Hey folks,

After getting myself up by the bootstraps and straight back with my nose into the bellows, I am eyeing my Hohner Concerto and think "I think I'm moving to a spot where it could be appropriate to upgrade".

While obviously that's bogus, it still made me go out and research other accordions. My Concerto IV has three set of reeds in the treble section, and I'd like to go for four. Especially, I would really like to go for a Musette tuning because I cannot possibly fathom what I'd want to do with that odd 4' and I just really want to bathe in that sweet french baguette tremolo. But I digress.

I'm looking up some shops and my first impression is that sitting in Germany it is far from trivial to get access to anything else than Hohner or Weltmeister, those seem to absolutely dominate the market here. I did find the beautiful accordions from Scandalli, though, and aren't they beauties. In particular, I have some interest in the Air IS Musette and the gorgeous Polofonico XII. They may cost as much as a decent used car plus my mother's pearl earrings (and she doesn't even have earrings), but god, they're gorgeous.

So yeah, does anyone have any experience with either of the two? I am also thinking about perhaps going for an accordion with 96 instead of 120 basses because a) they cost less, and we're talking a few hundred bucks, and b) I don't really think I need those actual four rows which are rather redundant anyway, I believe. However, I'd still prefer a full-sized instrument, since I'm a tall guy (6'2" in american units) and i can bear the weight and I'm worried that with the smaller size of the 96 bass accordion I'd be losing some richness of sound that the larger one with 120 basses has. Also I do not really wish to lose the 4 keys in the treble section, even though I almost never use them.

So yeah, does anyone have any experience with these? Are they as good and smooth as they look? Also, what is your experience with the Musette vs double octave tuning; which would you prefer? I like my Hohner, but the bellows on the back already have some scratch marks and I do not think it is entirely out of the question that the bellows eventually give out. Also, I have the feeling that the Hohner is not as smooth and easy-going to play, it always requires some force to push a note out. I love it, but I feel like moving on. And since I don't have the 5k that the Scandalli costs at my disposal right now, I just seek to satisfy the urge by talking about it online. Sorry for the long rant.