[Alan Brinton]

I defer to Lowboy’s expertise on this issue, actually. But I think that slots and holes on most melodicas are mainly cosmetic, with most of the sound coming up through the keyboard. Isn’t your Suzuki an M-37, Steven? You’re probably familiar with what Ofir said about inserting a strip of wood in his Yamaha P-37D? There was some mention in that discussion of the possibility of inserting other materials, including foam as I recall. I would guess that doing the same with a strip of foam would have some damping affect (I thought about trying leather). The M-37, like some other Suzukis, has an edge (brassiness?) to it that could be mitigated by some kind of damping, which in my opinion would be an improvement. I had an older M-32 out the other day and was wishing I could reduce its edginess, so I’m very interested in any experimentation anyone does with this. Or maybe I’ll try something myself.

[Alan Brinton]

Here’s the Ofir discussion. It was Daren who suggested the possibility of leather. Any sound absorbent material anywhere inside the melodica should have some affect. How much of an affect and whether it will be an improvement is hard to predict. Styrofoam is another possibility. Some older Suzukis were designed so they could be played inside their open case, playing with a tube. I have experimented with this, and it mutes the sound. I suppose a wrap could be created that would enclose the melodica, like a glove, of course leaving the keyboard, mouthpiece hole, and spit hole open. A crafty person should be able to fashion something like this easily, maybe of leather or of a stretchy rubber. I need to talk with George Foreman about getting this patented.

Material test on Yamaha P37D

[Lowboy]

Yes, you can change the sound of a melodica significantly in real time, but you must have the right melodica. The only melodica that I know of in the world that projects the sound out of the back of the instrument is the Hohner piano 26/27/32 series of melodicas. These are the melodicas that you can hold/twist/undulate against your body to achieve a wide variety of tones and effects. The effect is much like a harmonica player cupping and uncupping their instrument. I have several recordings that demonstrate this and a new recording coming out soon that will demonstrate an incredibly diverse range of sounds from one instrument. Lowboy

[Quetscher]

But this should work with any other melodica, shouldn’t it?

[Lowboy]

Say Quetscher, where did you get the backing track for this blues you created?

Regards,

Lowboy

[Quetscher]

Hi Lowboy,

I just found in on amazon. Simply search “Blues in G” (or whatever key you want to).

Greetings, Quetscher

[Author]

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