Greg,

Yes, Lead Belly played an accordian. I am not sure what type. My often poor memory says it has seen a picture of Lead Belly with one.

If you really want the Lead Belly sound, you will need to restring it with heavier gauge and tune it down three whole steps so the first string is now B. If you search the Forum for "Leadbelly's strings" there should be a thread way way back. It was my first post on Mudcat.

I own a Guild 12 string. The rich, warm sound of high strings with the ring of the bass enhances many tunes. I usually flat-pick, even on Lead Belly tunes. Lead Belly used a thumb pick and a pick on his index finger to do all those powerful bass runs.

I'm not sure my Guild would be my "deserted island" choice for a guitar (it has its own limitations), but I don't want to part with it either.

Roger in Baltimore