Made in Japan

Most here know that Yamaha Pianicas are now made in Indonesia, though they were formerly made in Japan. Suzuki and Hohner (and most brands of melodicas today) now have at least some of their melodicas made in Asian countries other than Japan, more in China than anywhere else. They are typically of lower quality than melodicas made in the original countries. I recently discovered that not only earlier Yamaha models, but also the P-32D and P-37D were originally manufactured in Japan and I found Japan made versions of both, and I acquired the P-32D shown below so I could make a close comparison to see if the one made in Japan would be better.

This Pianica show signs of age, so I don’t believe it is evidence that the P-32D is being made in both countries. The P-32D was introduced in 1984, so it must have been sometime after that when Yamaha shifted production to Indonesia. I will eventually take this one apart, but I will not expect to find any difference from my current P-32D. They are identical in external appearance (except for markings), and the sound and key action are exactly the same. So no compromises appear to have been made by Yamaha in exporting its melodica manufacture.