Jeffrey S
2018-04-07 02:18:27 UTC
Hello all,
My wife purchased a refurbished Howard Miller Eisenhower Presidential Grandfather clock for a Christmas present. It is a gorgeous cabinet with wood inlays, and lots of nice woodworking accents.
I wish that I could say that I was as excited about the SOUND of the clock as well. I have a 1971 HM grandmother clock (single Westminster chime) which has a wonderful, deep and rich chime.
I was most disappointed to hear this new clock - the hour strike consists of 4 slightly de-tuned rods which I guess are attempting to sound like a large bell, but sounds more like a screeching cat. It was so bad, that I decided to replace it with a new chime block that strikes a 4 note chord on the hourly strike.
In addition, the sound board they used is thick (I think about 3/4" thick), heavy wood. I am also a musician and can confidently say that the choice of wood as well as the thickness of it will greatly affect the depth and tone of the chime.
Because they used thick, dense wood, the bass tone of the chime is completely missing - it is all midrange and upper range. One would think that a clock this size would have a chime rich in deep tones.
I have posted on other horology sites and it seems to be the consensus that Howard Miller has seemed to have forgotten the basics of clock design and selling a pretty cabinet.
I will be interested in hearing from them since I have written to the corporate address with my complaints. I have a large collection of clocks, four of which are Howard Miller. We bought this clock based on their decades-old reputation. If I add another major clock to the collection, I will most certainly look to another company that values the tradition and design that has gone into clocks for centuries.
I would like to hear other thoughts on this subject.
Thanks in advance,
Jeffrey S.
MIACLOCKMAN
My wife purchased a refurbished Howard Miller Eisenhower Presidential Grandfather clock for a Christmas present. It is a gorgeous cabinet with wood inlays, and lots of nice woodworking accents.
I wish that I could say that I was as excited about the SOUND of the clock as well. I have a 1971 HM grandmother clock (single Westminster chime) which has a wonderful, deep and rich chime.
I was most disappointed to hear this new clock - the hour strike consists of 4 slightly de-tuned rods which I guess are attempting to sound like a large bell, but sounds more like a screeching cat. It was so bad, that I decided to replace it with a new chime block that strikes a 4 note chord on the hourly strike.
In addition, the sound board they used is thick (I think about 3/4" thick), heavy wood. I am also a musician and can confidently say that the choice of wood as well as the thickness of it will greatly affect the depth and tone of the chime.
Because they used thick, dense wood, the bass tone of the chime is completely missing - it is all midrange and upper range. One would think that a clock this size would have a chime rich in deep tones.
I have posted on other horology sites and it seems to be the consensus that Howard Miller has seemed to have forgotten the basics of clock design and selling a pretty cabinet.
I will be interested in hearing from them since I have written to the corporate address with my complaints. I have a large collection of clocks, four of which are Howard Miller. We bought this clock based on their decades-old reputation. If I add another major clock to the collection, I will most certainly look to another company that values the tradition and design that has gone into clocks for centuries.
I would like to hear other thoughts on this subject.
Thanks in advance,
Jeffrey S.
MIACLOCKMAN