<!doctype html public "-//w3c//dtd html 4.0 transitional//en"> <html> 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: <blockquote TYPE=CITE>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</blockquote> </html>