BIRCH VS. RATTAN SHAFTS: Which One Is Right For You?
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- Опубліковано 15 тра 2017
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BIRCH VS RATTAN! This is a question I get asked all the time and I think only YOU can really decide which one is right for you - so I decided to help sum up the pros and cons of each shaft choice. At the end of the day, it's not the gear that makes the player, it's the player that makes the player :)
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What's your favourite shaft option? Are you #TEAMBIRCH or #TEAMRATTAN (or both? or something else entirely...)? Let me know in the comments below, I'd love to hear from you!
AND THANK YOU FOR 3,000 SUBSCRIBERS! I'm going to answer more of your burning questions in the next video! I'm so grateful for all the support and look forward to making more awesome content for you guys! #TheStudioFamily
Adam Tan Team Rattan I love the bend in them I find it easier to play with. Love it videos they are very helpful to a beginner percussionist like me.
That's awesome man, and thank you for watching!
I'm on both :)
"Smooth Ends Make Friends" ♥♥♥
They certainly dooooo
I'm not convinced that rattan makes you play any faster. If you have a stiff stick and you hit a tree with it, I'm not sure a flexible stick is going to hit any faster/harder, but it will absorb the shock a bit. Like if you've ever had a stick fight with a kid and you hit the sticks just right, the sticks vibrate and make your hands hurt. Flexible sticks don't have that problem. However, flexible sticks require more stabilizing muscles to control the flex and rebound. I've always found rattan more tiring on my Stevens grip for that reason.
That's an interesting point, I didn't think of the shock absorption capabilities! I find it interesting that there are people who are absolutely convinced it's easier and I also have a similar approach in that I prefer birch when it comes to preventing fatigue. Strange ahahaha
Which grip though? According to Stevens, Rattan is suppose to cause more fatigue with his grip.
A flexible beater/rope has more power, not necessarily more speed
rattan mallets are way more jumpier, them being flexible makes them bounce, i mean, they wobble a lot on every hit but that is a whole other thing
I prefer birch for multiple reasons.
One: They’re easier to do four mallet grip because of their thinness. Two: I sweat a lot and the grip from birch helps the mallets not slip. However, I prefer rattan for xylophone because it’s easier to play faster, especially when the xylo gives little to no rebound.
#teamwhatevergetsthejobdone
This is too true :)
Im more
#teamanythingisamalletifyoutryhardenough
For marimba, #TEAMBIRCH all the way! The bendiness of rattan feels really weird on marimba for some reason, even in Stevens grip. Plus, the Click gets annoying fast, no matter what grip I use. For vibes and others, the only option around my area is #TEAMRATTAN (thanks Promark), which is OK-ish for vibe, but stuff like the IP902s bend reeeeally fast, which isn't fun. If we finally got some birch non-marimba mallets around, that would be nice, but our percussion budget is tiny #musicprogramproblems
So I'm not the only one that has bendy IP902s phew... Definitely valid points, and yeah it's worth trying birch non marimba mallets to see how they feel!
#TeamRATTAN because it feels better when dampening on the vibraphone
This is true!
When he makes an entire video for your comment 😍👅👅😂😂
Hahaha it's a legitimate question, I get asked it all the time :) Thank you for the suggestion!
I recently discovered fiberglass mallets. I love them! I feel like they are a good middleground and they have nice grip.
Awesome! I've been hit and miss with them but they are very convenient indeed :)
man thanks for the fantastic video! super useful and complete!
Excellent! I am a multiple shaft type user! Multi-mallet with lots of rolling calls for rattan for me, and I go wooden for the up-and-down the keyboard dashes.
#TEAMBIRCH because during marching or indoor season performances I'll have sweaty hands and those rattan mallets definitely have me relying on the whole "Please don't let go" grip very often lol
Congrats on 3,000 subscribers and thank you for your awesome content! Proud to be a part of the #StudioFamily. I've used birch much more in general, but I've used rattan on vibes. I'd like to try rattan on marimba though, I need equal time with both to make an actual decision.
Thank you so much for your support! Yes I use birch in general and rattan for vibes too, but it's good that you're open to options :)
Hey Adam, I'd like to share something I learned from an old instructor of mine. If you end up with really bent rattan shafts, you can just bend them right back into place by bending them in the opposite direction with your hands.
Yes I have bent some of my shafts back before :) I find that some of the cheaper rattan shafts don't bend back so well and they end up being permanently warped though. But I guess that's good advice if you buy good mallets in the first place :)
More importantly, thank you for the Rob Knopper memes
Thank YOU for appreciating them ;)
Rob knopper is bae
You can glue that mallet back together. I've glued so many mallets that people have thrown out - it's kind of scary, and the glue is stronger than the wood. Just tape it up while the wood glue dries. Nice and tight - wood glue needs clamping pressure to work properly. I've never had a glued mallet break (again).
Someone broke a rattan xylo mallet at my school recently, right under the ball. Rattan didn't glue together very well - I tried. I ended up just digging the wood out of the ball and sticking it back on the end. Good as new, and slightly shorter.
That is true! I have glued mallets together in the past with varying levels of success, but I guess I'm just scared of breakage in general and I'd prefer to feel safe on stage knowing that my mallets aren't going to snap, just a personal thing :) But I'm glad that it works for you!
I totally understand. I've felt similar as well. Once they prove themselves tough, glued up mallets are extra cool.
Thank you for spending your time to eduacate people :)
Thank you for watching!!
#TEAMRATTAN for always, as my favourite mallets are the Keiko Abe's and Pius Cheung's series xD!! Btw, the problem of clicking can actually solve by taping the mallets. This is how cross-grip players usually do.
bevis ng Ah man two mallet series that I would like to try! Yes taping is a great solution, although for some reason some people don't like it ahaha
as a rattan user it really wiggles out of my hands when i am playing sephens grip, but im a beginner with 4 mallets so i guess that could impact it too
I love to use birch on marimba, but rattan on vibes just feels more natural. If there's on type of shaft I absolutely can't stand it would have to be fiberglass. You had some great points and I love your videos keep it up!
Thank you for watching man! I am the same as you, and I'm pretty 50/50 about fiberglass... #expensiveshaftproblems
hey i’m kind of new to mallet percussion in my school tend to snap easily i thought about putting stick tape near the area where they are most vulnerable, should i do this?
I know this is late but im partial for #TeamRattan because while i tend to play more vibraphone instead of marimba, i still prefer to use Steven's grip. And more often than not in my vibraphone pieces i find myself needing more of a soft comforting sound that birch mallets just cant give me. But because the Rattan is so bendy and flexible i tend to get a better sound out of them.
I agree on some of that too! I do play rattan for certain situations despite my main preference being birch :)
"do you use multiple types of mallets" honestly that is a nightmare. when my school is short on birches then they give us all the warped rattan and it is a nightmare to play with two rattan and two birch. I can tell you this would be such a disaster for me.
Oh man mixing both at once would be pretty hard! I meant mixing both in turns ahaha but yeah if you have to do that that's difficult...
yes no that makes much more sense I thought you just wanted to be actual satan
HAHAHA 'actual satan' I love it
I've heard that Rattan and Birch actually do bring out somewhat different sounds depending on the mallet. To me, there is a slight difference, but not by much. Even so, I still prefer playing with Birch, especially since my hands are small and they tend to be a bit longer :'D
Yes I do agree there is a veeeeery slight difference in sound but I think that shouldn't be the main reason why you pick one or the other :) Ahh length is a good point, I should have said that...
Do you think the "Balter Chorale Series Birch 212B Med Hard Marimba Mallets" are a good fit for Keiko Abe's "Frogs? The marimba piece requires a mallet with good articulation and crispness but still remains warm and connected when rolling on pianos or pianissimos. Hope someone can help! Thanks!
I know it's Birch vs Rattan ,but the Maplefrom Van Sice mallets are the best! Hands down! I haven't had a callus or burn or anything, even the shock hasn't been harsh.
Maaaaan I wish I could try them given how much I already love the VS mallets....
I love my multi tonal models! I wish they were the same weight as the monotonal but the maple handles make a huge difference!
Have you ever used the Innovative Percussion Pius Cheung mallets? How are they?? Thank you! i love this channel
Aidan Jones Thank you for watching! they're really nice but super heavy and a bit pricey. I'd like to try one long term and see how it is though
Hey great Video Adam! I was just wondering does anyone knows where I could purchase Rattan shafts for making Marimba/Vibra mallets?
Thanks in advance!
Cheers and keep up the good work!
Team Rattan
I like to use birch for solo concert/drumcorps style playing, but I love rattan for ensemble literature! I liked this video a lot! :)
That's a really good way of looking at it! Thank you for watching :)
2:40 Thanksgiving turkey walking in like
Try to stay with birch, but I like rattan for vibraphone, because I like a heavier mallet.
I am the same, I would never use birch for vibes :)
Im a really big fan of birch as its what I started with, but when I started playing with some rattan mallets (Such as the Pedro Carneiro IP's), I came to like the smoothness of playing because of how insistent I and my instructors are on playing up. The rattan tends to make motion a little nicer for chorales and soft passages.
But ultimately, I like different shafts for different grips ( Stevens = Birch; Cross/Burton = Rattan ) The rattan has a lot more support in the hands when playing cross grip, so it feels similar to Birch, but with slightly more flexibility due to being Rattan.
That's an excellent way to look at it - different shafts for different uses :)
Adam, what are your thoughts on fiberglass shafts? Are those any good?
Question: Hey Adam. Beech wood can be used for marimba mallet? Beech wood has about the same structural characteristics with the birch (hardness, density, elasticity, specific gravity etc). Thanks.
That's a very good question! Other than maple and cedar I've never really seen other woods used as a substitute for birch so I don't know if you could use beech wood! Maybe it reacts differently to weather or something... you should make a custom ;)
Dear Adam, I am an oboe player who plays marimba for my high school's marching band, and for fun as well. I was wondering what you look for in a mallet to determine what to use it for. Thanks!
Hey Paige, that's awesome that you can play both! Generally speaking you think of the material and the hardness - for marimba for example, lower end applications need soft mallets with softer, warmer yarn (e.g. wool) while higher end, articulate applications can use harder mallets with harder materials (e.g. synthetic yarn, rubber etc) and then shaft choice is really up to you - although for xylophone, vibraphone and multi-percussion uses rattan is generally favoured over birch. Those are the basic things I look for of course ;)
Thanks so much!
Adam, when you said "there's no wobble..." I was really expecting to hear that forsaken song...
Swiss Cheese & Beats 😂😂😂 I should have done that...
Loved the vid. I prefer rattan for vibraphone because it is easier to get a great sound out of the vibe. However, for marimba I prefer birch for the extra stability and smooth ends since I play more marimba than vibes.
What is your favorite hard marimba mallet? I've been looking at the medium hard double helix by Marimba One and would like to have your opinion.
I am the same as you! That stability and smooth ends is paramount to me :)
If you want something Marimba One, I really like the Lynn Vartan LVB1s for a good almost 50/50 hard mallet, so you don't have to work so hard with the little bit of added weight :) I think it feels better than the DHs but that's of course just my opinion!
Adam Tan Thanks! I will look into it
i think it's the grip which is the main problem. i use the musser grip so i basically change intervals by using the inner mallet. The rattan mallets are more smooth and can let me change intervals faster and smoother.
PS. I bought the ivan trevino birch mallets and it hurt my hands playing for 10 minutes._.
#teamrattan
Ahhhhh yes it makes more sense to use rattan for musser grip :) Don't hurt yourself!
Review Dan Moore's IPDM series. Extremely versatile mallets I really recommend them.
Ordered Gary Burton M25s for vibes. Brilliant! Perfectly matched. Smooth in hand. Fantastic. Ordered second pair. 2nd pair rougher, thinner, unequal diameter. Not as smooth as first pair I loved. Huh? Returned. Bought 3rd pair. Better. But not same diameter as first pair I love. And again, not as smooth and thinner. Is this normal? I’m I to accept these discrepancies?
I prefer birch when playing 4 mallets, but I quite enjoy utilising rattan for 2 mallet playing
That's a good way to look at it :)
#Teambirch primarily because my first pair of mallets were birch, and I've grown used to them. I also prefer a thinner shaft, and rattan typically tends to be a thicker shaft
BIRCH LIFE~~~ Yes the thickness of rattan puts me off ahaha
For a little bit I played vibraphone in my schools marching band and playing vibe sucked because all of our show mallets were rattan and it basically destroyed the middle of my palms so then they switched us to cross grip but sucked with the rattan click because we were miked up
Stevens wrote a bit about his rationale for using birch. He wrote that Stevens grip is a pretty flexible grip that absorbs a good amount of shock, so you need an inflexible shaft. Burton is a fairly stiff grip (looking at you, outer mallet) so having a flexible shaft can provide some shock absorption. So basically, Stevens grip with rattan mallets is like adding flexibility to flexibility, making every thing too floppy. Using Burton grip with birch has very little shock absorption which can be hard on the hands. Also rattan tends to be larger in diameter which a lot of cross grip players prefer. (It’s also why crossgrip players love the NJZ series because of the “oversized” cedar shafts.)
Rattan vind ik het meest confortable zelf heb ik Steiner Mallets uit Oostenrijk wat een gelwedige stokken
Hey Adam! as a stevens player I play birch, but when it comes to timpani mallets I prefer bambooooooooooo :D
maybe you remember my message some months ago, I performed now the sejourne concerto with both, wind and string orchestra. I could send you a recording with the wind orchestre if you want (the arrangement is pretty cool)
greetings from germany,
lorenz
Bamboo shafts are SO nice for timpani... wish I could afford that kind of stuff ahaha
That'd be awesome, you should upload it on public so everyone can see!
#TEAMRATTAN
TEAMRATTAN for 2 mallet pieces
TEAMBIRCH for 4 mallets
Mmmm everyone's been saying that :)
ouiiii you replied, that just made my day, thanks Adam, (BTW your my favorite percussionist rn, your past four mallet practices are really helping me with learning rain dance for my upcoming solo and ensemble thx so much!!!!!!
:)
Hey Adam! Can you make a short video on fiberglass mallets?
Oooooh I haven't had much experience with fiberglass, I've only ever used one pair of Freer fiberglass mallets in a concert which was borrowed. It is really light and flexy though :)
I prefer birch for the sole reason that my hands swear and my mallets go flying
Thing about bending shafts, I know you can bend wood by steaming it and then bending it and clamping it back into a shape and letting it dry, maybe you could do this to fix rattans?
YoYo10542 You can bend rattan back but it's a little bit risky with cheaper shafts, like my Micelis can bend back with some force but my balter blues, no such luck ahaha
#TEAMRATTAN
Because I think birch is basic and normal for me, but rattan is more challenge and awesome! lol
Fey kung Good way of putting it!
Bro completely overlooks the Freer carbon fibre shaft…
In all seriousness, I would like to play their vibes mallets just to see how they feel.
I’m a Burton Grip player, and I’ve just made the realisation - after comparing identical sets of mallets with the two different materials - that I prefer rattan. The feel of rattan is much more familiar to me, as I’m more of a vibraphone player, and particularly for Burton grip I think it works better as it is a more stable grip. However, I want to try out those carbon fibre shaft mallets.
I generally prefer birch, but I primarily play keyboard and for that I prefer rattan because of the handiness.
Emmett Husmann Ahh that's a good way of doing it!
You totally do a vibraphone mallet review.
I knowwww I wanted to review the Dragonfly vibes mallets on a vibe but I don't have one... I have to keep looking!
#teambirch all the way...that is, unless I'm using my Keiko Abe mallets, where rattan assists with a much warmer sound
Yeah the rattan Abe swayed me... literally :|
The thing I HATE about rattan is that overtime there will be a permanent bend in the shaft. But you do have to be more careful with birch. Also for some reason it feels cheaper to me idk why
I use rattan for vibes at my school, but I definitely prefer birch (all of our marimba mallets are birch). My hands tend to sweat quite a bit and I can't tell you how many times we've been warming up with something fast and I almost lost a rattan mallet. But I don't think I would use birch for vibes, it seems to stiff for the style. #teambirch?
Ah yes the dreaded rattan slip... yeah I am the same, I wouldn't use birch for vibes either :)
#teamrattan!!!!!
Wooooooo!!!!
#teamrattan flexible, powerful,
#teamMaple
I have to say I've never used maple before, I'd love to give it a go!
I've only had Rattan Mallets for Xylophone, and I don't play much Xylophone, so I don't know about it. For marimba, I've always used Birch Mallets, but I tend to break mallets really easily. So far I've broken 1 pair of Marimba one Round Sounds, and I have only had them for less than a year. The Rattans untextured shafts don't bother me since I use Mallet tape. I think I'll buy some rattan mallets soon, but I'm still not sure. #TEAMIDK
As a note, I've just used athletic tape for my middle fingers while playing before. (That said, I don't have any of the palm callus problems that other people seem to have because of simultaneously being in weightlifting where hand care becomes super important ua-cam.com/video/otorSGl3sG0/v-deo.html Just never felt the mallets hurt my palms since picking the marimba back up a year ago.)
There is no way the shaft type doesn't impact sound quality. Birch staccato cause of less give. Rattan legato cause of more give. Test please.
It depends on the part and the piece for me. I play marimba mainly, and i'd rather use birch if i'm playing a slower piece. If i'm playing a faster piece that isn't too technical, i'd rather use rattan. If i'm doing any really technical piece i'd rather use birch
#teamfiberglassorsomethingfancy
Hohoho you're one of the fancy ones ;)
Adam Tan Nah I just really wanted to use that hashtag after a saw it pop up on screen for that split second 😂
Anyone here know anything about hickory shafts?
I also can't do cross grip haha!!! I'm definitely #teamrattan the first pair of mallets I owned were birch and I'm a very... passionate player so they broke immediately so now I never want to use them lmao
We should probably learn it! Hahahahaha yes at least rattan doesn't s n a p
This video is, with all the shafts, wood, hardness and stifness, nothing but a fifteen minutes long double entendre.
I had just finished typing my comment when I got to the part about you breaking your zikvovic. With the mindset I was in it made me laugh so hard I almost cried! 😂
Hahahahahaha I was just waiting for someone to pick up on this! I didn't want to say it though, have to keep it PG...
What category would maple be in?
I think it'd be closer to birch :)
Ok thanks
Now that question me on what to play with 🤔
Filiberto Landaverde watch more his vids to figure that out.. but one last thing.. Van Sice mallets are great for reduced contact sound
VAN SICEEEEEEEEE
I don't know if you're capable of it, but maybe you can talk about mallet/percussion ensemble/duets?
I will definitely keep this one in mind, I have a list of ensemble works on my desk that I love ;)
#ImSlowlyLeaningTowardsTeamRattan
Hahahaha.... me too me too...
Adam Tan I guess we’ll just have to suck up the fact that there’s no smooth ends
#TEAMBIRCH
rattan makes better control forme
#teamBRATCHAN
Now THAT is a clever way of putting it ;)
#TEAMBIRCH ! ❤️ #teamblisters .. As well 😔😢
When I play with rattan i always use Burton.
#TeamBirch =)
That's awesome! I wish I knew how to Burton...
Its easier than stevens o think you should try ;)
But there's 2 problem
Burton its worse for rotations and its a really agressive technique
Yeahhh that's what I've heard. I'd like to give it a try one day!
Adam Tan can you please make review of adams bogdan bacanu
big hug from Portugal =)
I haven't really started doing solo mallets but in an ensemble:
I usually like the birch for articulate and well defined parts and for most mallet instruments in general because of the control and how particular you need to be.
However I like using rattan mallets for multipurpose percussion such as bass drum or cymbals due to their flexibility and feel in softer situations, and its also the reason that I would use rattan for softer parts in a piece (e.g. rolls) as it feels easier and more intuitive to use over birch in those situations.
As always, another great video.
I agree, rattan for multi percussion stuff is soooo good, definitely a great way of getting dem smooth rolls ;)
Thank you for watching!
I am #teambirch
#BIRCH
#birchgang
Yuck Rattan.. I suppose it's the school I'm from but that springy feeling brings about a sense of extra sensation that can interfere with accuracy. Seems more for vibraphone than anything due to the lack of bounciness inherent in the metal bars. Birch all the way.
Yes that's definitely a valid reason to pick birch! That was also my reason for going birch most of the time :)
If you heard this without context, this would be sus
teem borch
#teambirch all the way rattan is so gross
hey i’m kind of new to mallet percussion in my school tend to snap easily i thought about putting stick tape near the area where they are most vulnerable, should i do this?