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Q Where are you
based?
We
are based in Aberdeen,
Scotland - part of the
United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern
Ireland ( UK ).
Q
Is your felt the best
quality timpani felt?
Our
felt is superior to
standard timpani felt.
Standard
timpani felt used in
other manufacturers
sticks can be
problematic for both the
maker and the player.
The standard timpani
felt is made
commercially by steaming
and pressing the
material into large
sheets which are then
cut into discs which
then have to be split in
two parts before being
stretched into shape by
being vigorously pulled
around the core of the
timpani stick and then
sewn carefully to avoid
the felt bunching and
folding too much.
This process leaves many
areas open to
inconsistency because it
is almost impossible to
accurately and
consistently split the
felt into two equal
layers, and the exact
amount of stretching and
folding will vary with
the accuracy of the
sewing and the thickness
of the felt.
Another problem is that
standard timpani felt
cannot be split thinly
enough to produce the
very articulate sounds
that are required from a
good hard stick, so for
these harder sticks some
manufacturers resort to
other materials which
can produce ugly sounds
and surface noise.
Our
felt is made from the
very best quality soft
natural materials and it
is not steamed or
stretched or sewn in any
way. It is wrapped
around the core in a
perfectly even and
consistent layer, free
from folds, layers and
imperfections. Our
felt can be made very
thinly - down to just
1mm - which allows us to
use our soft felt even
on highly articulate
"very hard"
sticks: 310, 410, 510,
610 models.
Q
Why should I consider a cork
or felt core?
Cork
comes in many different
specifications.
Standard natural cork
used in many other makes
of stick is relatively
hard and can sound very
similar to wood when
shaped into a timpani
sticks core. It can
also be inconsistent in
density and quality
making it difficult to
produce true matched
pairs.
Our
cork cores are made with
a special cork which is
soft, durable and
consistent. The more
articulate models have a
core made from a
combination of
lightweight wood and the
special soft cork. This
method increases the
power of the stick and
gives a highly
articulate but more
rounded, sonorous sound
than from a lightweight
wood core, and gives the
timpanist a genuine
alternative sound to a
wood core.
Felt
cores give a darker more
sonorous sound and also
have the benefit of
smoothing differences in
tone between the high
and low timpani with
greater subtlety on the
low notes and can be
excellent for octave
passages.
Q
Why do you make your
sticks round?
Our
sticks are made with
round ball heads for one
reason only: It is
the best shape for the
fullest, purest sound
and the most accurate
pitch response.
We are able to use this
round ball shape because
of our unique felting
process. A ball
shape is very difficult
to wrap with standard
timpani felt, which is
why other manufacturers
often use more
cylindrical shapes for
their cores.
Apart from superior
sound, another great
advantage of the ball
shape core is that the
sound is consistent even
if the playing angle is
changed.
Q
Who makes your sticks?
All
sticks are made
personally by David
Morbey. Each order
is made to suit the
individual requirements
of the player.
This means that you can
discuss your choice of
models directly with
David, by telephone,
mail or email and then
your choice can be
further refined by you
being able to choose the
diameter of the shaft so
that the sticks will
exactly suit your
playing style.
Making sticks which are
exactly right for you is
as important to us as
the high quality of our
sticks.
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