We are always careful not to criticize competitors’ products. However, when we see a design trend that we believe makes playing more difficult, we feel obligated to address it.
Grover Pro chime mallets include several thoughtful design features that we believe set them apart. Chief among these is the handle, which has an oblong profile. This design choice is intentional, and it addresses a fundamental playing problem.
Playing chimes is inherently challenging. Percussionists must read complex music, watch the conductor, and strike the correct tube with precision—all at once. Any design element that reduces accuracy only increases this difficulty.
While our mallet heads use a traditional cylindrical design, the handle shape is what makes the difference. When you grip a Grover Pro chime mallet, the oblong handle naturally orients the mallet, so the flat striking surface aligns consistently with the chime cap. This ensures that the mallet head strikes the cap squarely and predictably.
To understand why this matters, consider how most keyboard percussion instruments work: a round mallet head strikes a flat bar. Now imagine if those bars were round instead of flat. Striking the exact center of a round bar with a round mallet would be far more difficult. Even a slight error would cause the mallet to glance off, reducing control and potentially hitting an adjacent note.
That is precisely the problem with using round-headed mallets on chimes. You are attempting to strike the small center of a round chime cap center a with another round object. Without a built-in orientation reference, consistent accuracy becomes much harder to achieve.
To test this, I spent time playing with several new round-handled chime mallets. I found it extremely difficult to achieve consistent tone and accuracy—and this was without the added challenges of reading music or watching a conductor!
The takeaway is simple: change does not always equal improvement. In the search for novelty, some designs prioritize marketing appeal over musical practicality. At Grover Pro, we have always placed the musical needs of serious percussionists first.
Our design process is deliberate, lengthy, and deeply considered. Every innovation—such as our oblong chime handle—exists for a specific, functional reason. We strive to stand apart by creating products of the highest caliber, not by introducing design changes that compromise playability in the name of novelty.
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