Drummer Cafe Community Forum

Okay all you mallet players out there.  I need some advise.  My son has started 6th grade band and they have to get certain equipment (rental) for use throughout ht enext 3 years.  Now I've got a snare, etc. already for him but the school is recommending 2 1/2 octave bells as well.  Actually they have to have them.  I've checked around town and renting them for three years seems really stupid.  We'll way more than spend money on rentals than if we ourchase them outright.  Not easily done but possibly managable.  I find suitable bell kits fir sale new/used in the 200$ to 350$ range.  The instructor recommended that if we were serious about doing this to consider ourchasing something called a KORI.  I don't know anything about this at all- is that a brand name or a type of bell instrument???
Where do I find such a monster or its dealer.  Iv'e looked through woodwind brasswind but saw nothing.  Do any of you know of this(sorry- not meaning for this to possibly insult someones intelligence- but I simply got no clue).  I can handle the purchase of a kit in the $200 range (woodwind has them from ~ $150- $240) but if these KORI are just the bees knees than I might be able to look into short term loan, etc.?!.
Pretend you are me, limited funds but with a son who has 4 years of piano tucked under his belt and drum lessons that are advancing well too.  I am reminded of Bart Smith and Bart Elliott in school on the marimba's etc. (you recall those solos Bart???) and could very easily see my son flourishing with that potential.  Do I get whats needed for now or try for a little bit more?  Problem now is my son just wants to play the drums, he doesn't want to mess with the keys, b ut then he's never really seen just how cool these can be.
thanks-
Mike-

I wasn't aware that KORI (which is a mallet instrument manufacturer, by the way - the American branch of the Japanese company, "Korogi") makes bells; I've only seen their wood-bar instruments (marimbas, xylophones, tabletop "practice" xylophone):

http://www.custommusiccorp.com/kori/koricat.html

Most of the bell kits I've seen (in stores, advertised on the 'net, etc.) have been from the brands, Musser or CB-700.

Cutting to the chase, if your son gets really serious about mallet playing, he's going to eventually need a xylophone, marimba, or vibraphone (most likely marimba if he goes for classical studies, vibraphone if he goes for jazz studies).  Beyond their use in school band programs, orchestra bells are a fairly limited instrument for use in mallet studies; there just isn't enough literature (textbooks and compositions) for students to work on.  (There are bell solos, folks, including some hip things by George Hamilton Greene's brother, Joe, but they're a rare breed indeed.)

Also, the bells one finds in these student "bell kits" are not professional quality - even if you buy yours, you'll end up selling it at some point anyway if your son gets serious about performing on or studying mallets.  (That may be a viable option - buy it now, then sell it to a beginner at the school when your son is ready to move on to another instrument.)

My humble advice?  Since your son is required to have a set of bells, if you can buy for the same cost as what the rental fee will total up to, then buy, and sell it later.  If not, then rent, and put the saved money towards eventually buying a student-level marimba, when/if your son gets serious about mallet playing.

I agree with James in every part of his post.  Your son will outgrow the bells rather quickly.  A marimba or vibraphone will be the next step.  I would rent for a year or so, just to find out he looks like he is going to stick with it or not.  If so, by that time you can look into renting him a marimba.

Thanks for the advice.  I checked out the Kori site and they are just too much at this point.  Certainly a viable option if he shows some continued interest beyond middle school.  Since he has to rent for 12 months and that cost would be more than purchasing outriught, thats what we'll do.  Like you indicate, it is a student set but we have another child who is showing interest in drums (but then again he's almost 3- what child that age isn't going to love bashing some heads every now and then).  We'll get these cause he'd need to rent for a total of 3 years- then trade in if he shows continued interest or keep them  al ittle while longer to see if the young-un might be showing some interest at all having seen big brother play them-
thanks
mike-

Good luck with everything - and just for your future reference, there are more affordable options out there in terms of "student marimbas," compared to the instruments advertised on the Kori site.