the handle

it came with no handle or drive belts (the belts move the parts to make it go "wa-wa-wa-wa.."). i thought i might have to wander aimlessly in china town looking for vcr belts, but luckily there is a tv/vcr repair shop down my street here in brooklyn (details are in a previous post).

at 45 lbs. and no handle, it was fairly cumbersome. i (and my friends) carried it, handleless, up and down the 4 flights of stairs to my apartment - in and out of clubs - and in the nooks and crannies of t. griffin's recording studio. (thanks to my friends!)

i researched luggage stores and music stores, but nothing seemed to fit what i wanted - a working handle that would use the exsisiting handle brackets. i didn't want to drill any holes or anything like that.

at long last, joe came to the rescue with his climbing rope! he had made a handle for our mutual friend's amp and i bugged him until he screamed 'mercy!' well, i didn't actually bug him that much - we just had to find a good time for him, that's all. we found that time and it took about 5 minutes. splendid, indeed! things are so much brighter now! it is easier to manuver in all aspects! i'm excited!

thanks joe!

the search

my search started in 2001 (or maybe 2002?). i was living in boston and had just started learning about ebay. browsing one afternoon, i stumbled across a vibraphonette. it was like that recess peanut butter cup commercial.

"hey! your vibraphone ran into my suitcase!"
"naw, man! your suitcase ran into my vibraphone!"

it was perfect for apartment living and my music! i just quit my 'real' job, so my funds were low for the forseeable future. i thought of bidding but couldn't manage the investment. i think it finally went for about $650. i moved to brooklyn not too long after that and finished recording the vitamin-d album. i started looking again during the recording, but the search intensified when i started performing live. the small set of bells i had just didn't seem to cut it in a club.

i found another one about 2 years ago but it was in canada and had just been sold. then i found yet another one in early 2005 but it was in australia! whoa! finally, in september 2005 there was another one on ebay from new hampshire. i pulled out all the stops and let my friend patrick talk me into using one of those sniping bidders. i'm not exactly sure how all that stuff works, but it did work. thank goodness. and patrick, too.

finally! another entry!

yes, it has taken a while, but i've finally come around to post a picture of the vibraphonette. it was made by an italian company called galanti. i'm not sure what year it was made, but it was probably in the 1950's or 1960's.

with the top on, it measures approximately 31" long by 23" (widest point) by 9" tall. it weighs about 45 pounds. it came with no belts for the motor, but i was able to convince the local tv and vcr repair shop to sell me a few to see if they would fit. they didn't, but the fellows were nice enough to give me another few to try and they fit perfectly. there was also no handle, but i'll put a different post about that later.