Partially restored pre-WW2 Hohner Double Ray Black Dot with original zinc reedplates in the keys of BC. This was made in Germany circa 1938. It is in fair condition overall. The painted wood case is in good structural shape but shows lots of paint wear, bumps and bruises. The bass side has worm holes but I couldn’t detect any leaks. The bellows are reasonably tight but show lots of tape wear. There are a few funky corner repairs- functional but not pretty. It has 21 treble buttons and 8 bass buttons. The original treble, chord and bass reeds are steel on zinc plates and have the Hohner “H” marking. The original leather one way valves were all removed and replaced with modern plastic one way valves for long trouble free life. All reedplates were removed, cleaned, one-way valves replaced and remounted then rewaxed onto the reedblocks. Final tuning occurs in situ with the reedblocks inside the case. A new bellows gasket was fitted on one side.

As the photo shows, the metal grill has rust but no major dents. The rear grill cloth looks original. The wooden keyboard is intact with no cracks or missing pieces. Often there are cracks or entire sections missing between keys on some of these old accordions. The bass strap has been replaced with a new, velcro adjustable model-an improvement normally only found on more expensive instruments. The bellows straps are used but functional.

The thumb loop has been removed. It has shoulder strap brackets and a used strap.

Another improvement is that all the pallets have been repadded on both the treble and bass sides using modern felt backed leather pads. This not only quiets the button action but also provides an excellent seal. I have tuned the treble side to almost dry. There is a little tremolo but not much.

I normally sell Irish keyed Hohner 2 voice boxes for a higher price but I am reducing it due to the heavy wear. I think it looks wonderful and ‘steampunk’ funky. This would make a good beginner’s instrument and weighs in at a light 6.8 pounds.

Most of these older Hohner accordions are found with numerous notes out of tune, wheezing or not sounding at all. This was just fully tuned. There are 124 reeds in this instrument and every single one has been tuned.

Unlike most of the older Hohner boxes purchased on ebay, this is ready to play without further adjustment required. I repair and tune button accordions and have specialized in older Hohner button boxes.