JimP
Tiger Talk Pro
Reged: Jul 01 2002
Posts: 66
Loc: NY
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Help please. I am looking at a Vancore 4.3 marimba. The bars a Padauk. I've never used a marimba with these bars. What are they like? I have only used rosewood and kelon. Please advise. The marimba would be for my young son as well as myself. I wouldn't leave the house. Just needed to learn the standard literature on. Thanks in advance. Jim P
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James Walker
Tiger Talk Pro
Reged: Mar 18 2002
Posts: 1283
Loc: Connecticut
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We had a couple of padouk instruments at the drum shop where I used to teach. Padouk doesn't have the richness of tone that rosewood has, but it's quite useable, especially as a practice instrument. I certainly prefer it to synthetic bar instruments - it's much closer to rosewood than any synthetic bar marimba I've played. As I understand it, it also isn't quite as strong as rosewood. While it's quite adequate for day to day practice, I'd be leery of those traditional "bar-unfriendly" pieces like Miki's Time. I don't ever remember there being any cracked bars at the studio where I taught, and there were about a hundred students there each week among the different teachers, as well as a few percussion ensembles, so the bars got plenty of work and seemed to hold up fine.
One of the instruments mentioned above was a Vancore. It has been a few years since I've played it, so I don't know what their current offerings are like, but I had no problems teaching (or practicing) on that instrument. The 4.3 octave range will limit you in terms of practicing some recent literature, but you'll be fine for just about all of the literature written up to the early '90s or so.
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moderator, mallet forum
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JimP
Tiger Talk Pro
Reged: Jul 01 2002
Posts: 66
Loc: NY
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James, Thanks for the help. I just found the link to DeMorrow Marimba's down in another thread. Not sure how I missed it. They have rosewood bars for the same price. I'll be checking them out. Jim
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L Lawless
Tiger Talk Pro
Reged: Dec 24 2003
Posts: 282
Loc: TX
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The DeMorrow was going to be my suggestion for an alternate practice instrument.
Since that other thread, DeMorrow has changed his practice instrument so that it is on a regular frame, with resonators. The only difference is the quality of the rosewood he uses on those instruments as opposed to his higher level ones. I think his practice rosewood is as good as some mainstream company's first line rosewood!
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www.lawlesspercussion.com
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