Maker
J.C. Deagan
The historical American mallet percussion maker
J.C. Deagan built marimbas, vibraphones, orchestra bells, chimes, and tower bells in Chicago from the 1880s, and effectively invented the vibraphone as an instrument with a motor-driven tremolo. Deagan bars still turn up in orchestras and are still preferred by some players over anything made since.
Models
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Deagan Orchestra Bells
Glockenspiel · United States
Deagan's orchestra bells are still preferred by many players over anything made since, and old sets are maintained and re-cased rather than replaced.
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Deagan Tower Chimes
Concert percussion · United States
Deagan built tuned chimes for churches and civic buildings as well as for orchestras, and many of those installations are still ringing.
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Deagan Vibraharp
Vibraphone · United States
Deagan's vibraharp added motor-driven rotating discs in the resonators to a set of tuned metal bars, producing the pulsing sustain that defines the vibraphone. The instrument as it exists today is essentially Deagan's design.
Sources
Categories
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Mallet Percussion
Marimbas, xylophones, vibraphones, glockenspiels, mallet instruments, makers, and model families.
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Concert Percussion
The percussion section's non-pitched instruments: concert snare and bass drums, tambourines, triangles, crotales, tubular bells, and the stands that hold them.
Representative model
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Deagan Vibraharp
Vibraphone · United States
Deagan's vibraharp added motor-driven rotating discs in the resonators to a set of tuned metal bars, producing the pulsing sustain that defines the vibraphone. The instrument as it exists today is essentially Deagan's design.