For sale: F Lange 54 button Bandoneon. Cosmetically: pretty good. Bellows scuffed, but look pretty tight from the outside, not examined inside. Minor finish flaws, probably needs new straps.

Internally: the mechanism seems functional, but some/many of the reeds are out of tune and a few are wheezy. Some valves are leaking; there are ghost notes under high pressure.

One button, top left on the right hand side, seems to be missing entirely. If all the keys are set up in octaves, some do not function that way; only a single tone plays on some.

At a minimum, I imagine this would require internal cleaning, some retuning, valve and pad work (I'm an Anglo player, so I may not be using the correct terminology for a Bandoneon.)

I would say this is a project instrument for someone who wants to try to restore it.

Comes with an old case with missing hinges. Might be reparable, might make more sense to just replace it.

I'm finding this beast fun to play - the central section of the keyboard is more or less like an Anglo, although the other keys remain a complete mystery.

Buyer is asking $300, with the customary donation to Concertina.Net.

Jim Besser
jbesser@gmail.com