Melodicas

(Originally written by wphantom/translated from Audiofanzine FR)

I had been dreaming about it for 10 years... it's been 3 weeks since I own it.

This instrument from the 40's-60's has completely disappeared. It became the ghost of numerous attics...

Until the excellent jazz accordionist Richard Galliano started using it on his albums...

Since then every accordionist, saxophonist, flutist, etc. wants to play it...

And the prices increased rapidly.

The brand Borel / Beuscher hasn't produced a single accordina for a long time.

Nowadays I believe there are only two French artisans who produce this instrument.

Laurent JARRY builds very nice wood accordinas.

Marcel Dreux started building Borel clones but he has been implementing improvements suggested by his customers. Most parts of those accordinas are compatible with Borel's and thus allow you to restore them.
I uploaded two short videos of the instrument to youtube:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwlEqITj6dY

The Yamaha Melodica is a unique instrument, and is the only one of its kind that I have experience with it. Yamaha seems as good and experienced as any company when it comes to keyboarded instruments, as they are the largest manufacturer in the world, and got their start making pianos and organs. I'm not sure if there are more than the one model of the Yamaha Melodica that I have used, but it would make sense that there are a few different versions of the instrument. While I'm primarily and singer and guitar player, I do play some keys as well, so I was able to navigate myself through this melodica pretty well for using it for the first time. However, I imagine to truly get good at the instrument it will take some time, as it can be difficult to match your mouth and your fingers at times. I should also mention that this is the first and only melodica that I've ever played, so I really don't have anything to compare it to. Having said this, I was overall very happy with the sound that I got from it for a recording project of my own music. I was mostly just experimenting with the instrument to see what I could do with it, but ended up liking what I did with it a great deal and kept it on the song. The Yamaha Melodica seems to have a pretty strong build and as long as you don't play around with it, it should be an instrument that lasts you for a long while. Like I said, I don't have anything that I can really compare it to, but I like to think that I have a pretty good ear, and the sound that I got from the instrument for my recording was definitely pleasurable. If you're looking for an melodia to get started with, or just to experiment with, I'd definitely recommend this one.

The Hohner Student Melodica 32 is a the perfect beginner's melodica for anyone who wants to get started with it. I just recently got one of these as a gift and I'm loving it! It's called a 'student' instrument, and while it's far from the best available, it's better than your average student instrument. In fact, I think it's definitely suitable for recording and even gigging, although if it's one of you primary instruments you'll probably want something better. However, for me I'm only using it for recording here and there and it gets the job done very well. It's not the most well built instrument as it's plastic, but as long as you treat it properly and keep it in the case when you're not using it, you should be fine. It comes with it's own carrying case and two different mouthpieces. One of the mouthpieces is a tubing that extends about two feet or so while the other is a compact one for holding the instrument sideways. I prefer the tubing since it allows you to see the keyboard a bit easier. Of course it does take some keyboard skills to play this, but even if you're just starting out it would be okay to learn on. I'm still learning how to get it all down, as it does take a good amount of breath control and all that. As far as this model of the instrument is concerned, the Hohner Student Melodica 32 is as good as they come for a beginner's instrument. I've done a good amount of research on what the best is to start with, and this gets nothing but praise. It's very cheap and comes from a name brand as I've come to trust all sorts of products made by Hohner. It's certianly not the sturdiest feeling instrument, but to a degree this is kind of a toy instrument anyway. I'd definitely suggest the Hohner Student Melodica 32 one for anyone looking for a melodica to get going with!