The majority of my time is spent servicing, repairing and modifying percussion instruments. The posts below demonstrate the diversity of instruments that I work on and my approach to the job.
In the previous part of this post – 1249: ropey drums (pt2) I was making up new lengths of rope and repairing the buffs, all preparation to do most of the drums. However I was left with three drums that needed new buffs to be made because I have changed the rope to match all… Read more »
The rope on the drums have worn out or snapped. This post shows which knot should you use to do a running repair on a broken rope. and the techniques I use when replacing it.
In part one of this post, the self destructive characteristics of this glockenspiel were discussed and the work was done to resolve its issues. In part two, other components are modified and the glock is rebuilt.
This M55 vibe is a work horse, it is the only vibe I recommend to people to buy. I last saw this vibraphone when I was in London, probably around 2003. It is the gigging vibe as opposed to the practice instrument at home, and now it needs some attention.
There are a lot of rope tension drums to fix, all with individual problems to be address. So whilst waiting for a lot of rope to arrive, in this post I start tackling the drums which need the most work.
These instruments sound great, but they way they are built is, well frankly, useless. Once my customer is thoroughly fed up with glockenspiel collapsing, I get the job of sorting out the problems.
The second part of this post sees the job completed. This was accomplished not without difficulty due primarily to two major manufacturers not making things properly!
The biggest problem these timpani suffer from is instability. The mechanism is actually straight forward, just difficult to work on because it is all riveted together.
The final day of this job sees all the components come together, just leaving the rest of the timpani to overhaul and then the heads can go on. It was only when the customer and I were packing them away that we came across some unexpected problems.
This post follows on from Adam’s problems (pt 1). So day one was mainly spent setting up the drums, and making the bottom blocks. Today starts with finishing the installation of the other two blocks, before making more components. The original central tuning rod has been removed from the pedal, and is now actually central… Read more »
Orchestral Percussion
210 Wath Road, Brampton, Barnsley S.Yorks S73 0XD Directions
Phone: 07740 676 441
I offer a nationwide collection and delivery service with frequent trips to London and the South East.
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