im buying a marimba, and we just cant afford a rosewood. our best choices are padouk and accoustalon, and i have no idea what accoustalon is. can anyone give me suggestions on what accoustalon is, and which is better (accoustalon/padouk)? thanx

or, should i wait until i can afford rosewood? (that would have to be another year of saving up money, though)

Kyle,

I have to agree with almost everything said so far..Acoustalon is fibreglass and, in my opinion, much better than "Kelon" (Really terrible !!) same material.. BUT BUT -it's all fake anyway and so much in this modern world is fake already..--Rosewood Rosewood Rosewood- or if you must Padouk,it's still "wood".. also another BUT --be carefull in the lower register of a Padouk marimba..the wood is much softer than Rosewood and it can crack more easily (of course, in my opinion there is NO reason to ever crack a marimba bar..

Bill