Could anyone please offer me an opinion and or comparison of a Marimba One, Adams, and Kori 5 octave marimba... I would greatly appreciate it!
I don't have any experience with Adams, but I've played extensively on a Marimba One and tested a Kori when I was comparing brands when preparing to purchase my own. Our Marimba One is a really good instrument, very even sound from all registers, even after ten years of use. The frame and general construction are very good, holding up just fine. I like the Marimba One because it has a nice resonant sound, but doesn't lose focus when you dig into the bars a bit, or play with a harder mallet. The Kori I played seemed to have very good bars, it had a nice, big, full sound, due in large part the shape of the resonators. This instrument did get a bit fuzzy when I played with harder mallets at a louder volume, (it wsa very humid where I played it, this may have affected the qualityof sound) but it would be great for chorale playing. Nice construction on this one too.The only thing I don't like about both these instruments is the lack of tunable resonators. But many world-class players have played on or currently play on these brands, (Nancy Zeltsman, Katarzyna Mycka on Marimba One, NEXUS until the switch to Adams played on Kori) so they're both top-notch instruments.