Vater Concert Ensemble V-CEV51H Vibraphone Mallets — Hard, Mushroom Head

• Hard grade — the 5 at the start of the manufacturer's model number
• Mushroom head, which Vater associates with a warm fundamental
• Tightly wound multi-ply cord over a hard rubber core
• 11/32 in rattan shaft, 15 3/4 in
• Black tape of the concert vibraphone family

Making a head harder concentrates the energy and raises the high overtones. Widening the contact surface does exactly the opposite. By applying both to the same mallet, Vater gets a stroke that carries far while keeping a solid foundation.

It is not a neutral balance: this model remains clearly brighter and sharper than a medium. But its top end never turns harsh, and that is what makes it playable at a loud dynamic through an entire piece.

In a symphony orchestra or a large wind band, the vibraphone sometimes has to cut through an entire wall of sound for a single four-bar entry. In that setting, a medium model disappears, however hard you play.

That is where this model belongs: exposed passages, brass doublings, the moments where the part says fortissimo and there is no second chance.

• Exposed vibraphone entries in orchestra
• Brass and woodwind doublings at loud dynamics
• Contemporary repertoire with extreme dynamics
• Large halls where the vibraphone has to carry far

Hard vibraphone models from other manufacturers:

Can hard mallets damage vibraphone bars?

Aluminum takes hard heads better than the rosewood of a marimba. The real risk is to the sound before the instrument: a head that is too hard makes the tone aggressive.

Why a mushroom head on a hard mallet?

Because the shape widens the contact surface and offsets the excess overtones that the hardness would produce on a narrower head.

How is it different from the medium hard model in the family?

One step of hardness and a different head shape: the medium hard has an oval head geared toward articulation, this one a mushroom geared toward the fundamental.