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vanderPlas eVibe

Range: 3 octaves

Number of Reviews: 2

Average Scores:

Sound and Tone:	9
Design and Construction:	8
Appearance:	9.5
Customer Support:	8
Overall Rating:	9

Reviewer: Dave Robinson e-mail: dave@daverobinsononline.co.uk Date submitted: November 13, 2006 Purchase Price: 6000 Euro

Sound & Tone Rating: 8 Comments: Nico knows how to make a vibraphone, of that there is no doubt. The problem with the e-vibe as I bought it, with an internal mixer and effects unit (both Behringer) was an awful hum that occurred wherever I played the instrument. So no blaming this on any one particular power supply. My frustrations got the better of me and I ripped out both the effects unit and the mixer and took three separate octave outputs to an external amplifier. I could then get a true idea of the sound and it is very good. I think the instrument is an acceptable substitute for an acoustic vibe in jazz and not just to be used for louder funk or rock gigs.

Design & Construction Rating: 7 Comments: I'm not sure what Nico was planning here. He advertises it as an instrument for the gigging musician, but I'm not totally convinced, especially if you don't have anyone to help you set up. There is one fundamental problem - the evibe is too heavy. I'm not big and strong, I admit, and I find lifting the keyboard onto the frame by myself very awkward. The frame is lightweight and a little flimsy, this was to ensure that keyboard and frame could be transported together in the flightcase, but it would have been better had the keybaord been lighter and the frame more substantial. I've done away with the flightcase and I transport the keyboard from car to venue on a sack barrow. This works ok and enables you to get it up and down stairs. Once fitted together the instrument is solid and performs very well in a live environment. In a year of gigging I haven't had a single problem with the pickups.

Appearance Rating: 9 Comments: The bars are a lovely blue colour and the instrument is very stylish.

Customer Support Rating: 8 Comments: Nico is helpful when you contact him, although I don't think he approved of my modifications, which I presume invalidated any warranty

Overall Rating Rating: 8 Comments: I have always been keen to support new innovations. I have owned a malletKat and now the evibe. New designs will often have teething problems and the e-vibe is no different. I've road tested it constantly for about a year and there have been times when I could have quite happily wheeled it off a cliff, but musicians I have worked with have liked the sound and I think I've found a way to move it around that doesn't give me quite so much back-ache. If I was to buy one today I would make sure 1) It had no internal electronics 2) It was smaller and lighter Of the 6000 euros spent, I've probably binned 1500 euros worth. However, it is my instrument of choice and I gig with it virtually all the time, even though I own a lovely yamaha vibe as well. I would recommend any potential purchaser to consider carefully what they want and discuss this with Nico beforehand.

Reviewer: Sid Edwards e-mail: josivibe@ozemail.com.au Date submitted: September 15, 2006 Purchase Price: $10,000 (Australian)

Sound & Tone Rating: 9 Comments: Being an electronic vibe, all you need is a good amplifier. In the event of a power failure ( outage ), the top octave is still loud enough to be heard in a quiet group. I've done it. There is an installed Behringer Euro-Rack Mixer on board. There are six output channels on this mixer. The keyboard is divided up into groups of six or so bars, each having its own output control including effects mixing, level control and muting, if desired. Each bar has its own piezo mic. The performer can set his/her desired output across the keyboard. The bars are of high quality and the tone will depend on your mallets and the settings of tone on your amplifier. The intonation is superb. Any mallet can be used, from very soft to quite hard, again, in reference to your amplifier settings. Volume is entirely dependant on your amplifier. The eVibe is absolutely in tune with itself.

Design & Construction Rating: 9 Comments: All of the "works" are in a module or box in the top of the instrument, ergo, the frame is quite light, made of aluminium and composite material, being cleverly designed and cross braced with no noticeable flexing. It is not difficult to assemble or dissassemble. Provided that all bolts are tightened by the performer, there are no rattles whatsoever. There is no height adjustment, prét a porter, but due to the co-operation of Nico vanderPlas, I'm sure that a made to measure frame would be possible. The castors lock in two ways ie rotation of the wheels and the steering of the castors. All new vibraphones will fray cords due to the machine marks from manufacturing of the bars, but Nico's cord will last well due to its thickness. After that, "Roll Your Own." There is NO frame noise unless you are stupid enough to play the spaces between the sharps and flats, where you will strike the case material. There are four to five sizes of bars going from a massive 59 mm down to 40 mm at the top end. There are no fans on this electronic vibraphone as this job is done by an inbuilt Behringer Effects Unit which has 100 preset effects plus another 100 user setable effects. The damper assembly works very quietly and it has Nico's famous gel pad damper. The top of this eVibe is heavy at 32 kilos, but that is the same weight as my old Deagan Electravibe which I have used for 34 years. The frame is quite light at 8 kilos with all its pieces. I carry all of this to the gig in the trunk of my car. I have made a modification to the frame, since at some places, I need to wheel the eVibe over rough pathways or roads to enter a place of work. Nico is aware of my modification. Feel free to email me if details are needed.

Appearance Rating: 8 Comments: The bars are of a beautiful turquoise blue colour, contrasting the silver case, support frame and damper mechanism. There are no resonators on an electronic vibraphone.

Customer Support Rating: 10 Comments: I placed my order directly with Nico vanderPlas. Fiscal transactions were done via our respective banks. There were no problems. The shipping company delivered direct to my address. After market support is all that you could wish for. A component within the vibe gave trouble and Nico replaced this item. To be fair, I must state that the item in question was from an outside manufacturer and not part of Nico's tooling.

Overall Rating Rating: 9 Comments: The eVibe is now my full on gigging instrument, without reservations. I see this eVibe as an instrument in transition ie it is quite new to the market and already Nico has a variant of this eVibe for sale. Taking into consideration the electronics and the style of construction, future possibilities are almost endless and quite exciting. The eVibe is used for jazz, latin and some rock. This eVibe is a great gigging instrumentand suitable for most situations. For peolple wanting to play vibes in loud groups, electronic is the way to go. Forget about microphones to hang around an accoustic vibe, go electronic. There is still some diehard thinking out there re accoustic versus electronic, but really speaking, this is the 21st century. Lets get with it. The moguls in the institutions, however, may be hard to convince.