Custom Marimbas Canada
134 Needham Crescent S7M 4X2 Saskatoon, SK, Canada

Really enjoyed this last week, finally putting together the perfect version of my newest (and best yet) resonator system. Top 4 octaves are aluminum with angled end cuts for the sharps. The bottom octave is PVC but with a highly optimised configuration. Acoustically this is the most perfect you can get unless you have a giant tall instrument with no bent resonators at all. This system avoids 180 degree bends... So less bend. And the bends are all as low as possible... Far fro...m the mouth where the air actually moves. The other cool things about this system, is that the assemblies hang with perfect balance and they fit nicely between the timber horizontal struts. The whole five octaves utilises adjustable plugs for tuning and those resonators in the bottom octave are all configured so the plugs are actually acessable. I have also finally hit on the most perfect fastener system... After years of trials! I'm super excited about this system and looking forward to getting the aluminium anodized and pvc painted. All the videos and info on making resonators will be available at www.makeamarimba.com early in this year when it is all done. See more

Once again this great little 4 octave marimba with full sized graduated padauk made its way back today after another short rental period, so it is available immediately for rental in or around Saskatoon - or purchase. Perfect condition as brand new. This is a super inexpensive instrument and perfect for a student or percussionist whose needs the smaller footprint of a 4 octave instrument without losing the full size bars. Message if interested - these go quickly! There is also an even smaller brother marimba available... 3 octaves F-F vibes range.

A little extra work on the new resonators today. Assembled the middle "white note" bank and assembled a pile of the new adjustable plugs also. Note the diagonal high up making sure it's above the required plug position. The diagonal does not have to be bent at the pipe diameter change as only the front upper horizontal has the bend.

For those following the progress of the new aluminum resonator designs... I took a couple of hours out today to assemble the upper bank of "black note" resonators. All cut at 45 degrees and the same length for the top two octaves will make it visually much nicer when everything is together. The 3rd pic here gives a sneak peak. As usual I made a lot of video of the process as well. It should be available before the end of the year.

Got a couple of hours to start the process of resonator assembly for these new prototypes today. These have to be assembled before any finishing or tuning, but they still look OK. Next step will be to disassemble, then sand back and polish... Then anodising, then tune and reassemble. So a slightly different process. Making tons of video along the way which will eventually be available at www.makeamarimba.com.

It's been tough to spend time on these but I think these adjustable resonator plug tops are looking OK! These bits can't be anodised because of the differing metals and adhesive... But this gloss black rustoleum paint should match up well enough for being inside the resonator.

Some of you know that I'm currently working on a new aluminium resonator system to make this an easier option for DIY marimba builders. Yesterday I had some fun cutting most of the top 4 octaves. Even in their rough finish they look pretty good I think. You can start to at least get an idea what the finished product might look like. Of course the "how to" video series is being made along the way and will be available at www.makeamarimba.com once it's all finished!

Had some fun this week developing a new and improved style of adjustable resonator plug for aluminium resonators. After some experiments and getting the details right, today I was able to get onto manufacturing the parts for the first set of upper 4 octaves. Each plug needs 2 identical aluminium discs machined with center holes. Half of them have a nut glued with steel reinforced epoxy over the hole. Once these set I can show you how it works!

LAST CHANCE!! The Make Marimba Bars Live Video Project was awesome fun and created a huge amount of really comprehensive video instruction and information. The time has now come for me to split it up and start making it part of my info product range. BUT... you can still get the WHOLE LOT for the super low $12 intro price - until I take that page down - get in quickly as I'm working on that now. Last chance!! Grab it here: https://www.makeamarimba.com/live_five_octave_marimba_bar_m