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That’s why every bar deserves a round one — especially the low ones. Malletech will never produce a rectangular, oval or flared resonator, because both students and professionals always prefer our round, tubular resonators whenever they are compared in a listening test. Other shapes are less expensive to manufacture, but their strong, random overtones produce inconsistent volume, muddy bass and an “out of focus” sense of pitch. Round tubes only resonate and reinforce the fundamental and natural overtone series. So Malletech only uses powerful, clean, musical round tubes in the bass — just like the rest of the marimba.
Every degree of temperature moves the bars and tubes in opposite directions from wherever they were set at the factory. You lose bar ring, meat of the tone, and volume … unless you are playing a Malletech. You can ignore these patented gizmos inside every resonator, or “get geeky” and control the volume and ring of every bar. Once you experience the improvement, you can never go back to non-tunable resonators. LHS’s latest patented resonator tuner seals with a metal cap, so it sounds identical to a permanent plug, but can be adjusted to your personal preference in a few seconds.
For maximum power and depth of tone, Malletech’s Imperial, Roadster and MJB models use 4-inch diameter tubes on the lowest seven notes. Another brand’s most expensive “big-sounding” model uses 3-1/2-inch diameter tubes — the same as our less-expensive Stiletto2. Malletech’s patented Super Smooth Technology (“SST”) tubes on the MJB “up the game” even further.
Malletech is the only manufacturer that offers 5-octave marimba models with aluminum or brass resonators. Each has its characteristic sound and look. And we don’t paint them.
Through the 25 years that Malletech has been making instruments, our marimba frames have been re-engineered five times. We listen, we learn, we change. Setup and breakdown is a breeze.
Malletech resonators will never sag because each rank of tubes is supported at four points — not just at the endboards. The antlers fold flat for packing.
Our bar rails don’t even touch the frame because we’ve eliminated the metal bracket. Play hard on the ends of the sharps in the top octave. No resonator echo, frame or floor noise.
Our new 1-inch by 3-inch rectangular “on edge” centerpole with quick-release/locking braces puts Malletech out front in terms of strength and ease of set-up.
Significantly faster and easier than the others, up or down.* No wing nuts to tighten or loosen. Elegant, hidden mechanisms. No components borrowed from a railing, fence or hospital bed. Removable crank handle.
Malletech recently introduced a revolutionary new super-solid, non-sagging, bar rail hinge system. We jokingly call it the “million dollar hinge project” because it took 4 years to develop. There’s not much to see because it’s pretty much invisible once it’s set up. You only see the beautiful wood. No painted hinges.
For several lifetimes of rattle-proof music-making. Spot-welding or riveting the resonators together is fast, but an invitation to future rattles.
Got no roadie? We don’t either, but our clever engineering allows a single person to carry and set up our 5-octave marimbas without ruining the chances of a good concert. No massive resonator sections to carry and maneuver. Drop in one of the six sections at a time — in any order. No wing nuts, no fake, long tubes on the high range to create pretty arches — it’s just unnecessary weight and bulk. Fits in a VW Golf.
Malletech offers two models with extra-wide bars, and two models with standard width bars.
Wider bars move more air and stir more souls. It’s surface area that counts, so a half-inch of width is ten times as important as a half-inch of length.
Adjusts the distance between bar rails in the middle of the instrument for perfect bar cord alignment. Leave it home or micro-manage.
Adjusts the front to back overhang of the sharps over the naturals. Strengthens the entire instrument. Leave it home, or micro-manage.
Adjusts the height of the sharps over the naturals in the middle of each bar rail. Leave it alone, or micro-manage.
All braces and centerpole have quick-release locking knobs for easy set-up/breakdown.
Malletech offers four different 5-octave marimba models from which to choose – not just different looks and paint jobs. Each of our models is distinctive in sound and looks, due to combinations of bar geometry and resonator systems. Two models are “standard” bar width and two have extra wide bars in the bass for maximum volume. Dramatic character adjustments can also be made via the individually adjustable resonators, so you can sound your best under any weather conditions, or in any concert hall.