[Alan Brinton]

I have several Samick versions of Suzuki Melodions. They have the same design as the original Suzukis, but they seem to have been manufactured in Korea. I have taken them apart and made comparisons. My experience is this: the Samicks I have examined (played, taken apart, etc.) are not as good as the original Suzukis and don’t sound as good. Not bad, but not as good. The finish work is rougher on the Samicks, and the parts do not all fit together as well. If there’s a particular model of Suzuki that you want and simply can’t find and there’s a Samick version available, it is a reasonable approximation. When Yamaha moved the manufacturing of its P-25, P-32, and P37 models to Indonesia, the same standards were maintained. But Suzuki seems to have just provided the design and sold the rights to manufacture in Korea to Samick. My Samick 36 is the Samick Melodihorn 36, for which I have a review here under Reviews. I don’t know whether the N suffix makes a difference. Kawai also has made (or sold under its brand) variants of Suzuki Melodions. The one model I’ve examined is the Kawai 25-A, which is comparable in sound and finish to the other metal tray Suzukis. It was manufactured in Japan.

Suzuki 36 models are all pretty good, I have all of them, if I’m not mistaken. And they are not hard to find. My personal preference is for the blue and white model that was made from 1974-1985.