Solid Bar Chimes

At the time Armen create the "Solid Bar Chimes" he was working as a percussionist in New York City.  He had been playing in a broad variety of musical settings and styles.  In an effort to expand and incorporate new sounds and textures he began adding bells and gongs to the music that was being played.  In 1973 Armen started endorsing Paiste gongs and cymbals.  This led him to incorporate a bell tree into his personal percussion and drum kit.  He took the bell tree apart and stretches it out between his two cymbals.  Armen attached it to the ride and crash cymbal.  He would sometimes run the stick horizontally across the bell tree creating a descending or ascending sound.  This worked well but he wanted an instrument that would have a more sustained effect.  Armen then started to experiment with hanging solid metal bars of differing lengths by a string to hear their different tones and sound duration.  He continued until he found the right thickness, lengths and tones of the bars.  Duration of the sound was a major factor.  Armen finally put it all together when he located a gold anodized aluminum material that gave him the sound he was looking for.  These solid bar chimes had a great sound and appealed to everyone.

He applied for a patent and started selling the chimes through a large percussion company.  The chimes were successfully distributed throughout the world for over fifteen years.  This unique percussion instrument can be heard on thousands of recording and is now a standard and essential part of today's percussionists setup.  Armen's "Solid Bar Chimes" have been imitated by many companies since their creation.