I have been curious for a while about the Ross line of marimbas. I've read that the Ross mallet line is geared towards making mallet instruments more affordable for students. It seems that they are quite a bit more economical than other manufacturers but I have not heard much about them (good or bad). If anyone has tried them I would like to hear some opinions thanks.

Well, the short version of my reply would be.....you get what you pay for.
Bill

We have a Ross Prolon (synthetic bar) marimba at our junior high school. I really like the instrument for that application. It enabled us to have a 4 1/3 for a very affordable price, and the sound and tuning are identical to a Musser Kelon (Don Ross Green used to work for Musser).Ross also has a new line of step-up instruments to bridge the gap between a beginner bell kit and a full size marimba. I'm not sure that I would recommend a Ross rosewood, however.