Hi.

My resonators on my board at school shake and make a lot of noise when I play. Last year one of my instructors tried to cable wrap them, and they continued to do it. (Plus, they are now off-center with my bars) Does anyone know what I can do to make it stop?

Thanks,
Becca

Becca,
What instrument do you have? Let me know, if you wish. It can make a difference. Especially a xylo vs a marimba, brand, etc. It should be fairly easy to find the problem. Go exploring and ask these questions.. What shakes? where? what makes noise? is it a buzz? a rattle? etc,.. do all the bars cause the problem? You should be able to see and hear exactly where the problem is. Hold part of the rsonators and see if the noise stops. etc etc.. It could be, if it's a marimba, the joint where the halves of each set of resonators meet, or the ends may not seat well in the frame, rivets could be loose, etc. You can reach me at pangaia@earthlink.net if you wish as I don't check this site every day... good hunting Bill Youhass

Hi Becca,

I have the exact same problem with my marimba. Mine, however is a Yamaha student model piece of crap (all I could afford, marimba is an expensive habit!). It seems that the problem on mine is that some of the rivets are loose. You might want to try playing while holding sections of the resonators to see if the noise stops in certain areas. This could at least help you find out specifically where the noise is coming from. Good luck, I hope you figure it out. I know what a drag it is to play on a rattling marimba.
j

Rebecca,
You asked how to set the resonators at the proper height and .....The resonators are tuned to the bars and must be at the proper height. . As the temperature and humidity change, so does the pitch
of the bars, (and to a very slight degree the pitch of the resonators)...so
you must adjust the "length" of the resonators, including the length of what is called "open end correction"--the distance between the top of the resonator and the bottom of the bar. You ask which way to move the
resonators? Ah-ha--here's a test for you..

Try it in both settings now-the upper and lower. Which one sounds better to you?.. Just for fun,
try lifting the left end of the natural resonators up and down very slowly
with your left hand while you strike a bar or 2 with your right hand. See
what happens.

Then, as you play in different places at different times, try both settings
and use the one that works. That way YOU will learn the relationship between
the bars and the resonators.
Bill Youhass
Fall Creek Marimbas