[jeff]

I have not done a tuning check since my original tuning of this device, but I play it regularly in bluegrass jam sessions and occasional performances with guitars, fiddles, ukuleles, etc that have tuners clipped on board and it still sounds pretty good…nobody has complained. I also play clarinet, flute, soprano sax in this menagerie and they often complain about the soprano.

[jeff]

Yes, that is my plan. I have a compressor and a utility tank. Just have to rig up a suitable regulator with a quick connect and a hose connection. I don’t want to blow up my new toy. I imagine that the housing can’t take more than a couple of PSI.

I used to have many aquaria, and I know that those air pumps are very pulsatile…the opposite of steady. It might be fun to hear, but weird. Also, without a regulator, the pressure would increase if you didn’t open any reeds.

[jeff]

I just jumped into melodica land with the purchase of a Suzuki M-32C new from Japan. Tuning is important to me, as I want to include melodica into the bands I play with which are quite varied from Bluegrass–>Rock and Roll–> Jazz –> Soul. Most of the guys I play with are picky about tuning…I generally show up with a keyboard (Nord Electro and/or accordion) and woodwinds (mostly bigger saxophones and flute). I also have a Fender Rhodes in my studio…I maintain all these and have a small repair business where I mostly work on saxophones and vintage electromechanical pianos (Rhodes, Wurlitzer, B-3, etc…). As many have alluded to, I need to figure out the tuning thing before I expose my bandmates to this beast. Please complain if you want, but I will be posting my experience here in this tuning thread…this is the first edition.

The chart below shows the first careful data taken on my Suzuki M-32C…I tested it at both mezzopiano (the quietest that I could get a steady reading) and forte (the loudest where I could get a steady reading). I tuned at A=441 as this is where most bands I play with set up. It allows for some warmup and rarely are any instruments flatter than A=440. Keep in mind in this range, 1 Hz is about 4 cents of tuning. I also included a chart that Alan Brinton kindly shared with me from a year or so back on another modern M-32C.

As you can see, both of these horns (my reference) seem to be ‘centered’ at A=441. Alan’s data was taken at A=440, so I corrected it by 4 cents. For my horn, red is LOUD and blue is soft, Alan’s data is in green. Note his data roughly tracks with my horn and falls in between my loud and soft curves. Quite a wide curve at the extremes. Looks like about 5 cents between loud and soft.

I’m going to try and set up with regulated pressure feed and test a couple of ranges after I blow it for a few hours and see if it is ‘settling in’. Stay tuned…

[jeff]

For this test I was just using ClearTune on my iPhone 6, but it has always agreed with my trusty Boss tuner, which has been calibrated against an HP frequency counter (a few years ago). It is spot on for my Nord Electro (Swedish keyboard) all up and down).

I will check more carefully; i’d been playing for a couple of days, after checking the A above middle C and nothing else (this is the best ‘in tune’ note. It does seem very sensitive to small changes in air pressure which could be a reason why it’s difficult to be consistent. Just for a lark, I might try putting regulated air pressure into the hose and see…something below 5 psi for sure.

I’m loving it, though, and might go ahead and buy a Yamaha to compare before I focus on one or the other. These are pretty inexpensive compared to my other axes.

Thanx for your informed response…greatly appreciated.

jeff

[jeff]

As of a couple of days ago, I am the proud owner of a Suzuki M-32C, shipped direct to me from Japan. The intonation is better than I thought, the A-440 key is exact at A-441, most of the other keys are within 10 cents (better than most clarinets or saxophones). I notice, however, in going from ppp–>fff that the pitch goes from flat–> sharp as much as 20 cents…worse for low notes and less for high.

Is this typical? Do you just tune them at nominal volume for some median?

I play woodwinds and keyboards (for decades) so Melodion is a natural for me…also have and play an accordion.

[jeff]

I play saxophones in addition to piano, mainly baritone saxophone. Similarly there is a moisture release valve on the curl of the bari and I dump water on stage all the time, as do trumpet and trombone players. no big deal…

[jeff]

Very soulful performance…agree about her general talent, I had heard the name, but not the music.

I’ve been a lurker for a while, played piano for >50 years and saxophone for the last 20…thinking about the dive into melodica as a bonus for my ‘sax only’ gigs.

This looks like a 32-key from the size of it…correct? Seems like the Yamahas and Suzukis are a good place to start. This one does not sound as shrill as the Hohners that I have noodled on. Anybody have a good guess what make/model this is?

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