Around 1916, instrument maker Herman Winterhoff, of the Leedy Manufacturing Company, began experimenting with ""vox humana"" effects on a three octave (F-F) steel marimba. By attaching a motor, he could create vibrato effects, hence the name ""vibraphone"". This instrument was marketed by the Leedy Manufacturing Company in the United States starting in 1924. However, this instrument differed significantly from the instrument now called the vibraphone. The Leedy vibraphone did not have a pedal mechanism and had bars made of steel rather than aluminum. The Leedy vibraphone achieved a degree of popularity after it was used in the novelty recordings of "Aloha 'Oe" and "Gypsy Love Song" in 1924 by vaudeville performer Louis Frank Chiha.