1. All You Need to Know About:
Mike Grosek
Music Products Seminar
Spring 2012

2.  Every marimba player has a variety of
mallets.
 The basic mallet is made of a wood or rattan
shaft, a hard core, and yarn wrapping around
the core.
 There are many different hardness and sizes
to choose from.

3. Hard rubber core
Shaft
Soft yarn/cord wrap

4.  2 mallet sets/4 mallet sets
 Concert/Ensemble – Generally offer a full rich
sound to be heard throughout the ensemble
 Solo/Signature – Specified to fit needs of an
individual performer or piece of music.

5.  Outdoor - designed to withstand the
demanding playing and environmental
requirements of outdoor performance.
 Latex covered – the core is wrapped in a latex
to produce a perfectly blended sound.
 Universal – A general mallet that can be used
for many basic needs on various instruments.

6.  Birch – tonewood. Used for mallets, guitars,
speaker cabinets, and drum shells.
 Maple – tonewood. Used for string
instruments, bassoons, guitars, and drums.
Brighter/Harder than Mahogany.

7.  Rattan is the name for the roughly 600
species of palms native to tropical regions of
Africa, Asia and Australasia.
 A flexible vine-like structure that winds
through other vegetation.
 Plants have slender stems usually 2-5 cm
diameter.

8.  Two-Stage Fiberglass Handles (C) are
extremely durable and characteristically
indestructible. It makes a perfect mallet for
outdoor performance. (mikebalter.com)

9.  Usually a rubber ball with variations in size
and hardness.
 The latex covered mallets have the core
wrapped in a layer of latex.

10.  Variations in the outer wrap will determine
the hardness/volume of the mallet.
 Yarn covered will have a more rounded
sound, as the cord wrapped will have more
attack and articulation.
 Different colors are used to distinguish the
hardness, but are not uniform among
manufacturers.

11.  There are varying sizes in the diameter of the
core, and the length of the shafts.
 A larger core will create a more rounded
sound, as a smaller core will cut through and
have more attack.
 The length of the shafts can make it easier to
play some compositions, comfort of player.

12.  4 mallet sets typically have longer shafts to
accommodate the 4 mallet technique.

13. Selecting the shafts..
Using a digital caliper, and sort the shafts by diameter. Mallets
are made in batches, and any given batch is made of shafts of
like diameter to help ensure that each pair of mallets has
equally flexible, equal diameter handles for a balanced feel.

14. Selecting the Shafts
Mallet smiths test the durability of the dowels by carefully
bending the dowels by hand. They determine if a dowel is too
weak or flexile to be used. After checking for straightness by
rolling the dowels on a flat surface, they discard any bent
dowels. This process helps ensure that consumers receive strong
and straight handles for long, reliable use.

15. Grinding and Coating the Handles
After handles pass the initial quality check, they are ground at the
head end to allow for the easy combination of the cores and
shafts. Rattan shafts are also ground at the hand end to allow for
extra comfort in the hands.

16. Grinding and Coating the Handles
Some shafts are given a thin coat of Sure Grip spray to protect the
mallet from moisture damage often incurred by sweat and humid
environments. Other shafts remain raw to maintain the feel of
naked birch.

17. Gluing handles to Inner Cores
Inner cores and shafts are combined through the process of
glue. Mallet smiths use different glues fro different cores to
ensure a strong bond between the cores and handles.

18. Latex Wrapping the Inner Core & The Creation of the Outer Core
The inner cores are hand wrapped with strips of latex. Through
this process, mallet smiths are able to directly control the
weight, density, and hardness of each mallet. It is through this
skilled application of latex that Encore Mallets, Inc. is able to
create mallet series with fine gradations of hardness and an
almost endless array of sound color.

19. Yarn Wrapping the Core
Encore Mallets are wrapped with fine acrylic, wool, cotton, or nylon
yarn. Yarn composition and color are important considerations in
mallet design. Encore chooses yarns in cooperation with its artists to
achieve their specific sound desires and to ensure easy mallet
identification.

20. Stitching the Mallethead
A team of stitchers finish each mallet by hand by hand sewing the
top and bottom of each mallet. This final stitching prevents the
yarn from unraveling.

21. Painting the Handle Ends
After the stitchers bring in a batch of mallets, the ends of rattan are
hand painted. The seal created by the paint protects the mallet
from moisture damage which can cause rattan to warp.

22. Setting/Pairing Finished Mallets
Experienced percussionists assemble mallets of the same model into
pairs or sets of four. Each pair or set is checked for uniform diameter,
and rattan mallets are additionally checked for uniform shaft
diameter and flexibility.
Encore Mallets, Inc. Quality Construction
(encoremallets.com)

23.  Series:
 Multi-Application
 Virtuoso
 Pesante
 Ney Rosauro Signature
 Van Sice Signature
 Giff Howarth Signature
 Ensemble
 Corpsmaster
 Corpsmaster Andrew Markworth Signature
 American Custom

24.  Series:
 Soloist
 David Friedman
 Ludwig Albert  Fundamental
 James Ancona  William Moersch
 Anders Astrand  Dan Moore
 Jim Casella
 Ochestral
 Janis Potter
 Robin Engelman
 Tom Rarick
 Ensemble  James Ross
 New Ensemble  Jerry Tachoir
 Field  She-e Wu
 Mark Ford
 Nebojsa Zivkovic

25.  Series:
 Latex Covered
 Chorale
 Universal
 Ensemble
 Ultimate
 Performing Artist
 Contemporary
 Tradition Plus
 Shadow

26.  Hand-sewn with wool/acrylic blended yarn over a
latex covered rubber core. Shafts are 16 ¼” long
birch or 15 ½” rattan.

27.  Series:
 Nanae Mimura
 Naoka Takada
 Nancy Zeltsman
 Yarn Wound
 Latex Wrapped
 Two Mallet

28.  Finest grade synthetic, rubber, cord or yarn are used for each
Musser mallet and are carefully balanced fro flex, weight,
size and tonal response.
 Good Vibes are recognized as the world’s finest professional
mallets.
 Two Step mallets are Musser’s exclusive fiberglass handle
design that is thicker near the end for well-balanced handling
and thinner near the head for strong striking force.
 Birch handle mallets are ideal for the mallet player who
prefers a straight, but firmer wood handle.

29.  Series:
 Blake Tyson
 Dame Evelyn Glennie
 Dan Fyffe
 Diversity Founded in 1957
 Doug DeMorrow Pro Mark has always
 Ensemble been a family
business.
 Jeff Moore Enhanced Sound
 Jim Wunderlich
 Kai Stensgaard
 Performer

30.  Series:
 Double Helix
 Wave Wrap
 Ivana Bilic
 Katarzyna Mycka
 Colin Currie

31.  Series:
 Bass Mallets  Ensemble
 Concert  Hemp

32.  Field Series Marimba Mallets
For use outdoors.