“The marimba sound I am looking for could be described as clear, very sensitive, in most cases slightly sharp rather than too cloudy (moody), but never harsh or hurting. Also, even in the softest pianissimo (even with the softer mallet), one should be able to get a clear attack, to hear a distinct beginning of the vibrating bar, with almost no contact sound between the mallet head and wooden bar.

At the same time, in order to get rich fundamentals, especially from the LOWER register of the marimba, where the bars are rather big, we need to have mallets with certain weight and length. (weight and length are the things responsible for what is later called “good balance” or “good feel”). Having a certain MINIMUM weight, the mallet will almost “alone” be able to get a rich sound from the instrument, and there will be no need to spend any extra energy by the performer (in terms of stroke).“