PERCUSSION RESTORATION: GAMELAN CHIMES

Another restoration project I have been engaged in recently is this set of Gamelan Chimes.  A "Gamelan" (pronounced GAMMA-LAHN) is an Indonesian orchestra composed of percussion instruments such as bamboo xylophones, wooden or metal chimes, and gongs.  I happened to stumble upon this particular set of chimes while browsing on eBay.  I had never heard of Gamelan chimes but when it comes to bells and chimes, I will buy almost anything if it looks cool and makes a unique-sounding noise.

The set consisted of ten aluminum tubes similar to ordinary hanging wind chimes, except these lie flat on a wooden rack and are played like any other metallophone.

[Note: "Metallophone" is the generic term for any percussion instrument that has a graduated series of tuned metal bars that are struck with some sort of mallet (for example a xylophone, vibraphone, orchestra bells, tubular chimes, etc.)].

The problem I was faced with was there were only six slots on the rack, which left me with four tubes unmounted.  This is because the chimes can be arranged according to "Universal Scale" or "Oriental Scale," depending on which six tubes you use and what song you wish to play.  I decided I would like to mount all ten bars, so I set about designing a new frame that would mount the tubes as well as make them "drum set compatible."

After much contemplation and pencil sketching, I took my thoughts to AutoCAD, with which I designed the ten-tube rack I had envisioned on paper.  Then it was off to the workshop to construct this new mounting system.  The concept was simple: a four-sided wood frame with dowels separating the tubes which would rest upon a strip of felt run down the rails.  For the rails I used ordinary right-angle corner trim positioned with the point upwards, forming a triangle, so that the bars rest on the pinnacle and make the least amount of contact with the frame.  This is to prevent dampening of the tubes and allows them to ring freely.

The other important issue with my frame was the odd shape.  A plain rectangular shape would make the rails run parallel, and this would not work.  As I discovered during the design process, the tubes have to be held in a specific position, about three to four inches from their ends, so that they vibrate and resonate properly.  If the rail touched the pipe too close to its middle or too far to the outside they did not balance in just the right way so as to produce maximum resonance.  Much measuring and experimentation ensued, until I had the correct dimensions.  Depending on the length of the tube, the contact points were unique for each, so I had to be very careful to get the design exactly right.

The finished result was a trapezoidal configuration as shown in these remarkable photos.  Some black spray paint for the wood and a little spit and polish on the tubes, and these Gamelan Chimes are now fully restored and ready to play.  A simple hole in the frame makes the whole thing cymbal stand-mountable which makes set-up easy and versatile.  Now I can add these chimes to The Fortress, which has become quite huge and multi-instrumentational as of late.  My daughter, when examining my extensive collection of percussion gadgets, simply said, "Dad.  This is a little ridiculous don't you think?  I mean, seriously."

I know.  I have a problem.....and I refuse to seek help about it.

So how do these chimes sound?  Here is a brief video demonstrating the wonderful noise they make when struck with a rubber mallet.

That's all for this episode of Percussion Restoration.  Join me next time as I continue my quest to discover all kinds of unique and interesting noise-making devices.....and wildly creative ways of mounting them on my drum kit.  God bless!
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****POST UPDATE****
You might not have noticed in the above video, but some of the chimes "buzzed" a little when I struck them.  This was because the rack was slightly tilted and those tubes were resting against the wooden dowels separating them.  After posting this piece I decided to go back and make some slight adjustments.  I took some clear plastic tubing that was the exact diameter of the dowels and cut little short sections to cover each one like a plastic sleeve.  This successfully eliminated all the buzzing, no matter how much the frame is tilted.  I also added a piece of plywood on the bottom of the frame to hold all four sides securely, which made my design much more sturdy and nicer in appearance.