Reviewer: David Fahrner
e-mail: fahrner@montereybay.com
Date submitted: Dec. 2, 2002
Purchase Price: $2,500, purchased "used"
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Sound & Tone
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Rating:
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9
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Comments:
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Wide-bar Deagans like the Aurora II have a brighter, more complex tone than the equivalent Musser instruments. It’s very easy to get an excellent sound out of this instrument: intonation and response are
very good across all three octaves. The Deagan has a wider dynamic range than a Musser, particularly when played with relatively soft, heavy yarn-wound mallets (like the Albrights that Milt Jackson used).
Cord mallets may be a little too bright. It’s not as loud as a Musser (the 1/2”thick graduated bars are a little narrower at the low end, 2” wide instead of 2 1/4”; the high end is the same, 1 1/2” wide) but the brighter tone seems to project the sound equally well.
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Design & Construction
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Rating:
| 10
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Comments:
| The Aurora has a “concert-style” frame, not height adjustable, with solid end pieces and a load-bearing crossbar/pedal assembly. Both design and construction are just about perfect: all of the details are
well-thought out and built - nice precision aluminum castings. It’s amazing just how solid (and quiet) the frame is on this 30+-year-old instrument. The occasional (minor) frame and pedal noises are easy to fix. The crossbar fittings are worn (again, after 30 years of use) so you want be careful when rolling the instrument around and avoid large bumps. The variable-speed motor (1 to 12 RPM!) and fans work well and are very quiet, but I have had to take the motor apart for cleaning and lubrication (any shop that services electric motors could probably do this, or a more serious rebuild, for you). The damper pedal works smoothly and has enough mechanical advantage for subtle modulation techniques. The Aurora is easy to assemble and disassemble, and it breaks down into relatively small parts that are easy to pack and move (but there are a lot of them). The frame rails fold, but the crossbar and resonators do not, so there are some long pieces.
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Appearance
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Rating:
| 10
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Comments:
| The Aurora II may be the best-looking vibraphone ever produced, with a durable ebony finish (plastic, but smooth and rich-looking) on the frame, and gold-anodized bars and hardware. My instrument had kicked
around a Seattle recording studio for much of its life, but with very minor touch-up it now almost looks new, with no serious scratches on bars or frame. Most owners would be a lot more careful with a
top-of-the-line instrument like this, and used Auroras must usually be in very good or better condition.
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Customer Support
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Rating:
| 6
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Comments:
| Deagan has been out of business for almost thirty years, but service is still available through Century Mallet Instrument Service, located at the former Deagan factory building in Chicago. It is run by Gilberto Serna, a former Deagan employee. Some parts are still available.
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Overall Rating
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Rating:
| 10
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Comments:
| This is the second Aurora II that I've owned: I bought my first one new in 1965 (for $750!) and when I decided to start playing vibes again a few years ago, I immediately began looking for a replacement. It took me about a year to find one, and I used a Musser Century in the interim, selling the Century as soon as I found the Aurora. For small-group jazz, a wide-bar Deagan is just about the perfect vibraphone. It takes a little time to move the Aurora, but once it’s set up, it’s great. It’s probably not the right
instrument for a school, due to its age and to Deagan being long out of business, but the Aurora has the sound, feel, and look that a professional musician would want.
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Reviewer: Kurt Schleunes
e-mail: kurt.schleunes@marlboroughschool.org
Date submitted: Dec. 2, 2002
Purchase Price: $1,000
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Sound & Tone
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Rating:
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10
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Comments:
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I forget the model number. It's the good one. The one that Milt preferred. I'ts great. You've heard it on all the albums. Still in tune. I prefer it to everything else I've played, but with vibes it's a matter of taste. I only wish the low end was a little smoother -- less sound of mallet hitting the bar. Seems to really like Burton Goodvibes mallets. With four mallets, I often use a slightly softer mallet for the 4 low end.
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Design & Construction
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Rating:
| 9
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Comments:
| Great frame. Good and solid. A little difficult to transport but very wheelable.
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Appearance
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Rating:
| 9
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Comments:
| Still looks great. Bars in great shape.
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Customer Support
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Rating:
| no opinion
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Comments:
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Overall Rating
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Rating:
| 10
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Comments:
| Very happy. This instrument changed my life. Really made me go for it with 4 mallet jazz vibe solo work. In my opinion, this is the vibraphone for jazz and especially for 4 mallet work. The overtones don't kill you like they do with the Yamaha and the upper end is crystal clear.
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