Suzuki A-25F Andes 25F Recorder-Keyboard

The Andes is one of the strangest and most charming instruments Suzuki makes: it looks like a melodica, but inside are 25 whistle pipes instead of reeds, so every key sounds like a recorder — play a chord and you have a recorder ensemble from one breath. Originally a music-education tool, it became a cult object among synth players, arrangers, and soundtrack composers chasing its airy, breathy voice. Built to Suzuki's school standard, which is to say nearly indestructible.

• Pipe-based keyboard
• Recorder-ensemble tone
• 25 keys
• Cult classic