Makoto Nakura Series
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Although designed for the professional player, many teachers and students prefer these mallets for their traditional weight and sound. They were originally designed for marimba but work equally well on vibraphone. Rattan Shafts
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"At a pianist’s recital at Carnegie Hall, the audience gasped when he beautifully changed the timbre in the middle of the piece. I was fascinated to hear what a wide and expressive quality he had. Playing with virtuosic technique is one thing, but he pulled off the entire evening thanks to an amazing array of colors he was able to produce from the piano.
Throughout 30 years of my professional career as a solo marimbist, this is the very thing I have always wanted to achieve; expanding the expressive quality of the marimba by performing with a wide range of tonal colors. The marimba is an instrument which not only has a nice sound, but also can portray every emotion we have in our life.
The main goal of my signature mallets focuses on this point. Each mallet responds to the player’s touch sensitively, so the player can produce a wide range of expression. Although I have seen many mallets which make me feel like I am controlled by the mallets themselves, these are the mallets which players themselves need to control depending on what kind of color they want to produce.
Playing a full recital is a good testimony to show the range and depth of a musician. For such a demanding occasion, I am certain that these mallets would help those performers create amazing musical experiences for the entire evening, just like how I felt for the pianist at Carnegie Hall". -- Makoto Nakura
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MN1
This mallet makes a great bass mallet when using four mallets. It is soft and heavy enough to give a solid foundation to the harmony. When using two mallets, this mallet produces clean bass lines in marimba ensembles as well as stylish shape when playing pieces like Bach’s cello suites. It features rattan shafts and durable synthetic yarn.
MN2
This medium soft mallet works well for any soft playing or legato lines. It features rattan shafts and works equally well on marimba and vibraphone.
MN3
This very versatile medium mallet can be used for many four mallet solo and chamber works which require wide variety of sound quality. It features rattan shafts and works equally well on marimba and vibraphone.
MN4
This versatile mallet works well for solo and concerto pieces. It makes a great all-purpose mallet. It features rattan shafts and works equally well on marimba and vibraphone.
MN5
These mallets are bright and can cut through full ensembles. They features rattan shafts and durable synthetic yarn.
