And now for something completely different

[Nick]

Ok just gauging a response on my next build, I'm working on an electric bass currently but should be starting this project in the next couple of weeks.
I was asked via Bob, my endorser (who teaches at the local jazz school), pre-quake if I was able to build a vibraphone for the Drum/percussion tutor at the jazz school,a commercial set bought in this country can start at $10,000 for a student grade & on up from there so he was keen to see what I could build them for. Once I'd played around trying various grades of Aluminium for the right materials for the bars & quoted the job I was given the go ahead. Bit of a tangent from building guitars but I work with metals during the day so it's not that much of a stretch.
I bought Jim McCarthy's book on how he built his wooden framed 'homebuilt' vibes to get a handle on the build process of these things however I'm going with an all aluminium frame to make them a little more "Professional" , the customer also wanted them to be able to be broken down for easier transportation between gigs . Here's a couple of pictures of my kitset Vibraphone as delivered ,
some assembly (& machining) required.....Batteries not included.

IMG_1813.JPG (118.99 KiB) Viewed 25913 times

IMG_1816.JPG (162.34 KiB) Viewed 25913 times

What I was wondering is if there would be any interest from you guys & gal here, in me doing a bit of a build pictorial , as I bash this thing together? I know this is a guitar forum & the main (& only, for some ) point of interest for being here so I thought it might be worth asking before going ahead & documenting this thing if nobody's interested.

[Clancy]

Had to go staright to Google to find out what the hell a vibraphone is.
Now that I've seen it, I for one would love to see your build pictorial, even if it's just to see how you build/join/shape with aluminium.
I take it you won't be using your hand planes on it!

[jeffhigh]

Sure, I would love to see a build thread

[DarwinStrings]

Vibraphone?? Careful Nick they charge $3 a minute for those calls. Oh and yes please.

Jim

[Mike Thomas]

Yes, very interested, Nick. And I already have a question. Do you use any old aluminium for the bars, or is a particular alloy desirable, even necessary?

[matthew]

I know this is a guitar forum & the main (& only, for some ) point of interest for being here

Don't know who told you that Nick. Someone's got to keep it real

I'll be really pissed off if you DON'T blog it here!

[edit] oh I see it now ... STRINGED INSTRUMENTS forum ... well don't take any notice of that, I'm sure it's a typo...

[Puff]

So - it ain't strung up yet
Have sometimes contemplated length-tuned tubes with internal strings as a sort of poor man's tubular bells. Please -go for it.

[Luke]

I am keen to see this one nick as I don't mind the odd bit of metal in my little builds, thumbs up from me.

[Nick]

Thanks for the responses so far, I think it could be an interesting build, maybe not the sort of thing everybody could do out in the lean-to, although Jim's wooden framed one certainly is!

Yes, very interested, Nick. And I already have a question. Do you use any old aluminium for the bars, or is a particular alloy desirable, even necessary?

In Jim's original homemade build he uses 'ordinary' grade ally off the rack you can get from any supplier. I tried first making a bar with this (in flat bar form 6063 grade is used) & tuned it to high F (F6). It certainly sounded ok but lacked any real sustain (the customer thought so too & Jim said in his video that it did but he was more than happy to have less for his vibes as he was proving more that it was possible to build a cheap set) So I researched a found that Musser (who are probably recognised as one of the world's leading vibe makers) use a 2024 grade (recognised more as an aviation grade) which is only available in New Zealand in 1/4" round form! Not quite big enough for 50mm wide vibe bars! So I found the recipe for 2024 & found the nearest mix available here, there was one that had virually exactly the same composition except for the Manganese, which had a few point 01's higher percentage. Again it was only available in the round so I bought a bit & machined it into flat bar, then I cut a piece of 5083 grade (a marine grade) from 12mm plate. Tuned these two bits up to the same F6 as the first bar then mounted all three onto a test frame. I deliberately left any indications as to the grades off them so as to make my intended blind test more subjective as I'd already told him what the Musser ones used (I of course knew which ones were which) & took it to the customer who ended up picking the one made from plate funnily enough! I'd already picked this one out as the best of the three as it had quite abit more sustain and a clearer fundamental over the other two! Bonus for me as the bars end up at 12mm thick so this option actually ends up using less machining time, I just have to cut them to width & length then tune

[needsmorecowbel]

Whoops i thought this was a marimba the wooden brother of the vibraphone...

[Nick]

Getting the notes right is going to require some form of formulae? Or do you cut it to standard lengths and shave the wood on top until it is the correct pitch?

I cheat Stu ! No a standard guitar tuner will do but I bought Strobosoft sometime ago so just hold the bar up to the old lappy & it tells me how many cents flat or sharp I am away. The Bars are Aluminium too (Marimba's are the wooden ones) and you remove ally from certain areas (underside) of the bar, in the centre drops the fundamental, remove ally further out on the next antinode drops the first overtone and further out again tunes the second overtone but it's more important to tune the fundamental & first overtone for a good sound, second overtone just sweetens the sound. Here's a Musser bar illustrating what I'll try & achieve.

Vibes-cutaway.jpg (270.3 KiB) Viewed 25828 times

[morgan]

Woohoo, I'm loving this build already and it hasn't even started yet. Bring it on. Don't think you'll find anyone complaining about the prime directive here.

[simso]

Post pics, ask questions

I have repaired many in my life time, we are not just a guitar repair shop.

[Mike Thomas]

Interesting about the alloys Nick. I have a friend who was, until recently, an engineer who worked for British Aerospace in South Australia. One of the jobs he worked on a few years back was the Euro Fighter, and he gave me a few pieces of the special aluminium they used for making it. I can't remember what it's specification is, although I knew at the time. What impressed me most about it was how it rang like a bell when tapped, and how long it sustained. Very, very musical. I have yet to find a use for it. Unfortunately I don't think there's enough for a vibraphone. If there was you would be welcome to it.

Interesting also that there is a link here to the Selmer Maccaferris. The Grande Bouche's aluminium neck reinforcers were from Dural ( a trade name) , almost identical to the 2024 alloy.

[simso]

Probably 7075, high strength aluminium used in aviation, the 2024 is nice but its actually an al-clad, that is an aluminium alloy which has a fine layer of pure aluminium on the surface of it

[Mike Thomas]

Simso, I think, like 7075, 2024 is a high strength alloy, and has a long history of use in aviation. For some purposes, mostly in sheet form I imagine, it can have a coating of pure aluminium, the purpose being to increase its resistance to corrosion. But it has been widely used uncoated to make machined structural components for, amongst other things, aircraft. And vibes

[needsmorecowbel]

Is this one of those things you could give a vintage sunburst?

[simso]

Yes, 2024 is a high strength alloy as well, but due to its poor corrosion resistance it is clad in pure aluminium as a sacrifical coating when used for skin panels.
The 2000 series major alloying component is copper.
I mentioned 7075 becuase it is the next most common alloy in the aviation world after 2024, it is also rated as one of the strongest aluminium alloys, its mixture instead of copper is zinc. So strong chance of it being the one you were thinking about. After that you have the 6061 series and so forth. dont ask how I know, spent way to many years machining / inspecting aircraft parts skins etc

[Dave Olds]

I get a feeling this is going to be another one of those ''must follow" threads like Matthews bass build.

Bring it on Nick - looking forward to it.

Dave

[Kamusur]

Thunderbirds are Go nick bring it on

Steve

[Kim]

Too cool Nick I always thought a vibraphone was something you put in your trouser pocket to get a cheap thrill whenever anyone rings you at work...or is that just a me thing that I am not meant to share

Should be a really interesting thread and I am looking forward to following your progress.

Cheers

Kim

[Lillian]

No Kim, that was something you weren't supposed to share. But at least you didn't mention how many time through the day you called yourself and told you coworkers you were on hold yet again.

[Kim]

I bow in acknowledgment of a true master Lil...tips taken on board and have booked a number of sequential reminder calls throughout today to celebrate.

[Nick]

I bow in acknowledgment of a true master Lil...tips taken on board and have booked a number of sequential reminder calls throughout today to celebrate.

The only guy smiling while he works! Bound to raise suspicion amongst your work mates .

[Lillian]

I bow in acknowledgment of a true master Lil...tips taken on board and have booked a number of sequential reminder calls throughout today to celebrate.

Glad to be of service Kim.