Greetings,
I became a member to seek some guidance. I recently acquired my grandfathers Musser One Nighter Vibraphone. The date on the bars appears to be 1964, which is appropriate to when he was working and teaching. On his passing, it went to my mom who didn’t do the best job of packing it away, and then to my sister before it came to me.
I remember him teaching me to play it when I was a kid along with his drums. He played dance band jazz music through the mid 70’s along with running a music store.
I have them along with the travel cases and a few mallets. It appears to be before they made the vibrato adjustable as it is a one speed motor.
My specific questions are: 1. As the Instrument is whole excepting the drive belt, and does play and mute apparently properly, is there someone I could be directed to to help determine it’s current value. Who would be a reputable company or venue either to restore and assist in marketing it to an end user that would appreciate it and put it to use? Here are some photos from just taking it from storage. It has not been cleaned up at all.
Comments
Greetings
chunkycat Mon, 09/19/2022 - 09:31
Andres at Century Mallet in Chicago.
Where do you live?
Randy_Sutin Mon, 09/19/2022 - 16:15
Century is great and reliable. If you are not near Chicago…
Fall Creek (up near Buffalo NY) is also good. On the west coast, Salazar is a reputable business.
One business that many have had negative experiences with which has a prominent presence on the web… malletshop.com. I would NOT recommend them.
Apparently John at Salazar…
rogersvibes Mon, 09/19/2022 - 16:35
In reply to Where do you live? by Randy_Sutin
Apparently John at Salazar is not doing vibraphone restorations at this time. I emailed him a few weeks back about a potential project.
That’s a shame.
Randy_Sutin Mon, 09/19/2022 - 22:54
In reply to Apparently John at Salazar… by rogersvibes
He’s done work for friends of mine who spoke highly of his craftsmanship. It’s a shame if he’s not into vibes any longer.
Where do you live.
webbonbass Tue, 09/20/2022 - 17:27
In reply to Where do you live? by Randy_Sutin
Hello Randy, I am in SW Florida. Fort Myers/Naples area
Photos?
rogersvibes Wed, 09/21/2022 - 00:29
In reply to Where do you live. by webbonbass
Could you post the photos? I don't think they attached properly in the original post. I'm not an expert, but I would expect to see a One-Nighter vibraphone go for around $3000, maybe higher if it's restored and vintage (1964, as you say).
Photos
webbonbass Wed, 09/21/2022 - 09:51
In reply to Photos? by rogersvibes
The picture didn’t want to attach to the original post and I’ve tried unsuccessfully to find a way to attach them here. I will try again in a new post.
I also have an M45. Value…
GTS Sat, 11/19/2022 - 09:35
In reply to Photos? by rogersvibes
I also have an M45. Value estimate seems high based on sold listings on Reverb. Would appreciate further comments. Thanks.
Coe Percussion
malletmamacita Thu, 12/29/2022 - 23:42
In reply to Where do you live. by webbonbass
Hello, Coe Percussion is in Tallahassee, which is your closest guy with a shop. Dont know if he repairs/restocks the non-frame parts. Resurrection Drums (on the Southeast side [Hollywood, FL], probably a 2 hour drive), were able to get me a new motor belt for a school's Deagan and a new cover for a Yamaha combo vibe I used to have.
Honestly, if you still have it, I might be willing to buy it off you.... (I'm also on the east coast part, but closer than Resurrection Drums)
Added photos
webbonbass Wed, 09/21/2022 - 09:54
I believe that I was able to get them added to the original post.
Added photos
webbonbass Wed, 09/21/2022 - 09:54
I believe that I was able to get them added to the original post.
Any more comments?
GTS Sun, 11/20/2022 - 23:23
I also have an M45. The valuation here seems higher than sold listings on Reverb. I would welcome any additional comments. Thank you.
for valuation, just go on…
tonymiceli Fri, 12/16/2022 - 16:50
for valuation, just go on ebay or craig's list and search for the model number. see what people are selling for.
a one nighter is not as valuable as an instrument with graduated bars. so keep that in mind. but a lot musical pits want them. they take up less room.