Reviewer: Lindsay Johnson
e-mail: bloodyharmonist@zuppa.co.uk
Date submitted: Dec. 4, 2002
Purchase Price: $1500
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Sound & Tone
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Rating:
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8
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Comments:
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This instrument produces a good sound overall. The sound is fairly consistant throughout the range of the instrument, though I find that the uppermost octave is much weaker than the rest of the instrument. however, this is true for most mallet instruments. Overall I am satisfied with the instrument's tone, however, the lowest octave isn't as deep and full as I would like. Considering the price, though, it is very good. The instrument produces a great volume and projects very well. During the summer I'm told that you can hear mine half a mile up the street. I've never had a problem with the instrument's tuning - though I've only had it for a year and a half - despite the varying temperatures and humidity levels it is exposed to.
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Design & Construction
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Rating:
| 9
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Comments:
| The frame is very solid if kept stationary. It is fine for use as a personal instrument or to give lessons or practice on, but I would not reccomend it for a situation such as marching band or drum corps which would involve pushing or pulling it over long distances of grass or asphalt. (However, I did not hesitate bringing mine for tour for drum corps, though I was glad when we found something else to use instead the last minute before leaving.) The instrument is very easy to disassemble, and once disassembled, it was possible to transport it in the back-seat and trunk of a car. The instrument does not rattle. The frame is height adjustable, which is a nice option if you are very short or tall, or if the instrument will be purchased for a student who will grow over the years he/she owns it. The casters are of a good quality. The cord holds up well - I've only had to re-string mine once in the time that I've owned it. There is no extraneous frame noise when played. The bars are all the same width, and made of padauk wood, which means they are extremely light-weight, however, I prefer the slight give that the padauk wood provides when struck over the rigidness of kelon or other artificial compounds; it is more comfortable when playing particularly loud passages or when practicing for a long period of time. As mentioned before, the instrument, once broken down, it very easy to transport, fitting in a minimal amount of space. I have had mine for a year and a half now, and it shows absoultely no signs of wear, despite many hours of practice daily. It still looks and plays exactly as it did when I first got it with a minimal amount of upkeep.
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Appearance
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Rating:
| 7
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Comments:
| Honestly, the instrument itself is not very pretty. The bars are a red-orange color which I find very unattractive compared to the deeper finishes of most instruments. The frame is black, not much exciting, and the resonators are silver with a white splatter type fininsh. However, it is not as if it is ugly either, and the looks are pretty much a matter of opinion anyway. The appearance of the instrument is also inconsequential to its performance.
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Customer Support
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Rating:
| no opinion
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Comments:
| I have not had to deal with customer service, as I've had no problems with the instrument. Because of that I am also unfamiliar as to the warranty information, so I really have no opinion on this subject.
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Overall Rating
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Rating:
| 10
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Comments:
| Overall I am very happy with this instrument. It has served my purposes well, and from the looks of things will continue to do so. If in the same situation I am in now - just learning, little money, just needing an instrument to learn, practice, and hack on, - I would buy it again in a heartbeat. However, in a year or so when I am ready to go to college (hopefully as a music major) I will probably sell this to somebody in my band, my corps, or over the internet, and use the money from doing that to either buy a vibraphone or a higher level marimba, depending on where I decide my heart lies, and what the concentration of the school I attend is. I use this instrument for all different kinds of music - field shows, jazz, contemporary, orchestral type pieces, basically any music I get my hands on. I would highly reccomend this instrument to a student. It's probably the best investment somebody learning the instrument could make, and it's priced at a level where a student with a part time job or a parent worrying about putting their child through college in a couple years could afford it. A professional would probably want a higher-level instrument with better tone, graduated and heavier bars and a larger range. It would be well suited for use in a public school as long as it would be a concert band only type situation. The frame does not seem as if it would hold up over a long period of time being hauled back and forth everywhere as is the case in marching band, and the bars are real wood and so would become water logged and dry out if exposed to adverse weather conditions. I really wouldn't use it in a university situation, again because of the limited range and non-graduated bars.
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Reviewer: Brian
e-mail: M32@zildjianmm.cjb.net
Date submitted: June 8, 2002
Purchase Price: $1500
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Sound & Tone
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Rating:
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9
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Comments:
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This instrument has a consistently good sound when using Vic Firth M2 Mallets. The intonation and tone of the instrument are also very good, being capable of producing warm and clean sound, or dark and bassy sound depending on technique. This instrument has decent volume, it does not need to be hit very hard to produce audible sound as some marimbas tend to do, and rather it is very sensitive using much force causes the sound to become less pleasing and very cutting. It is in tune with itself and definitely is in tune.
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Design & Construction
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Rating:
| 8
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Comments:
| The frame is solid, yet easily assembled and disassembled. There are no rattles or other unwanted frame noises. The frame is adjustable in height, with five levels. For a 5'8" person the 3rd "notch" is required. The casters seem to be of acceptable quality. The cord has not frayed on me yet, nor is it apparent that it will any time soon. The bars on this marimba are the same width and are made of Paduk. The instrument seems like it would be easy to transport as the legs fold toward the center, a SUV may be required to transport as it does not fold horizontally. The instrument has stood up to the 4 and a half months of usage with no signs of wear, it looks and sounds like the day I got it.
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Appearance
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Rating:
| 8
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Comments:
| The frame is very open being supported by 2 sets of folding legs each with its own brace to the top center of the instrument. The resonators are silver vein powder coat, providing for a very nice look. The bars are a beautifully rich red-orange wood, providing a unique appearance which is absolutely stunning. The resonators are only placed effectively; they are not arched like some marimbas, nor are there ones for the sharps and flats which don’t exist, as I’ve seen on ones which are more decorative. This marimba is clean, free of excessive decoration and embellishment.
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Customer Support
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Rating:
| no opinion
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Comments:
| I have had no problems with the instrument thus far so I cannot rate Musser's tech support. This marimba is covered by Musser for "defects in workmanship and materials through normal use."
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Overall Rating
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Rating:
| 8
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Comments:
| I'm happy with this instrument and prefer it to the well kept M300 that is at my school. The M32 is responsive, bright, and clean in appearance and tone, where as the M300 requires excessive force to produce acceptable volume levels, is less attractive in my oponion, and is duller in tone even with decemt mallets. For approx. half the cost of a M300 the M32 definataly wins my buy for another go round, though it would be nice (though not necessary for me at this point) to have more than 4 octaves. A Musser M500 Concert Grand Solist is the ONLY- model I would buy from Musser over the M32. I reccomend this instrument to students (of which I am one). I would expect that a professional would require an additional octave to preform a wider range of music. I play mostly classical (Keiko Abe stuff), some Latin, and some Jazz. For these generes this instrument has proven to be sufficent.
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