Vater Concert Ensemble V-CEXB32RM Xylophone Mallets — Medium Rubber
The V-CEXB32RM is a pair of mallets with a 1 1/8 in brown oval rubber head, mounted on a birch shaft. Vater presents its rubber heads as an alternative to the sound of yarn: a third way between wool that is too soft and a ball that is too hard.
What sets it apart
- 1 1/8 in rubber head, brown
- 0.313 in birch shaft, firm and straight
- Medium grade, in the middle of the manufacturer's scale
- 14 1/2 in, the short length of hard keyboard mallets
- Useful well beyond the xylophone: wood blocks and small percussion
What rubber does that the other two cannot
Wool yarn spreads the impact and swallows the attack. A plastic ball concentrates it and makes it dry. Rubber sits between the two, with a property of its own: it rebounds.
That rebound gives a short but round sound, with a clean start to the note and no tail. It is exactly what you want on small percussion that needs a focused sound — a wood block, a temple block, a cowbell — where a ball would sound like a knock and yarn would produce almost nothing.
A pair that goes beyond keyboard duty
Many percussionists keep a pair of medium rubber mallets in their bag without assigning them to any one instrument. It is the auxiliary table tool, the one you grab to strike the unexpected object a contemporary score calls for.
On the xylophone itself, it gives a fuller, less cutting sound than a ball, useful when the instrument needs to blend into an ensemble rather than pierce through it.
Specifications
| Head material | Rubber, oval head |
|---|---|
| Head diameter | 1 1/8 in |
| Colour | Brown |
| Hardness | Medium |
| Shaft | Birch, 0.313 in (0.80 cm) |
| Length | 14 1/2 in (36.83 cm) |
What it is for
- Xylophone with a full rather than cutting sound
- Wood blocks, temple blocks and small percussion that needs a focused sound
- The auxiliary table in contemporary repertoire
- Practice keyboards in a room where brightness quickly becomes tiring
Compare with other manufacturers
Rubber mallets from other manufacturers:
| Manufacturer | Their equivalent | What changes for the player |
|---|---|---|
| Vic Firth | Rubber keyboard mallets | Hardness range identified by letters rather than numbers |
| Mike Balter | Rubber head mallets | Shaft chosen when ordering, several lengths |
| Yamaha | School keyboard mallets | Narrower range, designed for classroom equipment |
Frequently asked questions
- Do rubber mallets mark the bars?
- Good-quality rubber leaves no trace on clean bars. What leaves marks is dust caught between the head and the bar.
- Can I use them on orchestra bells?
- Yes, for a deliberately muted sound. For brightness, you need a plastic ball or a denser material.
- Why birch rather than rattan here?
- Birch gives a firm feel that suits precise strokes on the small surfaces of auxiliary instruments; there is no dampening to deal with.
Avis clients
Got a score that calls for unexpected auxiliary percussion?
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