MARIMBAS
Tenor and Bass Models
MARIMBAS
Tenor and Bass Models
MARIMBAS
Tenor and Bass Models
CCBANTA Kalimba | Product Sheet
CCBANTA Kalimba | Users Guide
About
About
About
About
CCBANTA
The Romance of Instrument Design and Bar Percussion Specialties
AUG 30, 2024
1976
Welcome
My name is Chris Banta.
For the past fifty years (1973-2023) I've been exploring the design, fabrication, and tuning of various types of melodic bar percussion instruments.
2022
New Book Writing Project
​This website is going down a different direction. I am currently transferring all this experience and data into a book writing project. The attempt is to document all my bar percussion projects, processes, materials, and musical technicalities used in this lifelong endeavor.
​
This book is an exhaustive photo and technical opportunity to explain and present the wonderful, tricky at times, and the never-ending romance of a really cool percussion instrument and subject.
(Heavily into the Research and Writing phase right now.)
Aiming to have it available on Amazon.com
UPDATE 8-30-2024
Current Instrument Component
Research Projects:
​​[Project No. 1]
"BARS" Design and Contruction of a 1-1/2 octave IPE bass marimba.
------Cancelled-----
​Findings: Due to a slightly muted or diminished ring time, I've decided to abandon the IPE as the source material for the bars. Although IPE hold the pitch well, its ability to sustain the ring time is questionably less than optimum.​​​​​​​
Photo Below: Replacement Bars - African Padauk
Instead of the IPE (above) will create a completely new bar set using African Padauk - which is extremely straight-grained and nearly perfectly quarter-sawn. Bar layout will look identical to the one shown above. The range and bar sizing will remain the same. Longer ring time will be an improvement.​
Photo Below: Dimensional Drawings
​For accuracy and consistency scale drawings are absolutely necessary.
The photo below is a snapshot of the scale drawings for this marimba:
Upper Left Corner - Bar dimensions, Resonator dimesions using half-wavelength calculations
Lower Left Corner - Side View (from the left of the instrument showing the Low-end side view - accidentals to the left and naturals to the right
Upper Right Corner - Top View of the marimba
Bar dimensions, Resonator dimensions using half-wavelength calculations
Lower Right Corner - Back View as seen from the marimba performer
Audience Front View not shown
​
Experiment No. 1
Goal: Half-Wave Length Resonator with switch-back routing designed to fit under the bars requiring no constraints within or beyond the outside boundaries of the frame
Plywood column - Open at both ends
Pitch: C2 (65.4Hz)
Column internal length: 8ft w/ adjustable slider for tuning
​
​Findings Rating: (5) Very powerful resonance coming from both ends (more so than a stopped Quarter Wavelength Resonator having only one opening - just beneath the center of the bar.
All harmonics sounding at once felt more harmonious and musical .
​
Concern: Is the improvement in overall resonance and sound worth the needed oversizing of the instrument? That is the point of this experiment! Early testing demonstrates the resonant sound may be greatly improved...but the resonators are cumbersome.
Experiment No. 2
Goal: Half-Wave Length "labyrinth" Resonator inside a closed box with openings at both ends - designed to fit several side-by-side within the constraints, boundaries and minimally protrude beyond the instrument's frame.
​
Findings Rating: (3) Not as powerful resonance as the column-type above. Although resonance was created when striking the bar, sound felt "pinched and weaker" although was present when the bar was struck. I suspect this was caused by the maze-like curves and back-&-forths possibly hindering the free-flow or movement of the wavefront.
Could also be a problem with viscous-drag along the inside walls due to slight roughness from the wood grain. Will coat the inside with several clear-gloss coatings. Then retest.
Plywood sides and tunnel-like curves
Pitch: C2 (65.4Hz)
Column internal length: 8ft w/ adjustable slider for tuning (under development).
