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jb78

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Brass Mallets Breaking

« on: June 03, 2007, 03:39 PM »

Hello all,

I'm hoping to benefit from your experience with respect to a problem I'm having: I play orchestra bells with brass mallets in a rock band setting. The band is on tour, so I'm playing live night after night (I.e., the mallets get quite a bit of use and are sometimes used in a setting in which I'm forced to play them pretty hard).

The problem: The brass mallet part frequently pops off of the wooden shaft. I've tried gaff taping the bottom part of the mallet to the shaft, but - eventually - it happens again. I've gone through something like 10 pair in the last 6 months. Any suggestions?

Thank you.


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Louis

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Re: Brass Mallets Breaking

« Reply #1 on: June 03, 2007, 05:11 PM »

Quote from: jb78 on June 03, 2007, 03:39 PM

but - eventually - it happens again. I've gone through something like 10 pair in the last 6 months. Any suggestions?

Purchase another set of mallets AND a good microphone. Let the PA do most of the work. OR write it off as the price of doing business.


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Re: Brass Mallets Breaking

« Reply #2 on: June 03, 2007, 08:07 PM »

Use Super Glue to keep the brass mallet head on the wooden handle.


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johndurg

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Re: Brass Mallets Breaking

« Reply #3 on: June 06, 2007, 01:50 PM »

Also try some hard plastic mallets. I have a glock setup next to my kit that I use on a few tunes, also with rock bands. I'm not a fan of the brass mallets, they sound too abrasive. Also I remember playing in percussion ensemble and seeing one of those brass balls rolling across the stage during a performance.

Maybe your glock itself isn't loud enough. The student bell sets tend to have thinner bars and don't project very well. You might want to look into a vintage marching glockenspiel. You can usually find em on Ebay for $50 - $150. They sound great.


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TimoPalm

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Re: Brass Mallets Breaking

« Reply #4 on: June 22, 2007, 07:26 AM »

Hi there,

The reason it maybe that the brass mallets are generally quite heavy which may cause the tops to come off if you are playing loud. Maybe try the Aluminium heads that IP make, I know they are pretty chunky and these may work better. Alternatively Super Glue!

Hope this helps

TP
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