Taking it to a bona fide technician is your best way of determining
many of your questions. Above all, do not use household ammonia on the
accordion to clean it. In time this will ruin the celluloid.

Ike Milligan

2012-05-19 20:07:54 UTC

Permalink

Ike: So Steve what do you recommend, "over time"? I never thought ammonia
would be used over and over again. Sometimes heavy grunge won't come off
easily. I see that oily skin residue under the bass strap. I have used it
one time to clean a filthy accordion, and saw no ill effects. Nice of you
to be so concerned. Now if anything happens they will sue me.

People have these derelict accordions and there is no way to win dealing
with them. They usually want it to play like new without spending more than
the pittance they paid for it. Then when you can't fix it like that, they
think there is a conspiracy of technicians to rip them off. Or they take it
to some shyster and really get ripped off.

A lady who knew nothing about accordions bought one from a shop for $1000
and the "technicians" said they tuned it. The reeds were mostly out of tune
with some rust. No sign of being tuned except one replaced reed. They
promised a new bass strap and all they did was tighten the old one so tight
it pulled the wheel over against the slot edge. Put some cheapo foam rubber
padded straps on it.
The keys were uneven and not adjusted level. This shop had a great "Yelp"
rating whatever that is.

But when I suggest using ammonia on a real dirty junk accordion that someone
played the Hell out of, you contradict my recommendation with no suggested
alternative. There is no way to win talking about junk. I am sure you meant
no harm so instead of flaming each other, what would you use to clean it?

Ike Milligan

2012-05-19 20:15:13 UTC

Permalink

Excuse the second reply, but now looking again at the OP I see that the
accordion has 4 sets of treble reeds and this means it is arguably a
profession reed configuration and therefore not a derelict accordion. I
think the derelict is you yourself and at least we should be grateful
that somneone has decided to post once in a while here, even if it is
you.

You always had the nasty habit of waiting until I suggested something and
then claiming it was all wrong. I don't suppose you helped give that weird
shop its great "yelp" rating by any chance. I forgot who you were, you
haven't posted in so long. I don't suppose I would be considered a bona fide
technician since I suggested a one-time cleaning withy ammonia. That was why
you made the snide comment without suggesting any alternative.

Excelsior960

2012-09-03 14:00:57 UTC

Permalink

one key things about these "Student" level G's is that they were
ordered from standard "private branding" export lines available
to anyone... what this means for repairers is that essentially
NONE of the parts are interchangable between this one,
built with round-rod action, and one from 10 years later, which LOOKS
the same from the outside. Everything is dimensionally different -
reedblocks can't be switched - bellows can't be borrowed... so parts
for repairs to these older ones can be very difficult.

this specific unit obviously has suffered serious Salt, Sweat,
and overall storage Humidity problems... the deterioration
on the INSIDE is likely greater that the obvious signs outside
(tip of the iceberg kinda thing)

even if restored, because of the compromised action (lifts on several
naturals with the reeds actually on the sharps blocks) i would
consider it less desirable than, say, an Excelsior Accordiana of
the same vintage which has demonstrably better engineering

(Giulietti having contributed nothing in the way of engineering
on these cookie-cutter student units outside of cosmetics)

having said that, IF one were to find one of these earlier
Student G's in GOOD condition, it IS a nice playing instrument
and has better reeds than the same models sourced during the 60's
(pop the grille - the action indicates the vintage)

i recently came across a "Ladies" cream colored BELL from the
same vintage - it had 1 owner, was used regularly but gently
by her for 60 years or so, and ALWAYS kept in a closet on the
first floor of her nice Home when not in use... inside, the wax
and Leathers were in perfect condition - no felt deterioration
from pests - no warpage of wooden parts action or body... all I had
to do was fresh bellows gaskets amd shine it up - then I gave it
to my friends Daughter (Andrew, my Dentist is an amateur accordionist,
and his Daughter has been studying Piano for some years now and is getting
pretty good at it... she expressed an interest in learning some
Accordion too, as she does like to make her Dad smile, so i offered
it to her since it's such a pretty and lightweight box (3/4 size)

The point is, if you are patient and keep your eyes open, there are
still nice ones to "find" rather than trying to repair one
like this G, which is, to my eyes, pastm the tipping point.

ciao

Ventura

e***@gmail.com

2012-10-08 15:45:18 UTC

Permalink

Ike Milligan

2012-10-10 18:04:10 UTC

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Giulietti is very popular with players. This one has the full complemet of 4
treble reed sets. The sprung key is likely a 5 minute repair. Worh probably
at least a couple of thousand unless the reeds sound funny and need to be
overhauled, and then the vlue goes down reflecting the high cost of tuning
it. White is more appropriate for women but not as popular a color with the
male players.

Excelsior960

2012-10-11 12:41:05 UTC

Permalink

well, i'll be more specific...

the sprung key is on a round rod action, so yes,
they can be rather easily bent up that high,
but if the key had been grabbed, the keys nearby
would show signs of the accident - so I feel it
more likely the whole valve has fallen off the
rod on the inside (the height is about right) and
if one has fallen, the others are ready to follow it.

there are bass buttons out of alignment far enough to
be unplayable as it is in the photo

there are indications of bacterial activity - the brown
spotting that has been somewhat cleaned away I
associate with overly humid conditions and a
general creeping mildewy kind of jellylike crud - it was
on the bellows as well as ALL the plastic and crevices

in my general experience, an accordion that has been
this slimed would need taken apart piece by piece to actually
be able to clean it sufficiently for my tastes... you
can't dunk the whole thing in Alcohol... which is the
level of dis-infection i'd want here before i strapped it
to my chest and breathed the air that it's bellows expelled

the bass cover plate is so warped, and specifially where the
heel of the hand mostly pressed - and the whitish residue
on the strap - all indications of serious sweat, and
damage from the salt that's left behind - as well as
more signs of the brown mildew/bacteria residue

ciao

Ventura

Ike Milligan

2012-10-13 17:59:31 UTC

Permalink

Post by Excelsior960
well, i'll be more specific...
the sprung key is on a round rod action, so yes,
they can be rather easily bent up that high,
but if the key had been grabbed, the keys nearby
would show signs of the accident - so I feel it
more likely the whole valve has fallen off the
rod on the inside (the height is about right) and
if one has fallen, the others are ready to follow it.
there are bass buttons out of alignment far enough to
be unplayable as it is in the photo
there are indications of bacterial activity - the brown
spotting that has been somewhat cleaned away I
associate with overly humid conditions and a
general creeping mildewy kind of jellylike crud - it was
on the bellows as well as ALL the plastic and crevices
in my general experience, an accordion that has been
this slimed would need taken apart piece by piece to actually
be able to clean it sufficiently for my tastes... you
can't dunk the whole thing in Alcohol... which is the
level of dis-infection i'd want here before i strapped it
to my chest and breathed the air that it's bellows expelled
the bass cover plate is so warped, and specifially where the
heel of the hand mostly pressed - and the whitish residue
on the strap - all indications of serious sweat, and
damage from the salt that's left behind - as well as
more signs of the brown mildew/bacteria residue
ciao
Ventura

So it needs work. You pay a lot of attention to minutiae in photos, unlike
I. The conclusions you are drawing are peeimistic, whereas I look at
problems and see solutions, preferably the simplest and least
time-consuming. May be it's not near as bad as your litany of defects would
seem to indicate. For example. a warped bass plate is more often due to the
celluloid shrinking than to wear. Sometimes they can be straightened. or
just bolted down good at both ends. The conclusion that the trebel pads are
all about to fall off may be unwarranted. If one or any of them fell off the
notes would of course sound all the time, which the owner did not mention.
It often happens that one key gets accidentally pulled up and not the others
near it. Sometimes the bass buttons will all spring back into place with a
little few minutes of tinkering with the mechanism. Other times the whole
thng has to be disassembled. But the reeds if a number of them are sounding
off, is often the most expensive and time-consuming thing to fix by far. If
there was midew, the odor would be obvious. Some spots on the finish can
often be cleaned with a bit of naphtha or some plastic polish. Creeping crud
is a terrible thing though.

Ike Milligan

2012-10-14 00:30:57 UTC

Permalink

pessimistic not "peeimistic" Soory for the typo.

Post by Ike Milligan

So it needs work. You pay a lot of attention to minutiae in photos, unlike
I. The conclusions you are drawing are peeimistic, whereas I look at
problems and see solutions, preferably the simplest and least
time-consuming. May be it's not near as bad as your litany of defects
would seem to indicate. For example. a warped bass plate is more often due
to the celluloid shrinking than to wear. Sometimes they can be
straightened. or just bolted down good at both ends. The conclusion that
the trebel pads are all about to fall off may be unwarranted. If one or
any of them fell off the notes would of course sound all the time, which
the owner did not mention. It often happens that one key gets accidentally
pulled up and not the others near it. Sometimes the bass buttons will all
spring back into place with a little few minutes of tinkering with the
mechanism. Other times the whole thng has to be disassembled. But the
reeds if a number of them are sounding off, is often the most expensive
and time-consuming thing to fix by far. If there was midew, the odor would
be obvious. Some spots on the finish can often be cleaned with a bit of
naphtha or some plastic polish. Creeping crud is a terrible thing though.

Excelsior960

2012-10-14 22:16:42 UTC

Permalink

Post by Ike Milligan
pessimistic not "peeimistic"

or peevish

or that box is so bad i'd just "_ee" on it and be done

hehehe

actually, i agree with your points in the main, but
having noticed the thread was still active (a lurker
reading it over... my newsreader shows "hits") the
thought came to mind that many of these posts are
researched from time to time, and i felt a bit
of guilt toward someone with limited experience,
and both of us providing credible but somewhat
opposite analysis, being confused

hence, i felt a post exploring the basis of my comments would
could be more fair to those seeking knowledge...
this way they have things to look for - things to
look more closely at during a hands on exam - points
to be aware of - and of course they will draw
their own conclusions

this Accordion stuff is funny though, sometimes, as it
seems people fall in love with a name, or icon, or
story and then pay too much for something on Ebay,
or even get fleeced at retail paying for an
old brand on some pretty shiny thing that really
has absolutely no connection in fact or physique
to it's namesake that originally earned the reputation

ciao

Ventura

but yes, i do tend to have an eye for detail

Ike Milligan

2012-10-15 02:05:21 UTC

Permalink

Post by Excelsior960

Post by Ike Milligan
pessimistic not "peeimistic"

or peevish
or that box is so bad i'd just "_ee" on it and be done
hehehe
actually, i agree with your points in the main, but
having noticed the thread was still active (a lurker
reading it over... my newsreader shows "hits") the
thought came to mind that many of these posts are
researched from time to time, and i felt a bit
of guilt toward someone with limited experience,
and both of us providing credible but somewhat
opposite analysis, being confused
hence, i felt a post exploring the basis of my comments would
could be more fair to those seeking knowledge...
this way they have things to look for - things to
look more closely at during a hands on exam - points
to be aware of - and of course they will draw
their own conclusions
this Accordion stuff is funny though, sometimes, as it
seems people fall in love with a name, or icon, or
story and then pay too much for something on Ebay,
or even get fleeced at retail paying for an
old brand on some pretty shiny thing that really
has absolutely no connection in fact or physique
to it's namesake that originally earned the reputation
ciao
Ventura
but yes, i do tend to have an eye for detail

The lurkers might be reading it because they want it.

2***@gmail.com

2017-07-23 21:47:11 UTC

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Interested please.coll.me.or.send.you.no.thank.you