Gabbanelli Accordions & Imports

I ordered some reeds from them and, despite giving the clearest possible description of the reeds I wanted, was sent the wrong reeds. I sent them back, again detailing the 5 reeds I needed, and again they sent me the wrong ones. They refused to take responsibility for their error by reimbursing me for the shipping, or even apologizing. Their incompetence cost me about $ 30 in shipping charges. I will not be doing business with them again.

It’s an accordion store. A STORE FULL OF ACCORDIONS. IN HOUSTON, TEXAS. And when I mentioned this fact to no fewer than three people, they all said «Oh, right, you mean the one on West Bellfort?» Why was I not informed?! I THOUGHT YOU PEOPLE WERE MY FRIENDS.
As an Irish dancer, I have a deep and abiding love affair with the accordion. It’s the instrument that most of my practice tracks feature, and the piano accordion is the instrument of choice at competitions thanks to its volume and deep bass lines. (Fiddle comes in a not-​even-​close second.) If you were to listen in on my headphones, there’d be a ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ chance you’d hear an accordion track as I daydream about new dance steps.
So when my sister (another competitive Irish dancer) and I were out and about on a Saturday afternoon and we passed Gabbanelli’s, we roughly had a meltdown when we realized there was an accordion store in our own city. And then we HAD to go in.
The folks inside are very nice, even to two twenty-​something women who can’t stop giggling because THERE IS AN ACCORDION STORE IN THEIR HOMETOWN. Even though the Gabbanelli family is (ostensibly) Italian, most of their business nowadays is Spanish-​speaking thanks to the influence of Tejano and Norteno music. There are also some zydeco resources, and winking out at me in the book rack was a book on Irish accordion tunes. It was quickly purchased and I have been practicing on piano until I access a piano accordion.
There are some truly beautiful new instruments here, with gorgeous inlay and Swarovski crystals, if you want to get very fancy. Tuning and repair services are also available, and there’s a small shelf of used accordions for sale. Perhaps best of all, Gabbanelli accordions are a part of Houston’s history – they’ve made Houston home since 1961.
I’d be lying if I said one of the used accordions didn’t catch my eye. My sister is campaigning for a joint Christmas present from our parents («mostly for me to listen and Dani to play because I am terrible», she clarified). I guess I could have worse vices than an intense desire to play squeezebox, but I’m not sure I could have picked a weirder one. Luckily Gabbanelli’s is here to help.