Wang Percussion 2.6 Octave Glockenspiel with Damper

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There is no reason NOT to buy this glockenspiel. The quality of the bars is equal to anything out there, and they sound beautiful. As others have said, the pins between the bars are too high, so you need to be careful. Also, the wooden case is WOOD, and easily scratched. Just be careful. A terrific purchase for the money.

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Since info is hard to find on these let me start with a few specs. These are a full size set of bells. The bars are a full 3/8 inch thickness and 1 1/4 inch width. The tuning, I was told, is to A442. Onto the review. I was reluctant to purchase these without being able to find any info or reviews but Mike at SWM has a really high opinion of them and the price was right so I went for it and am glad that I did. The essence of any instrument we purchase is the quality of the sound it produces and these bars perform very well. The day after I received them I took them to the school where I teach and did a side by side comparison to the Musser M645 ($999 at SWM). They are virtually identical in sound and for $200 less I have essentially the same instrument aside from cosmetics. I am very pleased with them. In terms of price and sound quality I give the them five stars. Now for a few issues. The wooden case is a beautiful natural finish plywood. It looks great but will need to be babied to keep its appearance. Scratches and dents will come easily if one is not careful as there is no protection like you see in the vinyl covering the M645 has over its wood case. The construction of the case looks good, but not great. Solid, but probably not very road worthy. This thing is a beast weighing in at 53 lbs. and a lot of weight is being put on the single handle which also puts a lot of strain of the wooden bar of the case it is attached to. I would not recommend this instrument for a school that moves its equipment a lot for marching band and indoor drumline or any situation where it will see it could easily be scratched or dented. Don't get me wrong, it's not a flimsy case at all. Let's just call it economical. The dampener seems to work fine. I've personally have never played a set of bells with one but I suppose it is nice to have. No complaints. My biggest issue with this instrument is the peg separators between the bars. For some reason, the pegs stick out above the bars by about 1/4 inch. A huge flaw when all that had to be done is drill the holes a little deeper in the manufacturing process so the pegs would be flush with the bars. Makes no sense. This doesn't make the instrument unplayable in any way, it's just impractical and inconvenient. I do a lot of theater pit percussion and have to play the instrument in less than desirable playing positions and in the three weeks I've owned them the pegs have already been, and will continue to be, a factor I will have to deal with. So, do the construction issues of the case make this instrument less desirable to me? Considering I paid $200 less than the next pro quality set of bells, absolutely not. They sound great and that is what is important and I am quite happy with my purchase. I would recommend them for a semi-pro or pro freelance percussionist or a school or teaching environment where they will not be subject to a lot of moving.

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