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Drums on SALE is now closed - Thank you for a great 35 years!
Drums on SALE is now closed - Thank you for a great 35 years!

Musser M500 Concert Grand Soloist 5 Octave Rosewood Marimba

by Musser
Model Number: M500
UPC: 641064327681

Hey there, sad news...we've shut down shop permanently. So you won't be able to score any drum gear via the website anymore.

The M500 Concert Grand Soloist is the dream machine of the serious concert soloist - a marimba wish list come true. Every item on its lengthy list of features, from the extended range to the tunable resonators to the variable height adjustment system, was designed with the performer and teacher in mind.

A choice among professional recitalists for its presentation and tone, these marimbas feature beautiful rosewood bars with Musser's trademark rounded accidentals. The select wide graduated rosewood bars provide a rich full tone. The lightly stained hand rubbed finish accentuate their beauty. With a furniture quality hardwood frame and copper vein powder coated resonators, the M500 Concert Grand Soloist marimba is a stunningly handsome instrument.

  • Range: 5 octaves (C2 to C7)
  • Bars: Rosewood
  • Tuning: A-442
  • Weight: 385 pounds
  • Width: Low End 41" - High End 16"
  • Length: 107"
  • Height: 33.5" to 38" (adjustable)
  • Includes mallets and shallow drop cover

Height Adjustment

The patented height adjustment offered on the M500 Concert Grand Soloist marimba can change the height of the marimba over a four inch range in a matter of seconds, all without bending or lifting. This feature is indispensable for any "institutional" or studio marimba that will be performed on by many different individuals.

Tunable Resonators

Tunable resonators are supposed to allow the player to customize the sound to compensate for temperature and humidity conditions, as well as for personal taste. Unfortunately most tunable resonators have one of two serious faults: Either they are so inconvenient, unpredictable and difficult to use that the player hesitates to adjust them, or they interfere with the basic sound of the marimba even when they are in their best position. Musser's patented Turn-and-Tune resonator cap solves both or these problems. They allow the player to quickly adjust the resonance on low register notes.

Rattle Free Frame

The owner of a M500 Concert Grand Soloist marimba will be secure in the knowledge that they can quickly eliminate any rattle or noise. Our design philosophy was to give the player the ability to tighten any area of the marimba where two parts fit together. One example of this philosophy is where the rails are attached to the frame. - If there is so much as a slight "tick" from the rail, bracket and frame junction, the player can tighten the rail against rubber pads with a standard drum key. Even the rivets on the resonators have been replaced "old-fashioned" nuts, lock washers and bolts.

There are some less obvious ways that frame noise has been controlled. The number one and number four rails have been beefed up to a full one inch thick. The end boards, braced to the center pole, are quite massive and made of solid maple for stability, strength and good looks. The rails are fitted to one another and to the resonators with rubber covered steel bars.

Finish

The resonators of the M500 Concert Grand Soloist have an extremely durable baked-on finish that resists scratches, peeling and chipping. The wooden end rails are sanded and stained by hand to bring out the natural grain and carefully finished. The grain of the wood in the bars and frame blends into a harmonious whole with the antique copper finish on the resonators and other metal parts. It is a stunningly handsome treatment on stage or off.

Tuning and Tone

Musser has solved three tuning problems for which other extended range marimbas suffer: Volume and richness of the fundamental tone in the lowest notes, blending and balancing the low notes into a pleasing whole with the rest of the instrument and intonation of widely spaced chords.

The lowest tubes are about 33% larger in diameter and produce a huge sweet fundamental tone. Blending and balancing is accomplished by an exceptionally smooth transition of tube sixes - five different diameters are used in a range of an octave and a half.

The bars on the M500 Concert Grand Soloist are triple harmonic tuned: The fundamental and the next two overtones are tuned with dead on accuracy with an electronic strobe tuner. These values are checked on each bar as they are individually fine tuned, again after the keyboard is assembled into a matched set, and once more before the instrument is packed before shipping.

All told, the owner of a Musser M500 Concert Grand Soloist Marimba will be in possession of one of the best looking, best sounding, most versatile marimbas in the world.

Product Specs