Here's a quick review of the 25-bar Sonor Meisterklasse Chromatic Glockenspiel. I decided to get the Sonor TAG 25 tenor-alto glockenspiel (range C2-C4) instead of the SG 25 soprano model (range C3-C5) because it was lower pitched and seemed like it would have a more mellow sound.
What I like about it:
-Fairly compact size. 20 inches wide side to side, 18 inches top to bottom (left hand side) and 9.5 inches top to bottom (right hand side). A traditional 2.5 octave G to C glockenspiel would have been more like 24 inches wide. I don't know the dimensions of the SG 25 chromatic soprano, but it's got to be even smaller.
-Removable bars per the Orff approach. I mostly play in Irish keys/modes with one or two sharps where the lowest note in a melody is often going to be no lower than D and the highest note is never going to be any higher than B. The two octave C2-C4 range fully captures these notes with one or two to spare on each end. With removable bars, I can take off the bars that don't get played at all or hardly ever such as A#/Bb, D#/Eb, F natural, the low and high C bars, and so on.
-Sits in lap. The beechwood resonator box that the bars are situated on is fully enclosed so it can be played on your lap while sitting in a chair or on the couch. It also easily sits on a table.
-Comes with two sets of mallets: a rubber head set and a wooden set. These have different sounds. Check out the sound sample video below! I play a brief melody with the rubber mallets first, followed by the same melody played with the wooden mallets.
-Cool design. It looks better than most other bells or xylophone type instruments.
What I don't like as much:
-It resonates forever!!! The notes ring out for a loooooong time so they are still ringing when you go to play the next note. This can create a cacophony of sound as one note blurs into the other. Plus any "wrong" notes are going to be ringing for a while as a reminder of your mistake, LOL! I don't know of a way to dampen this. My first instinct was to send it back due to the alarming amount of sustain.
-It kind of sounds like a doorbell chime ringing at different pitches. Now that I've heard it in person, I kind of wish it had fiberglass xylophone-like keys with a quick attack instead of these aluminum alloy bars. Maybe I'll get used to it.
-The e3 note on mine doesn't ring quite as well as the other notes around it. This is probably related to the rubber pins that hold the bars in place. The good news is that these pins are easily replaced.
These glockenspiels are available from West Music and other retailers.
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