[OdeMX]

Not yet, he will come back to México next december 27th… so I have to wait for another couple weeks.

[OdeMX]

Thank you for your detailed andvice and the time you took to write it, it convinced me to get it.
Sadly the guy that is selling it dont want to ship it.

On the bright side, I found a Suzuki 36b for a decent price that I might get if the guy lowers the price!

[OdeMX]

Thank you Melodica-Me! just googled it and you are right, its a toy, still looks cute.

[OdeMX]

I really like how that guy plays, and have followed a lot of his post on allaboutjazz forums, he is very passionate about Melodica.

[OdeMX]

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.

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