Hohner history
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By the way, did anyone notice how clean these reeds are. I don’t think this melodica got much use.
Melodica-MeFantastic! Great photos. Welcome to SmugMug.
So there’s absolutely no question about it now. The Professional 36 was in production in 1962. It’s amazing, really. It’s such a big jump up from the other Hohner models out by then. Thanks, Melodica-Me. It’s also great to see more of the Solist.
Yes, the clean reeds jump right out. I have old Suzukis that seem to have been barely played, but there’s always more discoloring than that at the mouth end.
That looks like on heck of an instrument Melodica-Me.
Alan, do you know off the top of your head what other models Hohner was producing in 1962?
Lowboy
They were producing alto and soprano button models. Whether that includes the HM-900 and HM-901 I’m not sure, though I might have that information. The most common button model in the ads from 1961-62 is the green soprano. They also were producing the vertical Piano 26 soprano, which shows in 1962 ads. The vertical Piano 27 appears to have come out a bit later, probably in 1963. It appears in 1964 ads. For both these styles, in any case, the basic design was in place by 1962, and I don’t see any evidence that what I’m calling the vertical style (blow in the end mouthpiece with the instrument typically pointed down) evolved further. No hoses.
Lowboy, thought you may be interested in checking out this mic Pick up for your Hohner 26/27 Melodicas.
Melodica-Me
http://m.kleinanzeigen.ebay.de/s-anzeige/hohner-melodica-mic-26-27/288925435-74-18557
Lowboy, I have been examining ads and such for the Hohner button melodicas, and I’m pretty sure it is the HM-900 soprano that appears in the earliest ads, for example one I have here from 1960. I’m unsure as to how many different button models there are, as I see some photos in different colors, but the most prominent are the green HM-900 soprano, the red HM-901 alto, and the grey Student HM-600, which has 20 keys. The HM-900 appears to have started production late in 1958, with the other two in production by 1962. These seem to have continued in production at least until the early 1970s. Hohner’s most aggressive melodica advertising ceased around that time, which makes it harder to track later production years. Those three models were followed up by Piano models, which included the Student HM-920, which seems to be pretty rare.
Hi Melodica-Me,
Wow, that microphone blows my mind. Who would have thought Hohner made a custom mic just the Piano 26/27 series with the small keys. I will have to give this serious consideration. Thanks for letting me know about this.
Regards,
Lowboy
Hi Alan,
So as the history of instruments goes, the melodica is really a very new instrument, though I have read that variations have been around for a century or two. I think I saw evidence somewhere indicating the piano 26/27 series, as pictured in my current avatar, was introduced in the mid to late 60s. Could that be possible?
Lowboy
Your avatar shows the early series Piano 26 soprano, and it was being advertised in 1962. The alto 27 came out a year or two later.
Mi avatar es mejor que tu avatar.
Hi Alan,
Thanks. It is good to know for sure how old some of these instruments are. They have quality and staying power and a nice tone. I still consider these Piano 26/27 melodicas with the small keys among my favorites. I loaded a 26 and a 27 into my gig rack.
Regards,
Lowboy
Sí , pero cuando se trata de cantidad, yo gano.
For Melodica-Me in particular, but also for general consumption:
Lowboy and I have been speculating about the Solist. Do you think it is possible that this was a prototype model that predates the Professional and that was circulated to a limited number of professionals for evaluation? I have been unable to find any evidence that there was ever a meaningful production run on it. How you acquired yours might tell us something, for example if you got it from someone who might have received it for review. A name change on the version to be marketed from “Solist” to “Professional” would make sense. The Solist has to fit someplace in the line of development that led up to the Piano 36, unless it was just a version produced for some particular musician(s).
Alan, I purchased it from a Wisconsin church. The person in charge of the sale said it was part of an estate that was donated to the church. It was also on eBay at the same time. He did not have any knowledge of what the value was and I made an offer. I paid $280.00 for the Solist. I asked if there were any other Melodicas and they told me that they only had a lot of religious sheet music and records. At the time I thought I may have paid to much but when I got it I was happy I was able to get it for what I had paid.
Melodica-MeWisconsin! Germans! That’s it! It was good of you to offer a fair price under the circumstances. Maybe we’ll see another one turn up sometime.
Alan, I have not opened the Solist simply because it works perfect but I may open it just to see if there is a date like the Professional 36 shown on my previous post and and see if there are any major difference between the Solist and Pro 36. I know the tone on the Solist is a little different it is also a lot louder than the Professional 36, this may be why the tone is a little different. I will take some pictures and post.
Melodica-Me
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