[Carola]

You can find one in Germany if that’s an option for you:

https://www.akkordeon-maurer.de/verkauf.asp?id=2&id2=10&lang=1

This is a well-established repair shop and store for accordions and related instruments including vintage melodicas. It’s also a good source for Claviettas. They test and tune all instruments before selling them.

To translate the German text I recommend (copy and paste the text to translate):

https://www.deepl.com/

[Carola]

Sounds great! I especially like the contrast between the vibrandoneons and the bass.

[Carola]

I’ve never played in an alley, but my neighbor cannot distinguish between my chromatic harmonica and my melodica. I play these two instruments in the same style and they have some similarities. Maybe you play the melodica similar to how you would play the clarinet?

Another factor that might play a role: When information is incomplete, the brain chooses a familiar pattern to fill in missing information, so we tend to hear, see and feel what we’re familiar with and what we expect. Fun fact: When I started to play saxophone, it sounded awful and I thought the upper register would sound like a circular saw and the lower register like a combination of a duck and a ship’s horn, but my neighbor insisted the upper register would sound like a kitchen machine and the lower register like a lawn mower 🙂 . (I’d like to mention that I have a very good relationship with my neighbor and she likes to hear me practice).

[Carola]

If you play a melodica where the springs don’t get wet, then I guess using a shoe lace or other thick ribbon should work fine. I would try it, it’s very little effort and reversible.

[Carola]

Hi Surbhi, thanks for your feedback. I’m glad it’s helpful.

[Carola]

Hi Alan,

thanks for your feedback, I hope I’ll find the time for more experiments soon.

[Carola]

I’ve now received and tried the nano coating (Nanotekas Nano Coating for Metal Chrome Stainless Steel):

It comes as high priced spray can (25 Euros/100 ml) in a small package. I had assumed I could spray a thin layer directly on the reeds and just remove excess with a cloth. But first it must be sprayed on a cloth, applied to the reeds with this cloth, and then, excess has to be removed with another cloth. This procedure requires a much higher dosis than spraying it directly on the reeds, which makes it very expensive.

The spray can has a warning “highly inflammable” on it, but there is no list with the ingredients and also no info­rmation about allergens or toxicity. Is it just as bad as a hair spray or worse? I’d really like to know that, especially considering that every time when moisture is blown out of the melodica, a certain amount of the nano coating might be distributed into the air. The spray has a certain odor, but it’s not extreme and dissipates fast (but sometimes, toxic ingredients have no odor at all).

Before applying the nano coating, I’ve cleaned the reeds and reed plates thoroughly with a dry cloth – wet cloth – kitchen cleaner – wet cloth – dry cloth – alcohol (there was some debris from the factory). To my surprise, applying the nano coating to a few reeds (including reed plate) left a dark spot on the cloth and the reed plate looks a bit shinier where it had contact, although I had just cleaned it. I didn’t rub hard at all, so it seems that the nano coating contains something aggressive.

I’ve sprayed some destilled water on all reeds and don’t see any difference between the nano coated and uncoated zone. I had expected fewer or smaller water drops, but that’s not the case. This nano coating spray is primarily advertised for stainless steel and chrome, maybe that works better.

To summarize it, I don’t recommend using this spray inside a melodica.

[Carola]

Yes, I was also positively surprised. I think it looks quite unspectacular, especially if one doesn’t know what it was originally.

[Carola]

For some reason, the images are not displayed. Here’s another try:

https://app.box.com/s/915yog76l2yfqdubfpn6r17nrh23oc8d

https://app.box.com/s/hs9nrk0vw4l2n7dw5alhjs8lrtckuslv

[Carola]

Yes, I’ll let you know what happens. Estimated delivery date of my order is currently 14 – 17 September.

[Carola]

Hello Melodica-Me,

thanks for your advice. Since nobody has reported any bad experiences, I’ll just try it out of curiousity and see what happens (without having too high expectations).

Carola

[Author]

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