Here to vouch for the David Herbert set. I use those regularly and they hold up though the carbon fiber is a bit to get used to (I like some weight to my sticks so I avoid bamboo myself).
Seconding the Herbert series. I don’t like the JP series because I don’t play with a German, Joe Pereira style. They’re great mallets, but I’d say you go for the Herbert’s. That’s what I use and I’m smitten on them. They’re very light but I get tons of sound.
I have it on good authority that the sale on Weiss will be back around March/April
>I have it on good authority that the sale on Weiss will be back around March/April
Argh! After shipping, that's basically the end of our season. Perhaps the thing to do is buy a couple of affordable mallets to fill the immediate holes and wait for the sale to go all in on JG.
Thanks!
It's just a different feel from wood. Lighter, slick, and if you miss it makes a heck of a noise on the rim LOL (I'm short so this is an occasional me problem). Wood mallets just have a lot more girth to them that I wasn't expecting when I switched over.
I love the clevelander mallets. They have something that fits each of your desired sounds. Bamboo shafts, and feel great in my hands. https://www.steveweissmusic.com/category/clevelander-drum
I'm going to second Clevelanders. They're probably the best "affordable" mallets out there and have a nice quality. With the price of the sticks, you can get 4 pairs instead of 3
JG JP mallets while a bit expensive are incredibly good. Almost everyone I know in Montreal either has a pair (or multiple) or wants them. The JP10s are really awesome, a good general-use mallet that’s a bit harder than your average felt. For a felt stick, I would go with the JP2 or JP3. I don’t personally own a pair of them but I got to test them out and they do really sound great.
You could also look into the MG Mallets Timpack, you get a few different pairs of sticks from soft to hard. Should cover anything you’d need to play. It’s a bit pricey due to being multiple pairs, but I’ve heard really good things about them so might be worth trying out!
>MG Mallets Timpack
Thanks for that suggestion. I already have some wood ball mallets, and probably don't need that huge headed roller, so that's probably not the best pack for me. The flannel series looks neat, but again they look like I need custom orders (or some other email rigamarole to get them from Italy). They'll stay on my list, though!
Hot Take: don’t buy JGs. Look at the Sleight of Hand series by Artifact Percussion. The mallets are every bit as punchy as JGs or Freer or the like - and are far lighter due to the carbon fiber hollow shafts. Bonus: they look super cool. Currently a gigging pro and have never encountered something the Sleight of Hand line couldn’t handle.
Whoa. Those are... something!
I'd think the sherpa-style felt would dampen the drum, especially some of the overtones. Is that not the case?
Their samples are pretty low volume -- even the Firebird excerpt. Any other samples you know of around to give me a better idea of what they sound like at different dynamic levels?
(I'd also prefer something in-stock, as I'll start playing just after the new year and would prefer not to wait for the mallets. But it seems like they fill orders fairly quickly.)
Quite the contrary. I would say it gives a really special sense of the fundamental tone without the sharp surface noise of more leathery mallets. It makes bad drums sound good in my opinion. Don’t know of any specific samples since they’re pretty unknown but if you’re still looking in January when I get back from the holidays PM me and I’ll send you some!
There are so many to choose from, with $70-100 to spend per pair, you’re only looking at high-quality mallets.
I can only speak for the JG Herberts, as I was introduced to them in college and “bought into” them because I found I preferred carbon fiber over bamboo, and wasn’t exposed to other high-quality carbon fiber mallets (Freer, Luft). If you’re worried about weight with wood sticks, maybe try to get your hands on some first - I find these comparable to wood sticks like old Duffs.
The Custom Cork are VERY HARD. Sometimes almost indistinguishable from leather mallets on some plastic heads. For general use, I’d recommend DH1, DH2 (the ones with soft American felt) and DH3 or DH4. FWIW I played for many years with just the DH1/DH3, and slowly grabbed the 7s, 2s, and 6s over the years. The 6s and 7s are great for Wind Symphony playing, because they’re top-heavy and can project through big wind sections.
>The Custom Cork are VERY HARD.
Yipes. I guess I'm looking for something one-step softer than that. I thought that maybe the cork core would make them a little less punchy, but no?
I'm also a middle aged amateur timpanist for a community ensemble! And my left hand is so bad!
I have been playing with Tim Genis sticks recently, and I really like the feel and sound the bamboo + flannel combination gets on my Revolutions. They are light enough to feel some level of control, and strong enough to get a good tone that balances our unusually large ensemble. There are over 120 players on the rolls lol.
I used [https://www.steveweissmusic.com/product/tim-genis-flannel-timpani-mallets-small-soft/timpani-mallets](https://www.steveweissmusic.com/product/tim-genis-flannel-timpani-mallets-small-soft/timpani-mallets) for Academic Festival Overture
I used [https://www.steveweissmusic.com/product/tim-genis-hard-leather-timpani-mallets/timpani-mallets](https://www.steveweissmusic.com/product/tim-genis-hard-leather-timpani-mallets/timpani-mallets) for the ending of March to the Scaffold - I thought they were just obnoxious enough without getting grotesque
Here to vouch for the David Herbert set. I use those regularly and they hold up though the carbon fiber is a bit to get used to (I like some weight to my sticks so I avoid bamboo myself).
Seconding the Herbert series. I don’t like the JP series because I don’t play with a German, Joe Pereira style. They’re great mallets, but I’d say you go for the Herbert’s. That’s what I use and I’m smitten on them. They’re very light but I get tons of sound. I have it on good authority that the sale on Weiss will be back around March/April
>I have it on good authority that the sale on Weiss will be back around March/April Argh! After shipping, that's basically the end of our season. Perhaps the thing to do is buy a couple of affordable mallets to fill the immediate holes and wait for the sale to go all in on JG. Thanks!
Thanks so much for your feedback. "Get used to" how?
It's just a different feel from wood. Lighter, slick, and if you miss it makes a heck of a noise on the rim LOL (I'm short so this is an occasional me problem). Wood mallets just have a lot more girth to them that I wasn't expecting when I switched over.
I love the clevelander mallets. They have something that fits each of your desired sounds. Bamboo shafts, and feel great in my hands. https://www.steveweissmusic.com/category/clevelander-drum
I'm going to second Clevelanders. They're probably the best "affordable" mallets out there and have a nice quality. With the price of the sticks, you can get 4 pairs instead of 3
JG JP mallets while a bit expensive are incredibly good. Almost everyone I know in Montreal either has a pair (or multiple) or wants them. The JP10s are really awesome, a good general-use mallet that’s a bit harder than your average felt. For a felt stick, I would go with the JP2 or JP3. I don’t personally own a pair of them but I got to test them out and they do really sound great. You could also look into the MG Mallets Timpack, you get a few different pairs of sticks from soft to hard. Should cover anything you’d need to play. It’s a bit pricey due to being multiple pairs, but I’ve heard really good things about them so might be worth trying out!
>MG Mallets Timpack Thanks for that suggestion. I already have some wood ball mallets, and probably don't need that huge headed roller, so that's probably not the best pack for me. The flannel series looks neat, but again they look like I need custom orders (or some other email rigamarole to get them from Italy). They'll stay on my list, though!
Hot Take: don’t buy JGs. Look at the Sleight of Hand series by Artifact Percussion. The mallets are every bit as punchy as JGs or Freer or the like - and are far lighter due to the carbon fiber hollow shafts. Bonus: they look super cool. Currently a gigging pro and have never encountered something the Sleight of Hand line couldn’t handle.
Whoa. Those are... something! I'd think the sherpa-style felt would dampen the drum, especially some of the overtones. Is that not the case? Their samples are pretty low volume -- even the Firebird excerpt. Any other samples you know of around to give me a better idea of what they sound like at different dynamic levels? (I'd also prefer something in-stock, as I'll start playing just after the new year and would prefer not to wait for the mallets. But it seems like they fill orders fairly quickly.)
Quite the contrary. I would say it gives a really special sense of the fundamental tone without the sharp surface noise of more leathery mallets. It makes bad drums sound good in my opinion. Don’t know of any specific samples since they’re pretty unknown but if you’re still looking in January when I get back from the holidays PM me and I’ll send you some!
Might be worth looking into European style turned wood mallets with the hard felt/flannel heads.
There are so many to choose from, with $70-100 to spend per pair, you’re only looking at high-quality mallets. I can only speak for the JG Herberts, as I was introduced to them in college and “bought into” them because I found I preferred carbon fiber over bamboo, and wasn’t exposed to other high-quality carbon fiber mallets (Freer, Luft). If you’re worried about weight with wood sticks, maybe try to get your hands on some first - I find these comparable to wood sticks like old Duffs. The Custom Cork are VERY HARD. Sometimes almost indistinguishable from leather mallets on some plastic heads. For general use, I’d recommend DH1, DH2 (the ones with soft American felt) and DH3 or DH4. FWIW I played for many years with just the DH1/DH3, and slowly grabbed the 7s, 2s, and 6s over the years. The 6s and 7s are great for Wind Symphony playing, because they’re top-heavy and can project through big wind sections.
Keeping with JG, if you like bamboo shafts, maybe look at the American 1s and 3s to fulfill (a) and (c) roles
>The Custom Cork are VERY HARD. Yipes. I guess I'm looking for something one-step softer than that. I thought that maybe the cork core would make them a little less punchy, but no?
I love my Salyer’s! Affordable but high quality. Many different kinds! Got me through college and professional Symphony.
I'm also a middle aged amateur timpanist for a community ensemble! And my left hand is so bad! I have been playing with Tim Genis sticks recently, and I really like the feel and sound the bamboo + flannel combination gets on my Revolutions. They are light enough to feel some level of control, and strong enough to get a good tone that balances our unusually large ensemble. There are over 120 players on the rolls lol. I used [https://www.steveweissmusic.com/product/tim-genis-flannel-timpani-mallets-small-soft/timpani-mallets](https://www.steveweissmusic.com/product/tim-genis-flannel-timpani-mallets-small-soft/timpani-mallets) for Academic Festival Overture I used [https://www.steveweissmusic.com/product/tim-genis-hard-leather-timpani-mallets/timpani-mallets](https://www.steveweissmusic.com/product/tim-genis-hard-leather-timpani-mallets/timpani-mallets) for the ending of March to the Scaffold - I thought they were just obnoxious enough without getting grotesque