Rare Vintage Maas-Rowe Vibrachord Electronic Carillon Keyboard

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via this auction

Here's something you don't see every day. This is the first Maas-Rowe post on the site. There was a UCSD Geisel Library Carillon posted here, but I am not aware if they are related.

Via the listing: "The Maas-Rowe Vibrachord is a rare electromechanical instrument made in the 1960s that was manufactured to emulate the sounds of a harp, vibraphone, and orchestra bells, so that piano and organ players could have such sounds at their fingertips. The keyboard triggers a set of solenoids, which launch striker pieces upward to play uniquely-shaped circular bell bars, the sound of which is then amplified through the Vibrachord's tube amp (which features tremolo) and accompanying speaker. The bells have a very sweet and round sound that is unique; if I were to associate it with the sound of another musical instrument, one most likely would say that a vibraphone sounds closest to its sound. It has five voices: celesta, harp, muted harp, vibrachord, orchestra bells, and features a volume-adjustable tremolo circuit and a sustain pedal system (not shown in pictures, but included). The instrument consists of the bell cabinet, an amplifier, a control panel unit, a keyboard, and a speaker cabinet.

This instrument also looks incredibly cool, thanks to the Moog-like keyboard with adjacent control unit and the matching colors of the bell cabinet and speaker cabinet. It has plenty of cabling, as this is a purely electromechanical (vs. electronic) instrument.

This instrument is in excellent functional condition. We actually put over $1000 of parts and labor into fixing this. These are impossible to find in fully functional condition. I've seen several for sale over the years, but never a working one. Keep in mind that if you have this shipped, it is possible that something could shift during shipment that might effect its perfect functionality, so please note that we can only guarantee its 100% functionality if you pick up in person. Otherwise we guarantee that it will arrive in great shape overall, but not necessarily perfect upon arrival. The $225 freight quote is for shipping this LTL, which is the safest economical mode of transportation.

Maas-Rowe is a manufacturer of electronic keyboard carillons, which are keyboard instruments that emulate the sound of church bells, so that a church does not have buy actual huge bronze bells to achieve a realistic sound from a bell tower.

The bench on which it sits in the pictures it is not original to it, but the color matches and we can throw it in for free if you pay for the additional shipping cost.

We'll include a copy of a Maas-Rowe bells/carillon catalog and a copy of a Schulmerich bells/carillon catalog for the winning bidder."