Reviewer: Jason DeCristofaro
e-mail: not publicly available
Date submitted: May 30, 2008
Purchase Price: $2800
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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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The sound and tone of this instrument are superb. The instrument is very well in tune with itself. The low notes sound rich, loud and resonant, as does the highest octave. On many vibraphones I've played, I've noticed that the lower and middle octaves may sound beautiful and cut through with a pure tone, but in the upper register they don't project very well. This is not so with the Ross. The Ross is better than any other vibraphone I've played in its price range. Every note on the instrument sings and projects with the same clear intonation and volume. If you want a mellower, more subdued tone, use softer mallets. The instrument seems to respond well to Innovative Percussion Jim Cassella Vibe Mallets. The consistency of sound throughout the instrument is also apparent in that even when using soft mallets, they can be heard with equal clarity and volume as the lower and middle register. The only bummer is that the instrument is tuned to A=442, but Ross can custom make your instrument to 440.
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Design & Construction
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Rating:
| 10
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Comments:
| Best frame on the market...that's really all there is too it. It breaks down really easily, is height adjustable, and doesn't swerve under intense playing. The only rattles or squeaks that the instrument has produced were in the pedal, which a little bit of WD-40 solved in no time. The frame is not as pretty as a musser gold vibe, but it still has an elegant, sophisticated look, and is half the price. One thing I'd like to stress is that function takes precedence over anything else on this instrument. This is why it is so affordable and yet the best sounding vibraphone on the market (with the exception of, say, a custom made Vanderplas, which is way out of almost anyone's price range). The graduated bars, as I stated earlier, are very well in tune with themselves, and sound consistent throughout each octave of the instrument. The casters are not obnoxious marching casters, but sturdy enough to keep the instrument in place (make sure the wheels are locked!). The motor is not a slow or fast speed like some models. It can be adjusted from extremely to extremely fast. There is some humming when the motor is cranked all the way up, but I usually only use this to simulate a B-3 organ in really loud sections of songs. The instrument should not be taken apart too often, but it can be broken down easily and reassembled easily. I have a Honda Element, so I just take out the resonators and lower the instrument all the way to put in my car. Be warned...if you do take the instrument apart, it is easy to break down and reassemble for playing, AS LONG AS YOU PUT THE INSTRUMENT ON ITS SIDE. One thing I suggest doing if you break it apart is to bring a towel or quilt along with you. When putting the instrument on its side, the bars can easily get dented, but putting something under them should protect them. The cord hasn't frayed on me yet, but I've only owned the instrument for six months, so we'll see what happens.
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Appearance
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Rating:
| 9
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Comments:
| Stylish in the economic sense.
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Customer Support
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Rating:
| 10
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Comments:
| I lost a post rack on the rail of the instrument, and the company sent me several replacements free of charge.
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Overall Rating
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Rating:
| 10
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Comments:
| Until I can afford to have a custom made vibraphone made, this is the only vibrapone I'll ever need. That being said, if I did have the funds to acquire a custom made instrument, I would want Ross to make it based on the R715S. Ross is the most underappreciated mallet instrument producer on the market. I have used this instrument in every situation imagineable, and no other vibraphone would have gotten the job done like my Ross. I have played the instrument as a solo instrument in fine dining establishments, and, when played with finesse, has the same mellow, warm tone as the best Musser you can buy. When playing fusion and rock with drummers and guitarists playing triple Fortissimo, the instrument cuts through with incredible volume and clarity. Musser and Adams are hailed by many as the best vibraphones on the market, but I think Ross should recieve that designation. If you are going to buy a vibraphone, this is the one to buy.
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Reviewer: Randy Boyce
e-mail: not publicly available
Date submitted: June 24, 2003
Purchase Price: $2600
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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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When I first set the instrument up, I sorta freaked out about the lack of sound coming from it. I then realized that the cap was covering the resonator. I turned the rod and an explosion of sound filled my living room. I play jazz with it, and there is no problem being heard through the drums and bass with my Ross, even if im playing a medium mallet. I use the Ludwig Good Vibes mallets which are a bit soft, but it doesn't matter with this instrument. Ive also used the Mike Balter Jazz mallets, but it seems as if it can get almost too loud with a harder mallet.
The tone sounds consistent throughout. The high register can sometimes get piercing if you are in the correct setting and the lows resonate very well.
As far as I can tell the tuning is great within itself. I haven't taken a strobe tuner to it or anything, but Iv'e noticed nothing to be concerned about at all.
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Design & Construction
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Rating:
| 9
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Comments:
| The frame seems pretty solid compared to other vibes I've played. No swaying with pedaling or anything of the sort. The casters are a very awesome thing on this set of vibes. They are nice and large. Not the rugged style casters you see on marching sets, but large enough to avoid speed wobble.
Assembly and disassemby was not the easiest at first, but after you do it 2 or 3 times you get the hang of it. The legs fold under which makes it very easy to put into the trunk of my Chevy Cavalier (fold down back seat, of course.) Its taken a few scratches on the frame and the tubes, but it was my fault.
The only extraneous noise I've noticed coming from the instrument was a bit of creaking with the pedal, but I think is inevitable. A bit of powdered graphite did the trick.
The fans produce a very minimal amount of humming. If you crank the fans to full speed you'll easily notice a hum, but I've never had any sort of situation that required me to go full speed.
The pedal is great. Its large and it sways, which was a big selling point to me on this set. Unlike the Musser M55s, this pedal is large enough that you won't lose touch with it when you are in the heat of playing.
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Appearance
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Rating:
| 9
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Comments:
| A few weeks ago I was playing at a benefit show for a local saxophone player that was very ill. I was going up to play when the bassist took the microphone and talked about who was sitting in next. Before he even mentioned my name, he commented on how noone has "come up to play this beautiful set of vibes." Its no Century vibe, but its practical.
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Customer Support
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Rating:
| n/a
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Comments:
| Haven't needed to deal with it yet, thank the lord.
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Overall Rating
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Rating:
| 10
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Comments:
| I'm a jazz studies major at Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri. In our music annex sits a Musser M55. When we have our concerts, i bring my Ross. I've sat both of them close together and played the same thing on both with the same mallets. The Musser could not hold a candle to my Ross.
Ive also played Ross's entry level stuff. I couldn't believe the sound that came out of the small bars on the Vibeman set I played.
For the money, you cant beat it. Im in college, so naturally I'm broke. It just shows that you need to shop around before you sink that much money into something so important.
I've recommended it to a lot of people looking for a set of vibes. I tell them the story of me setting them next to the M55 and not getting near the amount of sound from it that my Ross has. My teacher has been contemplating buying one lately also, and im trying to convince the president of the music school to replace the M55 with a R715G.
So yeah, I like it.
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Reviewer: Mike Ferro
e-mail: not publicly available
Date submitted: June 24, 2003
Purchase Price: $2650
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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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This is an excellent-sounding instrument which produces a good volume of sound with little physical effort. I am not an accomplished mallet percussionist, but I have considerable experience as a piano technician. The sound volume, playing with very modest effort with only two mallets requires the use of musicians' earplugs to protect one's hearing.
Tone quality is even and evenly graduated throughout the range. There are very subtle diffences between some adjacent notes which I attribute to very small errors in resonator tuning or to uncontrollable physical differences betweeen two adjacent bar/resonator units. Such differences may be evident to a very critical musician (or a piano tuner) in playing scales very carefully at low volume, but will be completely unnoticeable in normal playing at all volumes.
Intonation (correct frequency of each note) is perfect as measured by a high-quality digital tuning device.
This instrument responds very expressively to and sounds good with different types of mallets including soft and heavy (Albright Milt Jacksons), medium (Innovative Percussion F4s which came with the instrument) and fairly hard (Mike Balter 25Rs, "Jazz").
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Design & Construction
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Rating:
| 9
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Comments:
| This is a very well-designed and well-built instrument. It goes together and comes apart easily, not necessarily the first time, but after a couple of times, it is very straightforward. No rattles or extraneous noises while playing. Frame height is exceptionally adjustable, going up to 38" in height for the very tall. Casters are big and sturdy with sturdy brakes. Bars are graduated and 1/2 " thick. The damper works well, once it is properly regulated. On my instrument the damper pivot arms were not bent precisely at the 90 degree angle required for the accidental bars to damp in synch with the "white key" bars. I removed the damper bar, clamped it in a woodworking vise, and bent the pivot arms by hand until they were exactly at 90 degrees as measured by a carpenter's square. Easy to do. Once the damper was back in the instrument, no problem. The damper and pedal system work easily and well and are easily adjustable. Since this instrument is only a month old, I can't vouch for its long-term durability but I would guess from its high quality design and build that it will last very well.
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Appearance
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Rating:
| 9
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Comments:
| It looks like a vibraphone, but not like a fancy Musser with gold resonators, including all the false ones in front which make that pretty but musically nonfunctional curve. No gold bars either, but simple matte finish silver. Since I always prefer to watch the performer (especially if she is a pretty woman like Susan Pascal, Seattle vibist) or the performer's hands and the mallets (if they are not moving too fast), I think the vibraphone is essentially an invisible item on stage. If you want to look really good with your vibes, wear either a Hawaiian shirt or a tuxedo. Think about combing your hair.
Actually, my instrument has only the functional resonators in front, which is a virtue because it saves weight. This instrument is one of the more lightweight models available, in part because you can order it without the extra fake resonators in front.
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Customer Support
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Rating:
| 9
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Comments:
| Ross has a one-year limited warranty which excludes bar cord and springs. Vibraphones are physically very simple instruments and thus relatively easy to maintain and repair, especially if the design and construction are very sound, as with the Ross.
The damper adjustment I made, as described above, is minor. I think every musician needs to be able to do some adjustment of his or her instrument. Musical instruments are complex and small problems of adjustment are frequent. I am not in the least upset with Ross regarding the damper adjustment.
Incidentally, my vibes, just purchased and shipped directly from the factory, are serial #203, which suggests that Ross is a low-volume producer. Ross makes good instruments which need further appreciation, in my humble opinion.
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Overall Rating
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Rating:
| 9
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Comments:
| Happy. Would buy again. I like to buy American (also I like to buy Italian, German, French, Japanese and African). Ross is a small mallet instrument maker in Wisconsin whose instruments are very reasonably priced, well-designed and built and thus a great bargain.
I use this instrument for jazz and wild, free-form percussive catharsis.
I think Ross instruments are as good (or better than) as anything else currently available, with the exception only of vintage instruments whose particular tone is sought, or the top-end, custom-built instruments which cost three or four times as much as the Ross.
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