[Rusty Perez]

Hi folks, I just received two vintage melodicas. One is an alto and the other a student.
It’s the alto I was really interested in, but they were a pair and so I’m happy to have them.
Right a way I knew the alto was different…special. It’s much heavier than the student, and it came in the original box with rounded ends.
Its back and front surfaces which are cool to the touch tell me they are made of metal, and based on a bit of research I did, some on this site, I’m pretty sure the body is wood. It’s got the row of three screws down the front.

It seems to play just fine, but the back pressure is greater than on the student (which is all plastic) and also of my cheap modern piao-style melodica.

So, now my questions.
Since I believe I had a wood melodica, should I worry? !!! 🙂 They stopped making them for a reason. 🙂
How can I maintain it so that the wood won’t swell ETC.

Can I wash the musty smell out of it?

Did everything in the late 50s smell like this? 🙂

Is there a problem with the back-pressure and can it be fixed?

Is this an instrument that should / can be tuned?

Thanks so much for reading my post and my questions. I’m sure there will be more. 🙂

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