Looking for help to build or assembly a good instrument

Viewing 7 posts - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • #16235
    luca ventimiglia
    Participant

    Hello, melodica enthusiasts!
    I love playing the melodica, especially in folk and traditional music. These days, I’m using a Hammond 44, but after two years of use, the instrument has started to show some issues. Instead of buying a new one, I’m considering building a more efficient instrument myself. However, I will definitely need some help, particularly with the 3D-printed plastic parts.

    To explain my idea more clearly to others, I’m sharing an email I wrote to Daren regarding this project.

    “Hello Daren, I’m not new to your website and I already wrote to you some time ago asking about the reeds factory. (i also bought the reed form hamonikas.cz for my hammond 44 only to discover that not all of them will work, with many hiss sound as you already experimented with another instrument.) In the last period i also changed the reeds with another set original from suzuki but they are not working as the first one, they are not tuned and also they feel different(worse) in playing. Over this year and a half with the hammond it shows also many different problem especially in air leaking from the inner plastic core.
    So i really feel the need for a more efficient ad durable instrument. I saw with great attention and admiration about your work as a builder. And i noticed that you designed your melodica to be easier to maintain. Now the million dollar question… Is it possible to buy from you an instrument or maybe some parts of it?

    Let me explain: I think I would be able to replicate some phases of the instrument’s construction, but not all of them, certainly not the 3D printing of the internal part. However, let’s say that if I could obtain all the various parts, I believe I could manage to proceed with the construction, including building the external casing.
    I think that, to have a better instrument, there might not be other options available today…am I wrong?
    Thank you so much in advance if you can reply, and as I did in the first email I wrote to you, I want to express my most sincere compliments for your music and your projects.
    Thank you again!.”

    thank you very much for your help.
    Luca

    P.S. i definetely want to share some music played on melodica in the forum…hope to find some time soon

    #16236
    Daren
    Keymaster

    Thanks Luca. Unfortunately, I’m not selling instruments or parts. But maybe someone else might be able to help or point you in the right direction:

    Dr Melodica (Dave Brancazio @David-B ) makes reed heating systems and lots of other things

    Also, the other melodica maker here is Oscar ( @Melodica-Me ).

    #16237
    luca ventimiglia
    Participant

    Thank you very much Daren for your kind answer.
    Just out of curiosity, and without any commitment, is there a chance to share the 3D printing designs so I could arrange to have them printed by a specialized company?…i understand cleary if you don’t prefer …thank you again ..bye

    #16238
    Daren
    Keymaster

    Hi Luca, I don’t share my design files – have you thought about learning how to do 3D design? I know it sounds like a big commitment, but it’s a necessary step if you’re serious about melodica design. Once you’ve learnt, you’ll have the power to design exactly what you need.

    #16266
    Melodica-Me
    Participant

    Hello Luca, a good suggestion for learning how to make your melodica is to purchase a couple of cheap ones, take them apart, study how they work, and try to modify them to your needs first. As Daren says, learn 3D design if you intend to print your parts. I wish I did; I only know CAD, so I make my parts by hand; however, with help from Dave Brancazio, who was able to convert my CAD file designs to STL files and make suggestions so I could have my first 3D parts printed and save my project.
    The cost of making your melodica can run in the thousands quickly, depending on the quality of materials and services for parts you need built by someone else. Don’t get me wrong, I love making my own Melodicas and love playing them.

    Melodica-Me

    #16296
    luca ventimiglia
    Participant

    Hello everyone
    First of all, I want to thank all of you for your helpful replies to my initial post. I’ve been experimenting with custom reeds on one of my instruments(hammond 44), and like Daren once mentioned, I’m encountering a problem with the reeds rattling because the internal chamber seems too small. Daren managed to fix this issue by adjusting the chamber dimensions in his build, and that really caught my attention.
    I completely respect your decision not to share full 3D design files, Daren, but would you (or anyone else who has faced a similar challenge) be open to offering some general guidance on how to resize the internal chamber to accommodate these custom reeds? Even a rough outline or key pointers on what to consider would be extremely valuable.
    Perhaps i will try to learn 3d design with some initial suggestion
    Thank you all once again for the support and knowledge you share here.
    All the best,
    Luca

    #16303
    Daren
    Keymaster

    The rattling I encountered (as far as I can remember) was the tongues of some of the reeds hitting the cavity underneath (which was too small). I can’t think of a way of customising an existing reed chamber, because they’re injection moulded with quite thin walls. so if you try to enlarge a space, you’ll be left with a hole.

Viewing 7 posts - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)
  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
Back to top button