| This is a look alike vibe to the Deagan 1000 with Gold Laminex/Formica end cases of wooden construction trimmed with ribbed Gold anodised aluminium capping around the edges. It is very solid with thick chromed steel square stock tubes holding it all together.
Assembly is easy even though the parts are heavy. 4 captive bolts secure the ends pieces to the support rails.
Therer are no rattles.
There is no height adjustment, but the instrument was made to fit my 6' 2" height. Hugh Appelt even made the front resonators longer for good looks.
The vibe sits on 4 inch solid rubber casters.
The nylon chord frayed easily at first until the holes through the bars became smooth after "working in". The second and third chords lasted increasingly longer.
There is no extraneous frame noise unless the damper pedal is set far too high so that the damper will clank on its own support bar.
This vibe uses graduated bars.
The bars are of aluminium, extruded from a solid billet to engender "grain" to the bar. They have a natural silver aluminium finish.
The fans are supported by three sealed small ball bearings mounted in rubber. Occasional re-alignment keeps them quiet. Vibrato obtainable is excellent. The motor is a 78 rpm Collaro gramo motor with governor control for speed, mounted in the high end case. The is a quite small hum which cannot be heard when the music is playing.
The damper is superb using a scissor action with very slight lateral motion which is no bother.
Transporting the vibe is just like moving a Deagan around, but heavier.
I have been using this vibe since 1963 (40 years) and its still standing and looking good. The upper 2 octaves of bars were replaced by Deagan notes in 1973, after much heavy work, thanks to Hal Trommer at Deagans. The chord support posts were originally of round slotted rubber which perished over the years. They were replaced by aluminium "Vee" slotted posts clad in plastic with no trouble.
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