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ENCORE MALLETS, QUALITY CONSTRUCTION
Every Encore Mallet is a handmade creation, and from start to finish, skilled Encore Malletsmiths assemble each mallet with an eye toward quality. Here is a brief description of the Encore Mallet-making process.
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Digital caliper.
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Selecting the Handles
Using a digital caliper, Malletsmiths sort Indonesian rattan by diameter. Mallets are made in batches, and any given batch is made using rattan of like diameter to help ensure that each pair of Encore rattan mallets has equally flexible, equal diameter handles for a balanced feel in the hands.
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Malletsmiths test the durability of Birch dowels by carefully bending the dowels by hand. Based on mallet-making experience, malletsmiths determine if a dowel is too weak or flexile to be used as a handle. Dowels containing weak spots or that are unusually flexible are discarded. After checking for straightness by rolling the dowels on a flat surface, malletsmiths discard any bent dowels. Dowels that pass these two tests eventually become mallet handles. This process helps ensure that consumers receive strong and straight handles for long, reliable use.
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A Malletsmith stress tests birch dowels.
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Birch and Rattan Handles ground at the
mallethead end.
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Grinding and Coating the Handles
After handles pass the initial quality check, they are ground at the head end to allow for the easy combination of the cores and shafts. Rattan shafts are also ground at the hand end to allow for extra comfort in the hands.
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Some shafts (like those of the Nancy Zeltsman Series) are given a thin coat of Sure Grip spray to protect the mallet from moisture damage often incurred by sweat and humid environments. Other shafts remain raw (like those of the Naoko Takada Concerto Series) to maintain the feel of naked birch.
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Near: natural birch. Far: coated birch
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Birch handles branded by a hand press
heat stamp.
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Heat Stamping the Handles
Each shaft is branded with the Encore name and model number using a hand press heat stamp.
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Gluing Handles to Inner Cores
Inner cores and shafts are combined though the hand application of glue. Malletsmiths use different glues for different cores to ensure a strong bond between the cores and handles.
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Mallets in the gluing stage. The hammer
in the background is used to
fit rattan with rubber ovals.
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An Encore Malletsmith checks the diameter
of a newly latex wrapped core.
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Latex Wrapping the Inner Core – The Creation of the Outer Core
Through a secret process developed by Dan Lidster, the inner cores are hand wrapped with strips of latex. Through this process, malletsmiths are able to directly control the weight, density, and hardness of each mallet. It is through this skilled application of latex that Encore Mallets, Inc. is able to create mallet series’ with fine gradations of hardness and an almost endless array of sound color.
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Yarn Wrapping the Core
Encore Mallets are wrapped with fine acrylic, wool, cotton, or nylon yarn. Yarn composition and color are important considerations in mallet design, and Encore Mallets, Inc. chooses yarns in cooperation with its artists to achieve their specific sound desires and to ensure easy mallet identification.
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Unused yarn.
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A box of unstitched mallets. Notice the
excess yarn wrapped around
the handles
below the malletheads.
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Stitching the Mallethead
A team of stitchers finish Encore Mallets by hand sewing the top and bottom of each mallet. This final stitching prevents the yarn from unraveling.
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Painting the Handle Ends
After the stitchers bring in a batch of mallets, the ends of rattan Encore marimba and vibraphone mallets are hand painted. The seal created by the paint protects the mallet from moisture damage which can cause rattan to warp.
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A line up of mallets after painting.
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An Encore Malletsmith compares mallethead
sizes before bagging.
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Setting/Pairing Finished Mallets
Experienced Encore percussionists assemble mallets of the same model into pairs or sets of four. Each pair or set is checked for uniform mallethead diameter, and rattan mallets are additionally checked for uniform shaft diameter and flexibility.
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Encore Mallets: Quality Design, Quality Construction, Quality Sound.
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