Has anybody tried the new Nanae Mimura mallets from Encore? I'm looking to replace the L.H.S. mallets I have right now, and I really liked the way the Nancy Zeltsman's sounded and felt. Just wanted to know how the Mimuras sounded and felt against the Zeltsmans if anyone's tried them. Thanks.

I've played mostly with Zeltsmans, but I've recently added some of the NMs to my quiver. I like the way the Nanaes feel. To me they feel even better than the Zeltsmans. I wouldn't say they sound any better than the Zeltsmans, they just sound different. The Nanaes have a much darker sound. I definitely prefer them for most Abe pieces or anything else where I'm looking for a dark, raw sound.

http://www.percussionspecialist.com/shopping/catalog.asp?itemID=4905

I really like the sound of both those mallets, but if you really want a professonal sound go for Model SNOOP 7Ak made by Cronic Inc., ya know that way we can all get some ho's up in here foo.

It partially depends on what instrument you're playing.
Nancy plays marimba one, and her mallets sound better on the m1 than Nanae's, since Nanae plays Yamaha and suits her mallets to their instruments (which I think are darker/sweeter sounding than the m1). Nanae's have a more extreme range... her hardest mallets are harder than Nancy's hardest; same goes for the soft range. I just picked up some of Nancy's and I'm really happy with them... I don't know how they compare to the lhs ones though.