Hi everyone. I've had a Malletech Omega for about 4-5 years at this point and have used it extensively for gigs and practice. This past year or so, I've noticed a frame creak, on and off, pretty much whenever I press down the pedal. I've tried small remedies like lubricant, tightening all the Allen wrench screws, etc, but nothing has truly solved it. I have some recording coming up, and it's gotten bad enough that I'm not sure I could use the instrument, so I'm very much trying to get this fixed!
Here are some videos of the issue so hopefully you see what I mean - https://photos.app.goo.gl/h6WcrJykCkw32sFm7
Through some troubleshooting/disassembling of the instrument I've found the culprit is the inner two rails, not actually the damper bar. It seems like the next step would be to take off the problem rails but I can't figure out what type of screw it is on the end of the rail (see the last picture in that link above). It looks like an Allen wrench, but it only fits for some of them which is weird. The one is does seem to fit, I can't loosen because it's so tight (for those not familiar with the Omega, the rails stay on the frame when you disassemble, so the rails don't easily slide off)
I've tried contacting Malletech about this but unfortunately haven't heard anything. Does anyone have any contact with them? At this point, it seems like I have to get the information about this rail screw/removing the rail from them. Thank you for the help!!
Comments
Teflon tape
behng Fri, 10/31/2025 - 13:45
Hi Eric,
That’s strange! The problem might not actually be the rails. Since the rails connect with the damper bar, which then connects to the spring towers, the creak could be coming from that area instead. I had a similar issue a while back — Randy and I were hanging out, and he suggested wrapping a little Teflon tape around the bottom of the springs on each side. It worked perfectly! Might be worth giving that a try.
great advice. yeah eric, i…
tonymiceli Sat, 11/01/2025 - 15:26
great advice. yeah eric, i hear what you are saying, but in my uneducated but somewhat experiences opinion i think it's the damper somehow doing this.
I was thinking the same…
Zeric138 Sat, 11/01/2025 - 23:19
I was thinking the same thing, but I just tried taking off the damper bar completely, and the sound still is present. Wouldn't that mean it has to be the rails then? Or am I wrong?
I don't own an Omega, but I…
Vince H Sun, 11/02/2025 - 10:35
In reply to I was thinking the same… by Zeric138
I don't own an Omega, but I have addressed creaks on my other instruments (Musser Pro and ProTraveler, plus some other old ones). Looking at the video it appears there is some flex in the milled aluminum beams that form the harp. One possibility is that there is a very small crack in one of those beams, which you might only find via close inspection. More likely would be some flex happening where the beam attaches to the sides of the frame. You can see that dirt has accumulated in the attachment point in one of these photos, which would indicated there is some room there. After inspecting for cracks I would explore whether the bolt holding the beam to the side frame can be completely removed. There may be an adhesive helping to attach the beam to the frame, and this could have hardened over time and cracked. Anyway, those attachment points (I would guess there are 8 with one bolt each) could all be examined and cleaned and if needed you could add some powerful adhesive. It does seem to me that being in direct contact with someone at Omega is still the best bet as they could walk you through the best place to begin for doing this. But if there is not time then that creak is definitely going to come through the recording. It's too intermittent to be covered by other sounds and blur into the background, as a motor sound might.
one other thought
Vince H Sun, 11/02/2025 - 11:00
I believe it was John Mark Piper who advised getting a stethoscope and having a friend manipulate parts of the vibraphone to recreate the noise while you search for the source with the stethoscope. You can often find these at auto parts stores, as mechanics use them as well to find the source of ticking in engines and allied parts.