Technical Questions

I am looking to buy a used Musser M55.
I found one for sale by someone who is reselling an estate find, but he knows nothing of the history. Is there any way to decode Musser serial numbers to determine build date, tuning, etc.? In my subject search, I found a few similar questions, but no answers.

Hi,

I'm purchasing a new vibe a was wondering which tuning I should go with A440 or A442? Apparently the company (Malletech) is using A442 as standard. I'm in the US and currently don't have any travel plans for Europe of the east.

Thanks!

I play the marimba, and am new to the vibraphone. I noticed that, over time, a depression develops on the vibraphone damper where the underside of the bars make contact with the felt. Is this a bad thing, and is it necessary to readjust the damper tension when not using the vibes, to relieve the pressure on the felt?

Is there a section here that addresses how to properly set up and adjust a vibraphone?

Thank you-
Glenn

Hey everyone, My name is Dawson. I'm studying Jazz Performance at Missouri State University and I need some guidance in buying a set of vibes, as I've never done this before. I'd really like to start gigging around town once I get a set. The problem is that I drive a '98 Toyota Corolla -- not the biggest car -- so portability is really important to me. Also, as a college student I'm not a huge fan of spending money, so I'd really like to avoid breaking the bank/taking out a loan to buy this instrument.

For those that use grip tape on your mallets - what brand do you recommend?

Hello-

Does any player here use a foot switch to turn the motor on and off? I just want the motor on during certain parts of a song, and I find that reaching over with my hand to turn the motor on/off is just not feasible. However, using one foot to pedal and the other foot to turn the motor on/off seems a bit clumsy. Or maybe I could somehow put the motor on/off switch on the top of the frame for quicker access. Any thoughts appreciated.

Hey Everyone. I'm trying to sell my brazilian Musser-sized JOG bars, and this potential buyer wants to know if they fit on an Adams frame. It's an alpha series instrument, so I know width-wise they're fine (as opposed to that model they have that goes down to E, where they use Deagan measurements - 2 inch wide bars), but I still don't know if the distance between cord holes, and the length between the holes and the ends of the bars are the same.... Has anyone tried this, or even better...

Hi, new guy to the forum here. I'm looking to get a set of vibes. I've been playing kit drums for 40 years and bought a MalletKat a few years back. As nice as the MalletKat is, I also like the immediacy and subtlety of acoustic instruments so I figured why not? After searching around (including this site) I've come up with some questions regarding what to get. I don't live near a large city so I can't audition instruments directly and used instruments are pretty much out of the picture (I don't know enough about them to trust my judgement anyway).

I'm new here and happy to find this site.

I currently play a Deagan marimba and am looking for a vibraphone that has the same physical dimensions as my 410, because I thought it would be an easier transition from one instrument to the other. My 410 is 3-octave, f-f, with graduated bars. Can someone tell me if all portable Deagan vibraphones have graduated bars? From the pictures that I have seen, the Traveler and Performer model vibraphones appear to be pretty close to my 410.