Grover Wood Blocks

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Bought this block along with the 7" and 8" models and they sound perfect. I expected great sound and good materials from Grover and I wasn't disappointed. I've heard some folks complain about the mounting system, but I intend to use these mostly tabletop so I haven't had a chance to try the system as yet.

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Good sound quality, good delivery. This is the best option for a deep sounding woodblock.

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I did a lot of listening to every brand and size of wood blocks out there before settling on my long-trusted brand of Grover for this purchase, and bought the full set, along with medium-strength mallets from Malletech. These sound so much better in person, and are very well constructed. As with other Grover gear, the first thing I notice is the timbral balance: no weird or unwanted harmonics, no uncontrolled resonance, and a VERY articulate attack. I just don't hear this (especially the latter), in other brands, and sometimes I think that offering a lot of wood choices is an appeal to vanity more than anything else, as there are acoustic reasons why particular woods have ended up being the primary choice for specific instruments. It would be nice if they made one additional size, but this is a versatile set overall, and does cover a lot of ground. Medium mallets seem to be a good fit for them as well; though I may try a slightly harder pair on the smallest one. And on that point, it is the only one in the set that seems to have a slight shift in overall timbre, so probably having a second set of mallets is a good idea (and mallets are cheap). I have not tried mounting them on a stand yet, so cannot address an earlier reviewer's complaint on that point, but I did play with the mechanism and felt it was quite robust and sturdy.

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These have a very nice tone. They sound darker and warmer than many other wood blocks. There's one major problem though. The mounting system is garbage. There is one hole at each end of the block, and you thread a wing screw into the hole and tighten it. With this design, you can only mount the block at the very top of a rod so you cannot stack multiple blocks on one rod. Also, because the block cannot be mounted in the center, it is nowhere near as stable. Grover, please make a decent mounting system. If you plan to put the blocks on a table they are perfect and would receive 5 stars, but for mounting, the mounting system gets 0 stars.

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I bought one of these blocks and the sound is great. I have to say I was a little disappointed by the "most versatile, easiest mounting system available" as advertised. There's simply two holes drilled in the bottom, too shallow for some mounts and the threading on the screws is VERY tight. I had to use WD-40 on both sides just to get it to turn. If you don't plan on mounting it I do recommend these blocks for their very natural tone and impressive dynamics.

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