I'm using a lightweight, 15" rattan mallet rather than a traditional marimba or vibraphone mallet. In my experience with your instrument, a lighter mallet with less mass in the core, has freed up my playing and opened doors to expression that are much harder to open on a set of concert vibes or marimba. I flow with the Xsynth; I make decisions during jazz improvisation, for example, that are achieved with ease. I am able to express every musical thought that comes to me without any regard as to whether it will be physically possible to make it happen. It's straight from my brain into reality! Sorry for the hyperbole, but it's so cool. The quality build of your instrument paired with the properly balanced and weighted mallet makes this happen. It has transformed my performance.- Brad E Howard
Special Commission Balasynth
Special Commission for Balafon player Alastair Eilbeck from the UK (left in photo, Will Wernick on the right). We’ve called this the Balasynth…. This 15 note instrument is set up in a pentatonic scale C,D,E,G,A (but being MIDI you can always retune). All the usual Xylosynth features apply such as octave shift etc. The keys are slightly longer (165mm) but the same width as the Xylosynth keys (46mm). So far Alastair says he loves it and is looking forward to travelling with it on his motorbike!
February 17th, 2020
Wernick Musical Instruments
Half Acre, Station Drive
Leicester LE9 2ET
United Kingdom
T: +44 (0)116 238 6091
E: info@wernick.net
