[Lowboy]

Hi All,

I own three Hohner Piano 36 melodicas: two vintage ones from Germany, and one I purchased about 10 years ago before Hohner ceased production of the Piano 36. I also own a vintage Hohner Piano 26 and two vintage Hohner 32 models. I purchased a Suzuki Pro37-V2 about 6 weeks ago from Amazon but returned it after trying it out for a few days. I did not like the tone. The tone was very bright like brass or a bright accordion. I play the blues, and so I like the mellower darker sound of the Piano 36. The Suzuki I received was not tuned very well.

After 40 years of playing Hammond organ in Blues and R&B bands, I am switching to melodica. (That that is a story for another day.) The Piano 36 is a good melodica for general use in my opinion. It feels and acts like a real instrument. The sound is just right for me. The key action is great (long throw, fairly quiet) and enables fast runs.

The two vintage Piano 36s I own sound a little bit smoother (barely perceptible) than the newer one. They are definitely in better tune than the newer one. (No melodicas seem to be in perfect tune. A master accordion repair technician told me melodicas were intended primarily as a single note instrument, so perfect tuning was not a priority. I like to honk chords and play intervals, so tuning is important to me. Some dissonance is charming, but too much does not sound good.) By the way, I really love the sound of the Piano 32s with the holes on the bottom. It is very smooth with minimal harmonic content. (At least that is the way it sounds with the sound projected from the bottom. If you play it upside down, with the holes facing up, it is still smooth, but you hear more harmonics.)

I hope above information is helpful.

Lowboy