Hohner Performer 37 Key Melodica - Black

I play in an 80's band and I use this on "And We Danced (Hooters)". The original Melodica he used was the Hohner Piano 36 which is long discontinued and considered by many one of the best ever. I have one (and love it) so was able to compare the Performer 37 to the Piano 36.The Piano 36 is quite mellow while the Performer is brighter, a little thinner sounding, and slightly louder. The Piano 36 keys don't need to be pressed down far to get sound (they don't go down very far actually) while the Performer 37 keys have about twice as much travel and need to be pressed down a little further to get sound. The Piano 36 keys are a tiny bit wider but not really noticeable while playing. Weight-wise, the Piano 36 is a little heavier and feels very solid (it should, there's more metal than plastic in it) while the Performer case is all plastic, thus lighter. Despite what some negative reviews have said, my Performer 37 came very much in tune, better than my Piano 36 and as good as my (very expensive) Polverini professional Accordion. Another plus for the Performer 37 is that it doesn't need as much air pressure as the Piano 36 to produce good volume.I purchased this to use live while leaving the Piano 36 at home out of fear of theft or breakage. I can't replace my Piano 36 easily while the Performer 37 is easy to find and VERY cheap to purchase. I'm glad I got it as it sounds great, easy to play, easy to replace (if needed) and comes with a decent gig bag.I have uploaded a pic of the Performer 37 next to the Piano 36 and an old Hohner student model for comparison.

Now that Mr. Utley has legitimized it for public concert use, we can all relish in bringing our Melocidas out of the closet!Since Jimmy Buffett announced it during his exclusive Key West Theater performance, and Mr. Utley played "Volcano" with the Melodica, they're popping up all over -- in bands from blues to modern jazz . . . even saw a hip-hopper use one in a music video the other day.I played this Melodica in 1969, purchased in a music store. I'm a keyboard musician, but when traveling it's hard to take along a keyboard . . . at Myrtle Beach, vintage 1966, we were the House band for a summer in the "Rat Hole" ... a musician playing next door, (Across from the Pavilion) with "Creeper & The Vidells" introduced me to it and I've played it ever since. You wouldn't believe this guy, he SMOKED it!I bought THIS replacement from Amazon last year, and it's true-to-form the original! Play on, dude, play on!

I have been a ukulele player for several years and heard a melodica playing with uke accompaniment. I was impressed by the sound and decided I wanted to get one. Mine just came, and even though I haven't played piano in years I have been able to play some tunes. This is very easy to play. The keyboard is large enough, even though the keys are smaller than on a piano. I like the tone - it is more like an accordian than a harmonica.This comes with a hard case that is padded on the outside, a short mouthpiece, and a flexible tube with a mouthpiece. This is a very nice collection of items for the price. I haven't tried the short mouthpiece yet, because I am not that confident with the keyboard to play looking down its length.I suppose that there are professional grade melodicas, but for my personal use, and occassional playing with ukulele accompaniment it is a great instrument. I can't believe the value. So far, I haven't found any problems with it. It was in perfect shape right out of the box.

The melodica I received is made sturdy, sounds great and very fun to play. I read many reviews of people who thought it was cheap or the sound was not great. The Hohner sounds fantastic. All notes in tune, no buzzing and even though I heard many people complaining about other sound issues, I have had none of those. I have good volume at both ends of the board, though I may have to blow a bit harder on the low end. I still get great volume, even with four or five notes in the mix. Not sure why people were complaining about that either. It comes with the short mouth-piece, extended tube, I guess to use if you want to place the melodica down while playing or just hold it a bit lower. It also came with an excellent case to store it all in. The instrument itself seems relatively durable and should hold up as long as it is taken good care of. All in all, I am glad I finally made this purchase. I would definitely recommend to anyone who wants a compact, fun instrument.

My son wanted a Melodica and this one had the best range, best quality for the price. I found only one wooden Melodica and it was no longer in production and probably now more a collector's instrument. My son says he loves this. I've heard him play twice as he is away at college and it sounded wonderful. Inspecting it before gifting a Christmas, I found the style good, the adjunct items (i.e., extension for mouth) all intact and good quality, keys felt good, sound reminded me of playing a harmonica but the keys felt as good as the professional accordian my uncle gave me when I was young. Case was pretty nice and comfortable to hold as well. Even though plastic, nothing looked or felt cheap.