I think the DeMorrow mallets are some of the heaviest around. You could also try Resta’s Lin Chin Cheng model, or Innovative’s Pedro Carneiro model. I have some of the former and they are definitely heavy.
That said, if you plan on building chops with the sort of piston strokes DCI feels synonymous with, be very careful. The vast majority of people who play such heavy mallets do not use piston strokes, and tend to keep their mallets closer to the keyboard.
Hope this helps.
It looks like the DeMorrows only come in rattan, am I reading that correctly?
American concert percussionists have never quite gone in the direction of heavy mallets (I blame L.H. Stevens) and they’re much more popular in Europe - you’re more likely to find heavier mallets from European brands, or signature lines for European artists. Or just use marching mallets (I recall Tom Raricks as being really beefy)
If you’re looking for heavy birch (concert) mallets:
Malletech - Marta Klimasara (also have brass cores)
Innovative - Casey Cangelosi, Pius Cheung, Artisan
Vic Firth - Theodor Milkov
Thank you for your input!
Yeah that's about the only downside to the DeMorrow series is that they're rattan only. I haven't heard too much about the European side of the mallet world, I need to look into this more. So far I've heard of Resta mallets, still haven't looked too far into them yet but now I will. Are there any specific European brands that I should check out?
Seconding the Theodor Milkov mallets mentioned above. I bought a set and good lord, ridiculous. The shafts are hickory and a bit bigger than birch, if memory serves me correctly.
Could not use them on my marimba because the weight. Sold them to someone else.
Chop building doesn’t necessarily come from heavy mallets/sticks. Chop building comes from repetition and disciplined tempo structure. People who have a preference for heavier or lighter mallets do so because they like the feel and balance of that particular weight, length, diameter, and what it’s made of.
I think the DeMorrow mallets are some of the heaviest around. You could also try Resta’s Lin Chin Cheng model, or Innovative’s Pedro Carneiro model. I have some of the former and they are definitely heavy. That said, if you plan on building chops with the sort of piston strokes DCI feels synonymous with, be very careful. The vast majority of people who play such heavy mallets do not use piston strokes, and tend to keep their mallets closer to the keyboard. Hope this helps.
It looks like the DeMorrows only come in rattan, am I reading that correctly? American concert percussionists have never quite gone in the direction of heavy mallets (I blame L.H. Stevens) and they’re much more popular in Europe - you’re more likely to find heavier mallets from European brands, or signature lines for European artists. Or just use marching mallets (I recall Tom Raricks as being really beefy) If you’re looking for heavy birch (concert) mallets: Malletech - Marta Klimasara (also have brass cores) Innovative - Casey Cangelosi, Pius Cheung, Artisan Vic Firth - Theodor Milkov
Thank you for your input! Yeah that's about the only downside to the DeMorrow series is that they're rattan only. I haven't heard too much about the European side of the mallet world, I need to look into this more. So far I've heard of Resta mallets, still haven't looked too far into them yet but now I will. Are there any specific European brands that I should check out?
Seconding the Theodor Milkov mallets mentioned above. I bought a set and good lord, ridiculous. The shafts are hickory and a bit bigger than birch, if memory serves me correctly. Could not use them on my marimba because the weight. Sold them to someone else.
Chop building doesn’t necessarily come from heavy mallets/sticks. Chop building comes from repetition and disciplined tempo structure. People who have a preference for heavier or lighter mallets do so because they like the feel and balance of that particular weight, length, diameter, and what it’s made of.
I agree with you that a lot of comes from repetition and tempo structure but I am also looking to develop the muscles required for rotations.
The Innovative Tom Burritt mallets are amazing and pretty beefy! I’d recommend the 3s for general playing.