G'day browny,

I don't know the Melbourne scene too well for accordions, so i don't know if there is anyone dealing in folk type instruments. In Sydney we have Malcolm Clapp (not yet quite onto email and web, but creeping that way) he lives at 8 Sandra St, Wood Park, and his 'phone number is (02)9632 7144. He picks up accordions as he works at music and rebuilds them to playable standard ... at pretty good prices.

On the more commercial end, we have Christiaan Dolislager's Accordions 'n Folk Shop at 426 Parramatta Rd, Petersham, 2049. 'Phone: 9550 9111 (Shop), 9436 0235 (fax), 014 426 580 (mobile)and accfolk@ibf.com (email. There is also a web site at http://www.ibf.com/accfolk/. He also buys, repairs and resells instruments.

As suggested above, it might be best to go for a smaller piano accordion, if that is what your mother has played in the past. They are (or were) made in sizes as small as the medium size button accordions. I have even seen an old Hohner in the same box as the "Pokerwork" model, commonly seen around folk circles.

I would ring Malcolm as a first choice and discuss your needs. He has range of instruments that I would trust to perform as well as something he has repared for his own professional use. If you want to chase things around here, get back to me, but there should be people doing the same in Melbourne.

Peter Hyde's stuff is very pretty - and works very well, but you are going to pay craftsman prices for new, custom-made instruments ... several thousand dollars for a good one. Malcolm should have good refurbished models from about a tenth of that.

Regards,

Bob Bolton