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thomasR Inner circle 1189 Posts |
Obviously... But some people own ProLine Rings.... so it is possible to actually get a set from them.
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skyfire Regular user 136 Posts |
I thought Proline was out of business. Are people really still sending money??? Ouch...
If you like the way the Proline looks and sounds I would seriously look into contacting Scott Jenkins, and ask a few questions, he can and does work with the same material as Proline. I can't personally vouch for his Rings since I have never bought a set from him. But he answered two of my E-Mails within an hour, so he's ready for business, and he's Joe Porpers protégé in manufacturing the rings. That alone sounds worth looking into. Or you can also dig deep, refinance, and buy a Brand that's a Make to Stock. (and they really are). |
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thomasR Inner circle 1189 Posts |
Quote:
On Apr 10, 2017, skyfire wrote: Oh so the Jenkins Rings are the same material? That's good to know. I've heard nothing but praise for his rings but I thought they were a thinner material than the Proline. |
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skyfire Regular user 136 Posts |
I really don't know about the Jenkins Rings to be quoted, that's why I say to try and call him and ask questions. I did read on his site that he uses Aircraft Aluminum, and that's what Proline advertised as using. I was just going by that.
But just to clarify, I did not start this posting to say how great Proline is (although I do like everything about the two sets I have), but just to say that I paid a crap load of money on one set, but ended up sticking with the old set for a third of the cost. I am going to consider a Jenkens four Ring set though. |
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thomasR Inner circle 1189 Posts |
Oh yes I understand. I think Owen is way overpriced. It also bothers me that they didn't seem concerned at all when you weren't happy with the product.
I got a very quick reply from pro-line last week but with multiple people claiming to not have received orders I will just try to wait until a used set goes up for sale online. It's a shame that it's so difficult to get a good set of rings these days. I'm willing to pay the money... But I want a good set for the money! |
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Dick Oslund Inner circle 8357 Posts |
Hee hee! I started using rings, about '74, when I bought a used set of 10" Merv Taylor's from Jay Marshall. ($40.) I'm sure that they were made before Merv died. I developed a nice 5 ring routine, and, broke it in, when I was doing lots of high schools, on the road. It played STRONG!
A year later, Karrell Fox gave me his 3 ring routine. He said, "We don't conflict!" Feel free to use it." 3 8" rings weighed less than 5 10" rings I picked up a set of 11 8" rings, from a dealer from India, $50. The extra rings included an oversize, an undersize, and a GOOD LCKNG KEY. I sold the 8 ring set for, I think, $25. I've used three rings of the set, since 1975. They've "seen", perhaps 10,000 audiences. I have no "argument" with those who prefer bigger rings! Mine work just fine. When Karrell died, I inherited his 8" set, even his little drawstring bag and his 24" silk!!! So, now, I have a back up set!!!
SNEAKY, UNDERHANDED, DEVIOUS,& SURREPTITIOUS ITINERANT MOUNTEBANK
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Don Loyal user 215 Posts |
I have a set by Auk Vanddokum that are 15 inches in diameter. I have a 10 inch set of rings and things that has 11 rings,and a bumper 8 inch set. The proline rings sound good,BUT I would not blindly give my money to someone that has accusations about non delivery! You are asking to be ripped off!
Don |
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Leo H Inner circle 1333 Posts |
Quote:
On Apr 11, 2017, thomasR wrote:I got a very quick reply from pro-line last week but with multiple people claiming to not have received orders I will just try to wait until a used set goes up for sale online. That's interesting. I sent them an e-mail two weeks ago and still haven't heard back. I have no doubt that one day many years from now they will respond to it. Getting any product from Van Dokkum is something of a minor miracle. |
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Don Loyal user 215 Posts |
Leo you are correct. I trusted Auk with my order and he delivered. That may not be the case now. In this business you have to buy when you can because it won't always be available!
Don |
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Leo H Inner circle 1333 Posts |
Quote:
On Apr 11, 2017, Don wrote: You got that right Don! One fellow here on the Café noted that Van Dokkum never sent the rings he purchased from him. |
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Bill Hegbli Eternal Order Fort Wayne, Indiana 22797 Posts |
Van Dokkum shut down his website over a year ago, only Stevens Magic is selling a few small items. I just assumed he retired.
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Leo H Inner circle 1333 Posts |
That's right Bill--Stevens will on occasion sell a Van Dokkum item.
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Frank Simpson Special user SW Montana 883 Posts |
I have two sets of Owen rings, 10" and 12". I bought the 10" from Owens in about 1994, and they have served me extremely well. I had the opportunity to buy the 12" set from a fellow magi here at the Café about 8 years ago.
To me the differences demonstrated in the video are primarily pitch and sustain. The proline are higher pitched and definitely sustain much longer. The Owens do "ring" (especially compared to my old Suds rings) but I have no need or use for a sustained ringing tone. In the 36 years I've been performing the linking rings I've never had a single person comment on the sound of the rings, but I've had many, many other positive comments. I have included the rings in every performance I've done since about 1986 and the sound of the rings has never been an issue one way or another. While the sounds might be factored in as a performance element, they certainly are not required for the effect to work well, so I feel that by and large it is a non-issue. As far as a marketing angle, I don't think a phrase like "ring like church bells" was ever meant to be taken at face value. And I feel sure when the phrase was coined a million-and-a-half years ago (I remember first reading an advert in about 1978) it was comparatively true compared to most "bargain" rings then on the market. I certainly mean no offense, but I think your expectations were just a little bit unrealistic. The rings, at least in my experience, are extremely well made and serve my needs perfectly. At most I would chalk it up as a minor disappointment, a wish for a musical ring whose dulcet tones lull the very angels to their ethereal slumber. |
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thomasR Inner circle 1189 Posts |
Well when Pro-Line says they "ring like silver bells" they do mean to be taken at face value.
To me.. the rings sounding liking bells, or not doesn't matter.. what matters is that they clank and make a lot of noise. Metal on metal makes noise... I want the audience to hear the metal on metal. The Owen Rings are big enough to clank and make some noise and sound legit... but the Pro-Line rings do seem like they would be louder. (I've never heard the Pro-Line Rings in a live show.. so it's hard to comment for sure just on videos). I don't think it's unrealistic to expect $100 a ring rings, to sounds as good as $50 a ring, rings. |
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Bill Hegbli Eternal Order Fort Wayne, Indiana 22797 Posts |
It kind of boils down to, Skyfire believes sound tone and ringing equals quality, and that is just not true.
Having seen poor and great rings over the years, it is more about the workmanship, then the sound. I have known about rings then when performing the crash link, they actually break apart. Some have a visible seam, and some have scratch marks or impressions from the grinding and clamp welding. Some even the chrome starts pealing off on 1st use, and those chrome flakes hurt when they dig into your skin. All that said, it is the sequence of moves and combining of those moves coming together, that make the Linking Rings a magical effect. |
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mcharisse Inner circle York. PA 1226 Posts |
I agree sound doesn't add to much to the effect, but poor sound can detract from it. I've seen aluminum rings that go together with a dull klunk that really sounds bad. I think the satisfying klang of steel does add something to the overall impact.
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Bill Hegbli Eternal Order Fort Wayne, Indiana 22797 Posts |
Whether it is a ding-a-ling or a bong, the audience can hear it, and that is all that matters. The sound of metal hitting and penetrating one another.
Actually, I find it all very annoying, so much so, I have to stop practicing. When I was married, the wife at the time yelled, stop all that racket. It is relatable to buying your kid a drum set, and not letting him play them. |
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Dick Oslund Inner circle 8357 Posts |
I'm with you, Bill! The $50 8" set that I bought from a dealer in India, in 1974 have seen thousands of kids (elementary schools and high schools) and, they have gotten big applause every time. They are about 1/4" diameter stock. They're holding up just fine. I use the crash link once. I can hear the sound, but, I doubt that the kids in the back row can hear.
Jay Marshall made his own nine inch set, eons ago. He needed 9" for the over the head gag.
SNEAKY, UNDERHANDED, DEVIOUS,& SURREPTITIOUS ITINERANT MOUNTEBANK
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skyfire Regular user 136 Posts |
Wow, LMAO. Looks like no one read my post, or reading comprehension is way down these days. Or at least for just a few in here. I am reading these recent posts and they have nothing to do with the original posting at all.
For one thing I started out with being fair with Owens, I said, “I am sure there are a lot of happy and devoted people out there with Owens Products, after all they have been around for a long time.” I also fairly stated in that post that, “Honestly, it may also just be my style that these Rings are not good with.” I am not just spewing out a buyer regret post, I also provided a video for each to decide for themselves. I just wish I had seen a Video before sending that much money myself. Plus I have compared Owens to a Manufacturing line that is apparently retired, and not trying to promote sales for someone. Explanation if needed, otherwise skip to bottom: I have had Linking Rings in the past, and I thought they were all great Rings, but then when I purchased a set of Prolines a number of years ago and I got this sound out of them. Period. I did not judge their quality or greatness from the sound, but it did turn out to be a great plus. The few family members that sees me practice pointed out the sound very quickly, and for those that do not own rings that sound like this, I have heard many comments from laymen about the sound, I really have. Over the past decade of using them, I got into a habit when segwaying or during a pause to give them a nice little tap that got a ringing sound. Then it went even further, I now have a dozen or so go to Dinner Bell, Chime, and Ringing jokes. (Even a few adult style Dinner Bell jokes if I have the audience). I even have a Story Routine geared towards Kids that I use the bell sound by having the solid ring inside the Key Ring pointing to a certain area of the Key ring and asking the kids what time is it when the ring is in this position, and I’ll do that number of rings by tapping the two rings and they count along. I also have a two and three ring Story routines for Xmas that are heavily into the theme from the “It’s a Wonderful World” movie and the patter with the ringing goes with the theme of, “Every time a bell rings…etc”. That line comes up four times during the routine, and the fourth time the spectator(s) can finish the patter for me. So with all that extra explanation for you said, you can now go back to the above paragraph where I stated, “Honestly, it may also just be my style that these Rings are not good with.” Because I am not capable to do these Routines and Patter with the Owens Set that I have, I’ve tried, it doesn’t work. Is it my Rings? What got me to do this post is that I was looking for the equipment capable of doing what I needed to continue with. I had read many posters in this forum that claimed Owens Rings had a nice sound, and ring to them. Do a search, and see how many times that description was used in the forum as a selling point, and to describe how nice they are. Secondly here is a quote from Owens site, “Owen Linking Rings are tuned to give a clear vibrant ringing sound unequaled by any other ring on the market.” So Owens themselves is using this as a big selling point for them. These are the people you are disagreeing with when you post sound doesn't matter. I just wanted to know if it was the norm. I do however believe I got my answer from this post, from Owens owners that posted, and it did confirm what I thought. So Bill H., I would say to go back and reread the original post, but I will simplify it for you, and I'll copy / Paste the question I asked below. Here is a question for anyone that has familiarity with both brands, and even others. Do all Owens sound like this? Or is this actually a good sound, and because I was already used to the sound of Prolines, that when I actually heard what my Owens sounded like, they just didn’t match up to my expectations? Or did I just get a bad set? |
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Bill Hegbli Eternal Order Fort Wayne, Indiana 22797 Posts |
I did read all your post, and combined all your words into paragraphs, and the total of everything you wrote sums up to say, sound equals quality, and you were disappointed because they did not sound like your Proline. It is reading a book, of 300 pages, it is all the written works that make the complete topic of the book. I know today, Internet people like to pick one word, and then rant about the word, but at some point, those that read the whole sentence, really get the jest of the what the person is saying, even if they don't realize it themselves at the time.
Well, if you wanted them to sound like Proline, you should have ordered more Proline. It is like buying a Ford, and saying this Ford does not sound or drive like my Chevy. The are totally different manufacturers. To answer your last question, I had a friend that owed the Owen's hollow, they sounded like a "dead Clunk". They were brushed or satin finish, and dull looking as well. I have never stood on stage, and hit rings together so the audience could here the nice ting, and fade. I don't know why the ting so important to you, as it is meaningless to the total effect, but thanks for the video. Life is to short to ting steel rings together to here them ring. I believe Frank Simpson said it best in his post above. |
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