Hello!
- This topic has 13 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 9 years, 4 months ago by
.
-
Posts
-
Hello everyone, is nice to find a site like this.
I own a red Hohner 32 Melodica and a Suzuki A-27 Melodion, the old Melodion is hands down superior to the Melodica, IM planing to buy a Suzuki Pro next.
Personally I like to play Musette, Tango, Bolero and Folk, but im trying to learn blues, What about you guys?
Hi there OdeMX, how come the A-27 wins over the Hohner?
I’m using one of the early alto hohners, the toy-like one with buttons. I’m not really a keyboard player, but its a great looking instrument to have as part of the stage act (mainly flute, effects and loop pedals)
Mikey
Well Mikey, this ended very long and English not my mother language so bear with me.
I buyed the old Japanese Suzuki A-27 Melodion by hunch, since I didn’t found any info on manufacturing years or reviews, its smaller, definitely looks more elegant/vintage with all those beige hard plastic painted and shiny chromed metal parts, the plastic keys are not as cheap as the Hohner ones, feel more solid and they spring back in a way that feels more like a real instrument than a toy. I did miss those 7 keys from time to time and grab the Hohner. Also the Suzuki keys are very small, so it’s not possible to use it as organ with the hose.
The Suzuki has some metal parts in the insides to hold the plastic cover and all that metal makes it heavier than the Hohner32, my 1st thought was that alone was going to be a huge setback, but the hand strap in the back is placed way down the Melodion making a perfect balance between mouth and left hand when played in “trumpet position” -The Hohner has the strap placed in the middle of the body so it always feel balanced- on the down side the plastic handle is very thin, I will probably craft a leather one soon.
Sound. The Suzuki has some sounds grids/openings directed to the blowing hole, at the back and the bottom I think this make it way louder, I play acoustic with 2 guitar guys, the one that plays the 12 stringed guitar liked the Suzuki since he can hear it better, the 6 stringed guy didn’t care. As we all melodica players know, people love or giggle with its sound, It’s hard to describe, just look at this comparison chart of a melodica seller: Melodica Chart he/she describes sound as “Unique, Luv it, excellent, sweet, Killer, bluesy….” It’s hilarious! Also I read some post @allaboutjazz forums by a Jazzman1945, that guy teaches and performs (he is good!), and somewhere I believe he posted that he rather play his HohnerST32 over a Hammond44, couldn’t found the post but I’m sure I read it, so yeah… sound is all about taste, in my case I use the Melodion when I play with my friends and the Melodica when I want to play like an organ.
Condensation is a nightmare with the Suzuki, maybe because is smaller, I have to stop playing and clean it every 3 songs or it won’t work at all, it’s a pain specially when people watching they all go “yuuuuuk!” when I have to clean it. With the Hohner I can sit to drink tequila or beer all night playing along with my friends and completely forget about condensation.
Suzuki Pros: Way better key response, louder so is great for acoustic gigs, the weight is balanced when “played as trumpet”, Vintage look, folk sound (like it for tango, bolero and ballads.) it’s my personal favorite.
Suzuki Cons: Condensation is a huge setback, fewer and smaller keys so it can’t really be play as organ/piano.
Thanks for this description OdeMX! I haven’t tried one of these. I like the retro look. Will be good to hear how your new Suzuki Pro compares to the old one, and to the Hohner…
I have to agree, I’d go with the Suzuki over the Hohner any day. Less keys is no issue for me. I need to try one out 🙂
Odemx the melodica in the picture is a Simona from Germany from the 80’s more of a child’s student melodica
The Suzuki A-27 is the alto counterpart of the S-27, for which Pino posted a three star review. His main complaint was about the high notes, which he said were hard to play and made his dogs nervous. I find high soprano notes harder to play on my Suzuki S-32C, and my Cavaliers won’t tolerate their being played, so I think the A-27 may be a more desirable instrument than the S-27. One seller (don’t have a link) claimed that these instruments (the 27s) were manufactured during the 1950s. The older the vintage, the more likely it would seem to be that they were made in Japan.
Hi OdeMX
I like my A 27 Suzuki, and agree about how the hand strap feels – it’s in a good pace for playing trumpet style. Mine does not have a condensation problem, and even without doing any tuning or gapping, notes speak easily from low to high. The keys feel good and aren’t noisy. The range – g below middle C to a” 2 octaves above – is just right for most of what I want to play.This is my 11th melodica in 2 years – now I need to spend as much time practicing as I do buying!
My first attempt at using photobucket pix of Suzuki A27
[URL=http://s1297.photobucket.com/user/bbaawwaadduuddee/media/suz27_zpsc67c6782.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1297.photobucket.com/albums/ag29/bbaawwaadduuddee/suz27_zpsc67c6782.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.