Celeste

[robert goodale]

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This topic has come up a number of times including from some of
my own inquiries.  It seems that the most commonly used, (or
abused) celestes found at universities and smaller orchestras
over the years has been the infamous "Jenko", (properly
pronounced "junko").  Having catered to a lot of institutions and
orchestras I have witnessed an increasing number of them dying
following years of improvised repairs.  The flanges were all made
from bakelight which disintegrates, the keytops break in half
because the wood doesn't go all the way through, and replacement
parts have been unavailable for decades.  I have an entire set of
chimes that I salvaged from one before personally escorting the
remains out the back door.  Someday I'm going to have a lot of
fun inventing with them.

As far as I know the only company currently producing these
thingees is Schiedmayer.  I have a couple of their brochures that
I picked up at the NAMM show.  At a PTG convention a few years
back, (I think it was in Orlando), a couple of Schiedmayer reps
attended and gave a class about how they are built and work.  The
class was packed, no surprise since it is rare to meet to someone
who actually knows how to properly service one and a chance to
see one that actually works correctly <;~}  As far as I can tell
they are very well built and were designed for years of hard
use.  They also have a very loud and pleasant sound.  Even if I
was aware of anyone else building them I think Schiedmayer's
design would be hard to beat.  I was told that Yamaha apparently
made a celeste at one point but they have been discontinued for
some time.  I have never seen a Yamaha Celeste but in following
the yamaha tradition I'm sure it was a decent instrument.  I have
been asked several times in the past to investigate if there are
and "used" ones for sale.  I have never found a single used
celeste offered.  The new ones are very expensive and start from
around $14,000.00 if memory serves.

Good luck in your search!

Rob Goodale, RPT
Las Vegas, NV




Pianotoone@AOL.COM wrote:

> We have had success using a MIDI sound module and and midi
> keyboard
> controller.  If played over a good amp the sound 99%
> realistic.  A bonus is
> you can also get all kinds of other mallet instruments.
>
> Caution... Get a good sound module
>
> Dick

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