[Quetscher]

My guess is that they buy the whole melodica, which would explain why mine came in the soprano Suziki melodion case.

Again, the better guess is yours.

You’re quite right with what you said about the wooden shell muffling the sound, but that’s an acoustic effect as well, and I’m sure it’s exactly the effect they were reaching for because many people (including me, that’s why I ordered the MyLodica) like that fantastic cassotto-like tone.

On the other hand I was very disappointed with the poor contition of the instrument. The holes on the bottom were not drilled properly so that the edges were tattered (I hope that’s the right word), the back panel was damaged and repaired insufficiently, only filled with a little wood-coloured glue but not even sanded, the bottom was fixed with two different-coloured screws… Of course this is only cosmetical, but it continued with real problems: the tube is much too short to play the MyLodica on a table; it doesn’t stay in tune too well; the keyboard is sticky and doesn’t allow glissandi; the wooden construction is too heavy…

But in fact this isn’t a thread about the MyLodica but about buying criteria; and perhaps the workmanship (or whatever you want to call it) belongs to those criteria – because who wants to buy an instrument whose outsides seem to be damaged?