Expert: Martin Meyer - 1/31/2008

Question
martin,the clock i purchased last fall is quite a unique clock, i mean the structor of the clock, as for the movement i don,t have a name but on the face it says lester prairie minn. dial made in germany. what i want to know is, the chimes are kind of tinny sounding. compered to my seth thomas mantle clocks,which are more of a cathecral sound. as you know the chime rods are two brass or copper rods , same size, same length, can i change them out to make a deeper tone? thanks chuck

Answer
Hi Chuck,
    Chime rods vary widely in tone, even when they look similar. You don't really know what quality of sound you will get until you install them and hear them. Generally, the longer the rod, the lower the tone. So, one consideration is if longer rods will fit in the case of the clock.
    Chime rods are available from clock supply houses like Timesavers, Merritts Antiques or Empire Clock, in both sets of individual rods and complete assemblies with the rods mounted in the cast iron mounting block. Removing the rods from the mounting block is often a real problem. They are screwed in extremely tight, and the brass screw head often breaks off when attempting to unscrew them. If you have this problem, you should get a complete assembly instead of individual rods.
    You say that your clock has two rods of equal length. Bim-Bam chime rod sets are often composed of two shorter rods and two longer rods. When the clock strikes two rods at once, it makes a fuller sound than striking on a single rod, and this may be part of the difference in tone that you hear. Also, Bim-Bam rods should not be the same length. If your clock strikes on two rods, the first strike should be on a shorter rod, and the second strike on a longer rod. This creates the characteristic High-Low Bim-Bam sound.