If you want a really different cultural experience, book a tour with a group of friends and head out to Martin Accordions in Scott, where Clarence Martin, Jr. has been making accordions for four decades. You get live music, histories of the accordion, as well as Cajun and Creole music and a first-hand look at the making of an instrument that holds special respect in Acadiana.

Martin’s appreciation for the accordion began when he was a child, hearing his grandfather and uncle play. As a young man, he opted playing the steel guitar and was a member of accordionist Marc Savoy’s band. But it wasn’t until he took apart an accordion his wife gifted him and rebuilt it that he says he had an understanding of the instrument to the point of wanting to build them. After 35 years as a residential contractor – and two hip replacements – he’s figured out his life calling.

He and his wife Patsy opened Martin Accordions in 1983, a venture that was successful before it hit the ground. “Before I could make the first one, I had 13 sold,” he recalls.

Today he, along with his daughter Pennye Huval and son Anthony, continue to make the 10-button Cajun-style diatonic accordion, as well as repair and tune all makes of accordions for some of the most famous musicians in the world.

While the family members pitch in to help one another, each has their particular strength. In a small area adjacent to the showroom where tours are held and accordions are on display, Martin makes parts and assembles the instruments. Huval helps assemble, does repairs and is “the tuner.” Anthony spends his days in the workshop making hundreds of jigs, reed mounts, fingerboards, bass boxes, frames and other parts that are stored for when needed. He also sprays the clear coating.

While Anthony was out, I was taken on a tour of the workshop by another Martin – one who has become an important part of the team in a most serendipitous way. Lee Martin, Jr. (no relation) came to the shop eight years ago for a repair of his own accordion. Quickly taken by the art of making accordions, the full-time computer engineer began lending some advice that eventually led to efficiencies and has been helping Martin and Huval on Saturdays ever since. “Everything here is handmade by a loving family; it’s a lot of fun,” he says. His computer skills have brought technology to the shop that blends well with Martin’s standards. “For instance, we went from hand cutting the holes on the accordion plates to using a CNC machine that makes a more precise cut and less chance of a reed sounding when it’s not supposed to,” says Huval.

Together they can normally work on 10 accordions at a time, but at this writing they were assembling 19.

Watching the assembly of an accordion, one quickly realizes the delicacy and the tediousness of the work involved. “Everything is fine motor or small – and every part is that way,” explains Huval as she carefully places reeds one by one. “You have to sand by hand…all of the wood is glued in multiple layers. While I’m waiting for the glue to dry, I’ll move on to something else. It’s a slow process.” But it’s their precise craftsmanship that brings musicians back.

“When you’re holding a Martin accordion, you got a piece of jewelry in your hand,” says Cajun/Country music singer Richard LeBouef, who has been a customer since 1994. He walked into the shop on the Saturday that I was interviewing (a day usually reserved for repairs) to place an order: a solid black accordion with gold engraving. This will be his 41st accordion. “These people stand behind what they make – if they didn’t, I wouldn’t have bought 40 from them already,” he states.

While Huval confirms that their accordions have been purchased by some of the best musicians, she points out, “They’ve also been bought by customers who’ve never played before. Prices range from $2,800 to $3,400, with black ones on the upper end of the scale. “It’s more work to paint than stain an accordion,” Huval notes “because there are many layers of primer before spraying it.” Embellishments like abalone inlay can drive the price up. Among Martin’s most memorable projects, he says, was the making of a 14K gold-plated accordion for singer, songwriter and accordionist Jo-El Sonnier.

Customers can purchase one of the accordions in the showroom or customize their order by choosing from 10 or more types of wood, although Martin favors birdseye maple and bocote. He claims that the harder the wood, the better the sound. There are a variety of options for embellishments and colors. Everything is handcrafted at the shop, except for the knobs and metal plate corners. The reeds and bellows come from Italy. One thing you’ll spot on all Martin accordions is the large crawfish on the bellow.

It’s evident when he talks about his accordions that Martin is most proud of their distinct sound and consistency in the way they play. “It sounds like two accordions at once; it’s very loud. And there is no weak point” he maintains. He attributes the “sweetness of the tuning” to his daughter.

The number of accordions made in a year is not a figure they keep tabs on. “We don’t know; we don’t keep track,” Huval says, as she and her dad smile at one another. “We just keep on going.”

As much as 50 percent of their time is spent on repairs. “We’ve worked on zydeco and piano accordions, but also unusual ones like concertinas and bandoneons,” Huval begins reciting. “We once repaired a hand-pumped harmonium, which is a piano accordion that originates power from a bellow on the backside. Right now, we’re restoring a German Hohner that’s over 100 years old.”

Last month saw the completion of a special order of 10 accordions built for students of Vermilion Parish schools as part of a Folk Roots Music project instituted last year. Through a grant, schools in the parish are able to receive instruments to encourage the French music culture among students. This is the second year Martin Accordions participates.

“It’s a wonderful thing to make accordions that will keep French music alive,” says Martin. After 40 years in business, the 82-year-old is still at the shop from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day. “It’s been so much fun making friends with all the Cajun and Zydeco musicians. I wish I’d started doing this when I was younger.”

As to how long he’ll keep it up, he says, with a one-sided smile, “I’ll keep on til I die; I can’t tell you when that will be.”