Accordion buying in China, any experience?

[geraldc]

I'm off to see relatives in HK and China again next month, and I was just planning what to bring back.

The one thing I've always noticed was how cheap accordions seem to be in China compared to the west. With this in mind, I'm thinking about buying a cheap accordion in China, and bringing it back, and embarking of a new hobby of learning to play the damn thing next year.

Anyone have any experience of Chinese made accordions?*

*Unlikely I'll admit, but I live in hope

[fireball9261]

I was adviced to buy musical instruments in musical shops, preferably somewhere a music student would go. Also, see if you can negotiate for prices. If you can bring a local with you, it would be even better. The hotel front desk people might be able to help (or might not). The students or professors from the local music schools could also help - check the school locations and telephones and go from there. You would want to get a professional one, and not one that broke down during shipping, so the music school people would be better help than common people or the store sales person.

Btw, DO NOT ship them back through Chinese Post Office!!! Bring it back with careful packing in your luggage. If you check it in, make sure you have a lot of soft packing stuff or your clothing around it. They do throw luggages around more so in China than other places, and other places are not much better, either.

Good luck!

[renzhe]

Interesting thread.

I'm not going to buy an accordion in China , but it would be interesting to know if music instruments are much cheaper in China compared to Europe or North America.

Does anyone have any experience with this? What about brand name instruments, are they any cheaper?

Good musical instruments are insanely expensive in Europe

[fireball9261]

I think they should be cheaper, at least some of them. My friend's daughters play certain western musical instrument in U.S., and I think my friend bought those for them in China to save the costs. I don't play them, so I am not sure what they are called, but they are the larger kinds of violin. The kinds you need to put on the floor to play. I think the Chinese instruments would also be cheaper in mainland China for sure.

[cdn_in_bj]

I've heard that hand-made stringed instruments can be quite cheap here, due to the low cost of labour. However, you have to watch out for the quality of workmanship as well as materials. Also, the ones made by makers with better reputations have gone up in price. But I'd think that if you know what you're looking for, some good deals could still be found here.

I've been intending to check out some locally-made pianos as I think there'd be significant savings there. Of course if you're planning to export it, then shipping would be a bit of a hassle.

but they are the larger kinds of violin. The kinds you need to put on the floor to play

Was it a cello, perhaps?

[fireball9261]

Yes, it's cello.

[renzhe]

I've heard that hand-made stringed instruments can be quite cheap here, due to the low cost of labour. However, you have to watch out for the quality of workmanship as well as materials. Also, the ones made by makers with better reputations have gone up in price. But I'd think that if you know what you're looking for, some good deals could still be found here.

I have a 25 Euro classical guitar from China, which I bought almost 10 years ago, and I love it to death. Then again, I've seen complete trash for much more that. So it's a hit and miss affair and you should always test the instrument beforehand.

But you can always find a cheap guitar. A cheap flute or violin is a different story. Sadly, I cannot really tell a flute's quality as easily as I can that of a guitar. But with decent entry-model flutes costing around $600-$1000, it really could be something to consider.