Even More on the Deagan
My friend John Keene posted a comment below about the Deagan vibes and mentioned this video on youtube. You REALLY here the distinct difference between Musser and Deagan here. Read John’s comment below also. It’s in the section about Deagan vibes below.
Wow I never knew that Cal uses sticks like Milt. Why do guys use the short sticks. I’ve used them, they’re fun but I don’t know what the preferences are? Is it closer to the hand or something like that?
posted by Tony at
7:41 AM
2 Comments:
Tony,
Cal studied with Terry Gibbs and he essentially uses the Terry Gibbs grip (although Cal isn't as influeced by Terry as he is by Milt). One of the big myths in the vibe world is that two-mallet grips are only one grip - simply a mallet in each hand. But there is a lot of difference between one 2-mallet grip and another.
Terry's grip, and I know this because I learned it directly from the master, is all about achieving a certain tone. He calls it "snapping the bar," and (in slow motion) the short stem allows a player to raise the mallet almost perpendicular to the bar and then bring it down with a "snap" and raise it directly straight up again. And if you've ever seen photos of Terry in action, you may notice that he glues pencil erasers to the ends of his stems so the pinkie finger "knows" where the mallet stem ends.
Cal's tone isn't the same as Terry's, but that's a conscious choice rather than any type of sloppiness in approach.
Milt doesn't really use short stems for any reason other than to balance the weight of an Albright mallet. If you've ever tried an Albright with a long stem, it's a lot of weight to lift. I like Albrights, and I cut mine down to around ten inches to get a nice feel.
Before anyone goes experimenting, when cutting stems down use a small hacksaw while rotating the stem, then sand the ends smooth, then glue either a pencil eraser on the ends or slip on model airplane tubing (3/8"). And cut the stems a little at a time, since you can always take more off but you can't put it back on if you took too much off! I've ruined more than one pair of good mallets that way.
By
John Keene, at 9:36 AM
hi there
the albright mallets difference is : the tone you get out of the DEAGAN. milt jackson gave me a pair many years ago
and though they are different from their weight and the short handling,experience the tone, the sound - there is nothing lke it
gunter hampel
gunthampel@aol.com
By
Anonymous, at 12:18 AM
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