A Premier 751 vibraphone in to have a service. Particular issues are inconsistent damping and note sustain.
A quick look at the frame revealed no major issues, however the fan shafts were very noisy, so I started here.
The Premier 751 Vibe is no longer made, so all spare parts are now obsolete. When Premier stopped making this vibraphone, I was invited over to buy all the remaining spares. Therefore if I don’t have it, then its unlikely that anyone else will – unless of course that they don’t do many of these very common vibes!
One of the problems with the fan shafts being noisy is the central bearing (pictured above). In order to get this on the fan shaft (because it can’t go past the butterflies), the top of the bearing is sliced through, therefore it loses structural rigidity. This becomes a real problem when it is forced into the resonators; forced because they were made a little bit too long, so they have to be bent to get them in. The same thing happens at the low end, but there the bearing doesn’t have to be cut. This bend creates a pinch point on the rotating shaft, and an ambiguity in positioning, this is where the noise comes from. Thankfully because these spare have run out, I now have no option but to make a replacement, which means that I may as well solve the problem permanently.
First on the list of improvements is better material, I use a low friction nylon. I would have used PTFE, but in
this instance it needs to hold a thread. The originals are moulded plastic, so they start with a structure and add bits to the design for strength, because mine are cut from a sheet of material, I start with a block and remove bits where needed, but there is still a big increase in mass. Therefore mine are way stronger than they need to be (which means that they should never need changing).
There is of course another benefit. These bearings are now made when needed, and modified so that the holes are all aligned correctly so that the fan shaft runs true. They are essentially matched sets.
The central bearing is made in two halves and held together with machine screws, but all of the bearings have a little hole for oiling. This is the complete opposite to progress – I have copied a concept used on vibes made in the 1930’s in the UK (where we invented engineering and are still unsurpassed), all I have done is used modern materials.
The only problem is that they don’t fit! I went through several designs a few years ago, trying to make them so that would go in the space available, but they all failed. Since then, I decided simply to increase the available space. This means cutting the resonator tubes, and unlike every other time I have seen a tube modified, I remove the tubes from the set to work on them and not damage all the others. It’s a no brainer!
As can be seen above, I have increased the chord length of the cut out, and its depth.
hello.
I have a Premier vibraphone which I’ve inherited.
Where can I find the model number?
Thanks for your help.
Iona
Hi Iona
Sorry for my slow reply – I was very busy in my personal life doing things like getting married.
There won’t be a model number on Premier Vibes, you just have to know what you have!
700 series or blue vibes can be seen here: http://www.orchestralpercussion.co.uk/2015/10/23/1227-premier-700-vibraphone/
This vibe was upgraded to the 701: http://www.orchestralpercussion.co.uk/2016/05/10/premier-701-vibraphone-overhaul-job-no-1351/
Then the range was expanded to include the 751: http://www.orchestralpercussion.co.uk/2015/10/16/1279-premier-751-vibraphone-part-2/
The 751 has wider note bars at the low end of the playing range whereas the 701 and 700 are all the same width.
I hope this helps.
Paul
My vibraphone is in good condition. I just need to replace the dampening petal bar. The red fed has worn out under the F natural and B flat keys. Know good replacements for the felt?
Hi Ousman,
I have high quality damper felt in stock all the time; as you can imagine I often have to repair damping problems. What I don’t is what you mean by the red felt worn out under F natural and B flat keys – the key of F natural and Bflat? or do you mean the three F note bars etc?
Paul
The felt has torn off where the F natural and Bb key come in contact with it. Those two notes often ring uncontrollably when the instrument is being played.
In that case I doubt that the cause of the problem is the felt, more likely to be the note pegs.
Do you sell the dampening felt? If so, how much? I could really use some. This is my only vibraphone in the front ensemble and it’s becoming a pain in the behind. lol
Yes I sell the felt. If you send me an email with your details I will reply with prices.
Paul
I need to repair my 751 premier vibraphone.
I need the rubber part. 85 of them.
where can I bought them?
baruch bar shalev, Israel
Hi Baruch
I currently have 62 in stock but I am currently making some more up. They currently cost £2.11 each plus post and packing. If you want to proceed send me an email with your full address and I will raise a proforma invoice.
Regards
Paul
Hi I’m selling my 701 premier vibraphone and need 4 rubber posts. I have a.knocking noisy sound from the shaft . !! Is my rod that holds the fans bent or something is loose and not holding the rods..
Hi
I can supply you with the rubber note peg caps if you email me with your full name and address so that I can raise a proforma invoice.
Obviously I cannot diagnose the problem with your fan shaft without seeing the instrument and hearing the type of knocking, but if it is prominent then one of the butterflies is probably catching on a rivet.
Paul
Hi Paul, I have a Premier 701 or 751 (I really don’t know exactly). The bearings of the vibration shaft are broken and one of the concole which hold the string. Do you can provide me with some spare parts?
Peter
Hi Peter
Thank you for your comment, I also received an email which I have also answered. However this is in the public domain so everyone can read it; therefore this reply is also for them.
If you are unsure of the parts you require the best way to proceed is to email photographs of the offending items. If you do not know my email address use the webform accessed through the email icon on the menu bar.
With regards to old Premier vibes, all the parts are obsolete. Because of my long working relationship with Premier, when they ceased production of these instruments I was invited and proceeded to buy all their residual stock of spares parts. These have long since been used and I have been producing alternatives where necessary.
In particular the fan-shaft bushes ran out over a decade ago, so I have to make these up as and when I need them. This is a long process which would make these parts disproportionately expensive, so I do this work as part of the whole refurbishment. It may well be that this situation changes in the future but only when I have become 100% satisfied with the mofidied design.
The cord hoop mouldings are also gone. However because these are prone to breaking I now produce these in bronze.
Regards
Paul