[Alan Brinton]

Amazing price from the Hohner Shop now for new Piano 32 melodicas — $62.10 with free delivery. I bought one recently for about $200. I just bought #3 of 5 from this listing at $62.10 with free delivery. I have been playing the Piano 32 and making comparisons with my favorite 32 key melodicas, the Yamaha P-32D and the Suzuki M-32C. The Piano 32 has a less crisp but mellower tone that is distinctive among all the melodicas I have played. I will be playing this melodica a lot. For me, it’s right up there with the P-32D and the M-32C. It is lighter in weight but solid. (The Suzuki is the heaviest of the three.) The Piano 32 really rounds out my go-to 32 key melodicas. Like the Piano 36, it has slightly wider (though not longer) keys than the others. The sound is very different from the Piano 36, but I haven’t played that much since I have had it apart since a couple of days after I got it.

What appears to be the Piano 26 is also for sale for $52.20 with free delivery.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/331336926516?_trksid=p2060778.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
http://www.ebay.com/itm/231335078477?_trksid=p2060778.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

[Adam Tombs]

Good spot Alan. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on who you talk to, I currently have my budget for any more melodicas tied up in repairs for a Professional 36.

I have the Piano 26 as listed in your post above and to be honest I was not that impressed. The hohner instructor 32B is my current surprise package. It’s Chinese made and very affordable yet it has a very pleasant sound. As they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder 🙂

[Alan Brinton]

I bought two Instructor 32Bs when they were at $25. I agree that they have a pleasant sound and were a terrific bargain, but the Piano 32 has a really special sound. I played the one I have for a couple of hours after I posted yesterday, and I like it so much that, after rereading Lowboy’s review, I ordered another one for a friend of mine who plays on gigs. I think the eBay Piano 32 is the HM model, while the one I bought earlier probably is not, as the little man icon on the review page photo of the HM matches the one in the eBay ad — it has latitudinal and longitudinal lines, which the one on the Piano 32 in hand does not.

[Alan Brinton]

Clarification: Lowboy’s review is of the HM-32, and I see now that there is a separate listing for the Piano 32. My comments were about the Piano 32. I’ll have an HM-32 within a few days and be able to compare them. They look the same except for the logo.

[Lowboy]

Hi Alan Et Al.,

To the best of my knowledge the HM32 and Piano 32 are one in the same, but I could be wrong on that. Here is my observation: all of my Hohner “piano” 26s, 27s, and 32s (and I have a lot of them) have various logo and water valve designs. Beyond that, all sound the same and use the same materials and design on the inside. I have taken about 5 of them apart for cleaning and repair. There are three different logos and two different water valves shared among my collection.

The cassottos obviously are of a different design.

I have some of the latest stock in my collection and I have some pretty old ones too (based on the case design, case color, and case condition).

If someone knows of a difference in design in this model line, I would really be interested in learning about it to add to my knowledge.

Regards,

Lowboy

[Lowboy]

http://www.usedprice.com lists the models below. However, I would not consider this definitive as they seem to just collect information from other sources and are not experts in melodicas by any means.

Hohner HMS-32, 2005
Hohner HM-32 Piano, 1978

I assume the HMS-32 is the current student model (s = student). So there is no other listing for 32s.

Other Hohner models are listed as well.

Regards,

Lowboy

[Lowboy]

Hi Alan,

I posted several weeks ago that the Hohner Piano 32s and 26s were being sold at a good price by HohnerShop on Ebay. Sorry that you missed that.

Note that these melodicas are new old stock, have been in the warehouse for a few years (who knows when they were made), and I have received several of them with unacceptable air leaks. HohnerShop fixed them however under the warranty.

Regards,

Lowboy

[Alan Brinton]

Thanks for the informative posts, Lowboy. Actually I didn’t miss your earlier post about the Hohner Shop. I just was not looking for a Piano 32 at the time and thought the prices would be higher. But then I got interested in finding a Piano 36, ended up making a successful offer on an old stock Piano 32, got it, really liked it, and then jumped at the Hohner Shop prices and ordered two Piano 26 and two Piano 32 (one for a friend — but it turned out my friend was unlucky and there was only one left). In the back of my mind I’d been thinking about Hohner Piano models based on your and Melodica-Me’s comments on them. You guys are invaluable sources of information and insight. I should have followed up on that earlier. I also bought the used Piano 36 I’ve mentioned and then a very cheap junker Piano 36 ($12.50, actually) for replacement keys and future parts.

You have commented that the Piano 32 is relatively hard to play, which I’m sure it is for what you are doing. But I would say it has a more fragile sound (and mechanisms perhaps), and that I’m finding it easier for manipulating the sound and getting kinds of acoustic sounds out of it that I really like. It’s also easier for me to work on improvisation when I can do that. As there are separate Review listings for the Piano 32 and the HM-32, I will write and cross reference a review after I get to compare the 32 I already have and the one I’ll get in a few days from the Hohner Shop. I fully expect that the two are, as you say, essentially the same instrument.

It’s unfortunate if some more recent Hohner student melodicas have been marketed as “HM”, which just adds to the confusion.

[Alan Brinton]

Well my $12.50 junker Piano 36 arrived about 20 minutes ago. It’s really dirty, stinks, leaks air, and has no mouthpieces or spit cover. But the keyboard and reeds are in very good condition, and it’s pretty well in tune. Go figure. I just tightened the screws, and that reduced the leakage to a level I could live with. My first impression is that it has been handled carelessly but has probably not been played much. The case is scuffed and scratched rather than worn. I’ll be able to tell more when I take it apart.

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