Vibraphone

[JT92012]

I play vibes!
Have an old premier Vibe...not sure when it was made but at least 80s. It's sooo mashed up now and i want to fix it.
Any repairers here or any known?

London, UK

 

[JDA]

develop some UK Premier contacts try contacting (and asking his advice) -->

Blenheim Drums

 

[kdgrissom]

I only know options in the USA. Try asking any percussionists that have mallet instruments you may know.

 

[Ghostin one]

This guy I saw on youtube who seems to know what he's doing, and says he travels to London regularly:

About

It’s over twenty-five years since I started making percussion instruments. Over that time my hair has disappeared, my eyesight has deteriorated, and my memory has become less reliable. Technology h…

orchestralpercussion.co.uk

 

[Pat A Flafla]

DUUUUUDE. I've gone through the same exact thing. We're talking the tubular frame Premier with long pedal and two springs, right?
The parts are gone, my friend, and if you ever find some, let me know. I found a guy in Australia with a small stockpile of parts, who warned me off of buying them because of the freight charge. Told me to contact Premier, which I did multiple times and even talked to a rep friend from college in person at an expo. They have zero parts. Anything that exists is in the wild. So I went back to the Australian... and somebody else cleaned him out except for a few parts I didn't need.

So, I use these vibes regularly in my lesson studio, and occasionally to premiere (see what I did there?) one of my artsy fartsy tunes or those of others, so I had to make parts. Drum brake springs, tubing and zip ties for posts, hardware store pedal hinges, a shortened salvaged Adams gel damper...

Where modern wide bar instruments sound full and earthy, these sound gorgeous and silvery, if willowy in the lowest half octave. I can get harmonics out of these that I can't get out of "better" vibes.

 

[bigbonzo]

I play vibes!
Have an old premier Vibe...not sure when it was made but at least 80s. It's sooo mashed up now and i want to fix it.
Any repairers here or any known?

London, UK

Let's hear some vibes playing!!!

 

[JohnnyVibesAZ]

DUUUUUDE. I've gone through the same exact thing. We're talking the tubular frame Premier with long pedal and two springs, right?
The parts are gone, my friend, and if you ever find some, let me know. I found a guy in Australia with a small stockpile of parts, who warned me off of buying them because of the freight charge. Told me to contact Premier, which I did multiple times and even talked to a rep friend from college in person at an expo. They have zero parts. Anything that exists is in the wild. So I went back to the Australian... and somebody else cleaned him out except for a few parts I didn't need.

So, I use these vibes regularly in my lesson studio, and occasionally to premiere (see what I did there?) one of my artsy fartsy tunes or those of others, so I had to make parts. Drum brake springs, tubing and zip ties for posts, hardware store pedal hinges, a shortened salvaged Adams gel damper...

Where modern wide bar instruments sound full and earthy, these sound gorgeous and silvery, if willowy in the lowest half octave. I can get harmonics out of these that I can't get out of "better" vibes.

I played an older version of that Premier model in the late 60s, back in high school. I owned a Deagan Aurora for a time. It weighed a ton and was not much fun to transport, because of its massive cases. It had a wonderful sound, but I never got to play one gig on it, just calls for drumming. I'd love to find a Deagan Commander and a Premier 600 marimba, someday. There was also a silver version of the Aurora, with the Slingerland badge, shown in their '76 catalog. They called it the Granada. I'd love to own one. I don't know if any were even made, besides the one pictured.

 

[kdgrissom]

The Deagan Aurora had an electric motor that would turn the butterfly fan up to 12 rps. The ones today only go to about 8 rps.

 

[Pat A Flafla]

In over 20 years of teaching and over 30 of playing, I've probably needed a motor maybe three times at most, ever. I'm glad mine doesn't have one. Just more weight, more rattles, another thing to check before you play, and another thing to malfunction.
Note: I play/teach concert vibes, not jazz.

 

[bigbonzo]

Have you been able to find someone to do your repairs yet? If not, there are a few companies online if you do a search. Though, I'm sure that you've already looked.

 

[Pat A Flafla]

Let me remind everyone that older Premier vibes have weird parts that neither Premier USA nor Premier UK have. Any existing parts are in private hands. Your best bet is to make your own parts, like I have.

 

[bigbonzo]

Thank you

 

[cworrick]

Contact the guys at the mallet shop. They are the best at this kind of thing. If they don't have the answer, they will know who does.

Buy & Sell Vintage Leedy and Deagan | The Mallet Shop

 

[bigbonzo]

I play vibes!
Have an old premier Vibe...not sure when it was made but at least 80s. It's sooo mashed up now and i want to fix it.
Any repairers here or any known?

London, UK

Any response from the OP? Have you been able to find anyone that can do your repairs?