Not Quite Perfect
- Rating
- Posted by
- Michael A Pritchard
- Date Posted
- 01/04/2020
I sent these mallets back after comparing in hand to the Grover chime mallets which have the "ergonomic" handle, in the shape of an actual decades long design of the handle on a regular carpenter's hammer, with the sides flat and the top and bottom rounded so the hammer will not "roll" in your hand. After one instance of this rolling creating a poor note in performance, I switched to the Grovers, in hope this will stabilize my hand without looking to make sure the mallet head is absolutely flat against the chime. Also the handle on the Balter is about 1-2 inches longer than the Grover which is somewhat useful I guess for shorter percussionists to reach the top chimes (accidentals), but alas, the handle is too thin in circumference to provide surety to players with moderate to large hands. If the shape and diameter of the Balters were upgraded this would be a hammer with all the quality we have come to expect from Mike Balter produces. The hammer head is fine, a hard plastic material with felt on one side which can be easily upgraded to a more permanent thin leather if desired.