Do It Yourself

So each of the keys is cut to specific dimensions (I just stole these from an existing Marimba) where deeper keys are larger and higher keys shorter, then you cut an arch into the bottom of the key. The arch is where the real tuning comes from, the size of the key just gets you into the general neighborhood.

Each key has 1 primary tone and 2 overtones (actually way more, but these are the 3 that the human ear can actually pick up on), and each of the tones is tuned by specific regions of the arch, so if you trim material from the center for instance, it will affect the primary tone. I tuned my marimba so that the 2 overtones were the fourth harmonic and the tenth harmonic, which is standard for marimbas, and is what gives it it's unique deep sound.

The tubes are called resonators - they're sort of natural amplifiers, without them, the whole thing sounds like you're just smacking wooden blocks (which you are, to be fair), but with them you get a very powerful, room filling sound. Each one is "tuned" to the resonance of the key it sits under!

If you're interested in the specifics this is the blog I used to learn the process http://www.lafavre.us/tuning-marimba.htm

The tube length is related to pitch but it doesn't control the pitch. The reason they're all different lengths is because different length tubes resonate at different frequencies. So the tube under each "key" (is that what they're called?) is designed to resonate specifically at the pitch produced by that key.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WT2N5gYGXcI&list=PLu9DCtN-rIM-_xMkEDFimQJixW-cdu89J

Seconded!

Yeah it was a lot of fun to build, and it's a blast to play! I used to play in high school, so its been fun to get back into it

It was probably around $500 for the wood in total. Hard to say exactly, I didn't keep close track and I had a fair bit left over

Probably could have done it for cheaper if I was more careful about what I bought and did the whole thing in bulk from the beginning

Sure thing!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WT2N5gYGXcI&list=PLu9DCtN-rIM-_xMkEDFimQJixW-cdu89J

Ask and ye shall receive!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WT2N5gYGXcI&list=PLu9DCtN-rIM-_xMkEDFimQJixW-cdu89J

It was very time consuming! The key tuning process alone took most of the half year, and I screwed about quite a few keys over the course of the project - The nice thing though was that it broke the large, intimidating project into very manageable chunks. One key would take anywhere from 30m to 2h depending on the size of the key and my own skill as it developed throughout the process, so I could generally bust one out in the evening, or half a dozen over a weekend. It was very satisfying to watch my pile of keys grow!

I wrote down some basics of the process here

https://lemmy.ml/comment/495852