YAMAHA Pianica 32-Note Melodica (P32D)

I give this five stars for what it is, a relatively inexpensive 32 key melodica with good sound that I can take with me when I travel. I have several other melodicas, including the high end Suzuki Pro-37v and the Hammond 44. As is to be expected, these both have richer sound than the Yamaha P32D, but they are $4-500 instruments. I considered buying one of the Hohner 32 models, but I read too many complaints about their arriving out of tune. The Yamaha is perfectly in tune to my ear, all the keys relative to each other and the whole keyboard absolutely speaking. The keys are of standard width, the same as the Pro-37v but shorter in length (white keys at 3 and a quarter as compared with 3 and 9 16ths on the Pro-37v. This is a compromise. For playing, the longer keys are better, but it means the P32D is 1/2″ narrower. It’s also about 1/2″ thinner. Consequently, the P32D is very compact. It’s all plastic, but solid and tightly constructed. With 32 keys as compared with 37, it’s also about 2 and 1/2″ shorter. I comes in a solid protective case that has ventilation holes, which is a good thing. Key action is smooth and even up and down the keyboard. This is a relatively easy melodica to blow; it requires less airflow, maybe partly because of the smaller sound chamber, but my guess is that it’s partly a matter of construction. It plays chords well, which is not true of all melodicas. The spit hole is not on the end piece of this melodica (“pianica”); there’s a “water drain button” on the top just past the high C key and a tiny drain hole beneath it on the bottom. This is a bit chintzy. I’ve just got the P32D today, so how well its plumbing works remains to be seen. The Suzuki Pro-37v has a 1/4″ brass fitting with a screw-off cover protruding from the end piece; that’s at the other end of the spectrum, and it only costs you an extra $300 or so. Now for my only serious complaint about the Yamaha P32D: The extension tube is not sufficiently flexible; worse yet, it has an elbow joint at the end that plugs into the instrument; still worse, the tube and the mouthpiece are not interchangeable with those my other melodicas (which are all interchangeable with each other). The diameter of the fittings is smaller. The fittings themselves are of marginal quality. The elbow exacerbates the lack of tube flexibility. My Hammond tube also has an elbow, but I can just use a different tube. The elbow is a poor design feature in that you have to fiddle with the elbow to get the tube into its best position. But in the light of all its other virtues (especially the tuning and the key action) and at a price of about $60, I give the Yamaha P32D five stars.

UPDATE 10-31-13: I have found over time that this is the melodica I play the most. It’s very crisp, precise, and easy to blow. A few keys had gone out of tune recently; I tuned it this afternoon quite successfully and in less than an hour. I’m posting a couple of product images with series of photos, and I will now describe the process. All you need is a good quality #1x50mm phillips screw driver and a small curved file (pictured) of the kind used by jewelers and hobbyists. Disassembly and reassembly of this pianica is very simple and poses no risks. Remove the four corner screws on the bottom. The ends pop off; lift out the keyboard. Remove the four screws on the bottom of the keyboard and lift off the bottom cover, which will expose the reeds. For the actual tuning procedure, check out “Tuning a Melodica” at Melodicas-dot-com. (I see now that Melodicaworld-dot-com has an even better description of the process, specifically in relation to a Yamaha.) Melodicas all come from the factory tuned a bit sharp; you are advised to stay with that and just tune any keys that are off. The blue pianica starts at F3 and ends at C6. I recommend starting with the key that is most out of tune. You’ll have to work gradually, especially until you get an idea of how much filing is required, replacing the reed plate cover to test the note(s) after each stage of filing. Flat notes seem to be the most common problem.

FURTHER NOTE: I have seen comments about failing notes (being way off key or not playing at all) on Yamaha pianicas. This is from moisture collecting and being retained in the felt strip at the front of the keyboard (the side a keyboard player faces). You should clear moisture from the instrument when you’re done playing, but I also recommend storing it with the front (felt strip side)up, so that moisture doesn’t collect at the lowest place on the felt strip, which you will otherwise eventually discover to be soggy, discolored, and creating a problem.

FURTHER TUNING UPDATE: I received another P-32D today, my second one, and I decided to check its tuning out of the box. The standard for such instruments is A443 (rather than the “true north” measure of A440), which means that the A in the middle of this keyboard should be at 443 Hz. I will use the pianica for a week or so to see whether a break in period produces different results, but here’s where it is now, with the A443 standard on the left, then the Tuner-gString reading for the pianica and the difference on the right. “+” indicates sharp and “-” indicates flat.

………..A443……….P-32D………..

F3——-175.8——175.1—–[-.7]
F#3——186.3——187.7—–[+1.4]
G3——-197.3——197.3—–[on]
G#3——209.1——208.4—–[-.7]
A3——-221.5——221.5—–[on]
A#3——234.7——235.1—–[+.4]
B3——-248.6——248.1—–[-.5]
C4——-263.4——263.3—–[-.1]
C#4——279.1——279.1—–[on]
D4——-295.7——292.4—–[-.3]
D#4——313.2——312.8—–[-.4]
E4——-331.9——331.6—–[-.3]
F4——-351.6——350.7—–[-.9]
F#4——372.5—–372.2—–[-.3]
G4——-394.7—–395.2—–[+.5]
G#4——418.1—–419.1—–[+1]
A4——-443——-442.5—–[-.5]
A#4——469.3—–468.7—–[-.6]
B4——-497.3——495.9—–[-1.4]
C5——-526.8——525.4—–[-1.4]
C#5——558.1—–557.7——[-.4]
D5——-591.3——591.4—–[+.1]
D#5——626.5——628.9—–[+2.4]
E5——-663.8——665.8—–[-2]
F5——-703.2——705.3—–[+2.1]
F#5——745——–747.6—–[+1.6]
G5——-789.3——791.6—–[+2.3]
G#5——836.3——838.9—–[+2.6]
A5——-886——–888.3—–[+2.3]
A#5——938.7——941.2—–[+2.5]
B5——-994.5——996.7—–[+2.2]
C6——-1053.6—–1054——[+.4]

Corrections of any errors and comments from performing musicians about the significance of the discrepencies will be much appreciated. I rechecked my readings by listening and with further tuner readings and found that the two keys that had appeared way off in my initial readings were not. I plan to update further and will probably eventually redo this entire review.

I can tell from having disassembled my older P32-D that this model is hand tuned at the factory — you can see where reeds have been filed. They could do a better job of it, but this pianica is relatively well tuned in comparison with many. I expect to do some fine tuning, however.

MORE ON TUNING! August, 2014:

I have had a lot more experience tuning melodicas since I wrote earlier updates, plus the benefit of advice from other melodica enthusiasts, some of whom are professional musicians. I have been persuaded that the best standard for tuning is A=440 or 441. If you are not playing with other musicians or with a program such as Band-in-a-Box, it doesn’t matter much. In that case, the simplest approach is to determine which standard the instrument is closest to, and just tune to that. Out of the box, it’s likely to be up around A=442 or 443, and you can tune to that standard. To simplify even further, identify the few notes that are the furthest off. Tune them, and (for most of us) the instrument will sound fine.

For absolute tuning, decide on an A=440 or A=441standard, and tune the whole keyboard to that. You will find an excellent tuning tutorial at melodicaworld.com, as well as discussion about tuning particulars and tuning standards. I finally decided to retune my Yamaha P-32D to A=440. It was a rather laborious process spread over a couple of days, but for me it was well worth it. Tuning gets easier, the more you do it, and I have since tuned several other Yamaha and Suzuki melodicas to 440 and 441, and they sound very good. The comparable Suzuki, by the way, is the excellent M-32C.

July 8, 2016 — A=440 Tuning

This tuning is from a couple of years ago, but it is the recalibration to A440 and was done in cents, which is the best approach. This chart shows just three stages of tuning (rather than the actual 5-7 including a bit more attention to some specific keys), since I have collapsed some of the data. I normally aim at plus or minus 3 cents.

A440 Yamaha P-32D 3-26-14 Tuning Final Result

F3 +8 -12 -5 0
F# +24 -7 -2 0
G3 +9.5 -13 -10.5 0
G# +8 -9 -7 +2
A3 +11 -4 -2 -2
A# +12 -4.5 -2.4 0
B3 +10 -1.5 0
C4 +10 +2.5 +3 +2.5
C# +11 -3 +1.5 0
D4 +11 0 +3.3 +2
D# +12 -1 +3 0
E4 +9 0 +2.5 0
F4 +12 +10 +6.7 +3
F# +13 -6 0
G4 +15 -5 -3.7 0
G# +13 +2 +5.5 +2.5
A4 +10 -3 -1.5
A# +13 0 +2.5
B4 +8 0 0
C5 +11 0 0
C# +9.5 +3.5 +3.6 +2.5
D5 +12 -1 0
D# +11.5 -3 -3.5 +3
E5 +12.5 -9 -8.5 -1.5
F5 +10.5 +1.5 +1.5
F# +8 -10 -9.5 0
G5 +9.5 -4 -3.4 0
G# +7.5 +1 +2.4 +3
A5 +6.5 0 -2 0
A# +5 +4.5 +1.3 +1.7
B5 +8.5 -3.5 -3.9 +2.5
C6 +6 +3.3 +3.2 0
——————————————————————

Finally this, though: Yamaha and upper tier Suzukis (the metal tray models such as the M-32C and A-34C) sound quite good to me straight out of the box, and I could be satisfied with them that way. Taking them apart, tuning them and whatnot is something for which I have the time and inclination. If you like the way your melodica sounds, which is probably already pretty good, it’s not necessary to fret over tuning. But it is something you can do, and it enhances one’s musical experience with the instrument.

I have an embarrassingly large collection of current and vintage melodicas, but this is still my “go to” melodica, the one I play the most. The P-32 Yamaha Pianica is also, as it happens, very widely used in Japanese elementary education, which requires instruction in the melodica (keyboard harmonica — Pianica or Melodion) for all students.

Arrived in good condition, as advertised. If you’ve never played a wind instrument, it will take a little getting used to. I’ve played trumpet for years, so breath control and managing the air pressure is something I’m used to. This instrument is capable of very crisp starts and stops to notes played, if you provide plenty of air. For me, that requires holding the plastic mouthpiece with my teeth, and using a tight embouchure to keep air from escaping out the sides.
Mine was perfectly in tune on arrival – in tune with itself, and with concert pitch. If yours has notes out of tune, search for “tuning a harmonica” for the method to re-tune the reeds.

Emballage léger, juste une enveloppe

This thing is pretty fun. I’ve played many other piano key instruments and wind instruments, so I was excited to try a melodica. I cannot speak to how it compares to other melodicas, but as a musician, I feel like it plays very well. I think someone else commented about the keys feeling sticky and for me, I had noticed the first push of each key after not playing it for a bit would feel ever-so-slightly stuck for a moment, but it seems like that is lessening as I play it more. Once I get going, I don’t notice and the feel on the keys is good.

The sound is good- as with other reed instruments, there’s a little play in the pitch as more or less air goes by, but some of that is the charm and you learn to work with that element of it. Playing melodies along with recordings, nothing sounds way out. You do get some interesting collisions of frequencies when playing more dissonant chords, but again, I’m not sure if that is just the nature of melodicas, or if this one is more susceptible to it. I’m getting the feel of how to work with the changing velocity of notes as you play more or less– a single note is loud and each note you add makes them each quieter and take more air to match volume– but I would wager this is a dynamic of all melodicas, it’s just an interesting thing as I haven’t played another wind instrument that can play chords or a breath controlled keyboard instrument!

If you’re here to just play the Bluey theme song, then it’s perfect. Even the color is on point. Also, the tone reminds me a ton of the chromatic harmonica tone and I kept hearing “Isn’t she lovey” by Stevie Wonder playing in my head and couldn’t remember if he had played harmonica on that track or melodica- it was harmonica, but I think you could pull it off on this. Attached a video of me tooling around with those songs and a few chords to get an idea of the dynamic of it.

Lastly- I was on the fence about spending more to buy a bigger version. While more keys is almost always nice to have, the size of thing is pretty awesome and it is very light and easy to carry around and play. I paid $66 dollars and feel like that’s pretty reasonable. The case it comes in is nice with a retro 80s feel.