Building the Marimba - page 7

Jeffrey La Favre - jlafavre@gmail.com

First coat of oil-based polyurethane applied to bars (4/27/04). A satin finish was selected to cut down on glare from reflected light.

Close up of some bass bars after one coat of polyurethane

At this point I have hopes that this instrument will have a good sound, although it has not been played yet. In any case, I thought it might be appropriate to inlay the name of the builder in the frame with African Padouk (from the same stock that was used for fabricating the bars). Also note that the bar posts are now wrapped with felt to prevent buzzing of the bars against the aluminum surface.

Completed instrument from player's side.

Bar cord tensioning system (spring plus turnbuckle).

Bar cord at treble end.

Resonators with handles for adjusting stoppers.

 

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