I’m used to caring about things most people don’t take an interest in. However, the impression a doorbell chime makes when people visit your home seems to be very unfortunate afterthought, if it’s something people even consider.
Judging by the inadequate (and often non-functional) displays in retail stores and the almost complete lack of online retailers with sample sounds from every bell, I have to conclude that people just don’t care about the sound their doorbell chime makes anymore.
For our house, I picked a nice hardwired two-tone bell. It rings a simple D#, C with actual mechanical solenoids striking actual metal tone bars. It was very inexpensive and a good stand-in until I can find what I’m really looking for.
It seems that most manufacturers these days are producing all-electronic door chimes that play somewhere between three and one hundred different tunes. To my ear, they all ring false. I’m happy for anyone who wants their doorbell to ring out the full “Westminster Quarters” or the theme to “Happy Days” when your bell is rung, but it would be much more engaging if it wasn’t so obviously a recording played back on a speaker that could just as easily be found in a singing birthday card.
I’m still keeping my eyes out for a resonating mechanical doorbell that we’ll keep long-term. Aesthetics shouldn’t be hard to match so my biggest criteria is the sound. I guess it’s hard to say exactly what would work best, but I might make a beeline for a chime that rung out a nice three note tune or chord. If you have any tips, I’m all ears.
Building 1120 