Malmark vs. Schulmerich

[Kathleen Nickodemus]

I have a Malmark vs. Schullie question, but not "THE" question you might be expecting.
With the exception of one year playing White Chapels, my sole ringing/directing experiences have
been with Schullie bells.
Now I find myself directing in a church with Malmark bells.  I've noticed that damping in the fourth
octave requires MUCH more effort in the lower bells, but the G3 in particular. (We don't have the fifth
octave.)  To bring the bell back up to the should leaves horrendous and LOUD overtones.
The damping of this bell requires that the entire bell be touched, as in damping on my belly,
 hip or whatever (I won't justify my size by saying it's so I can damp bells well, but in this case it is an advantage.)
If any of you have had experience with both manufacturers and know of things I need to be looking for
in making the transition easier from Schullie to Malmark, please let me know.
In the mean time I will call Malmark because the same G3 also has a back ringing problem and I
don't know how to fix that either.
Thanks!
Kathy

[Stephanie Wiltse]

Hey, Kathy!

I don't know about the comparison between Malmarks and Schullies, but my
experience with Malmarks is that around C4 and below, merely damping the
lip of the bell at the shoulder will definitely leave the overtone
sounding. Those of us who have been blessed with God-given dampers will
have no problem, but my bony college kids do have to remember to damp more
of the bell against the chest or the belly.

There may be a problem with your G3 beyond the simple damping issue. G3s
seem to have a propensity for broken restraining springs; IIRC, the G3 is
the lowest bell (thus the largest casting) fitted with the smaller spring
size, so they have more of a tendency to crack from the stress of the
heavier casting. I would check that first; that may also be the cause of
your back-ring. If that's not the issue, the back spring may just need to
be tightened. It's a very simple adjustment requiring only a screwdriver.

Hope this helps a bit!

Stephanie

[Kathleen Nickodemus]

It does help! I've called Malmark and am awaiting a return call.  The G3 is brand new for us -- used in two rehearsals.
Kathy

[Stephanie Wiltse]

Also, you may want to check what setting the clapper is on; if it's on
the hardest setting, that may be giving you more of that lovely
"garbage can lid" sound... :-)

Stephanie

[Kathleen Nickodemus]

Oh THAT I've taken care of!  There was someone who previously played who was convinced they always needed to be on the harshest timbre setting.  They came back from Malmark on the "softest" setting.  Because we're playing with brass/organ for Easter I have them on the middle setting,but can't imagine we need to leave them there all the time either.
Kathy

[Nancy Tipton]

When we first got our Malmark bells in 1992, they came on the soft setting, and out of ignorance I left them there for awhile . . . until I watched a video of our first concert and discovered that the audience couldn't hear any of the bass clef bells. We now keep our 4's and upper 3's on the medium setting, and anything below G3 is on the hard setting. I have found that the audience enjoys/tolerates (depending on their beginning mindset) the sound of the bells more when they can hear the lower bells. The overall choir sound is much richer if the bass is full and resonant. It might sound loud to the director and ringers in a rehearsal room, but in a performance hall or a sanctuary, you really need that rich bass sound.

It definitely sounds like a broken restraining spring on the G3, but Malmark replaces these for free, and it's very easy to switch out the broken spring. It does seem to happen a lot with G3 through B3 . . .

Regarding damping lower Malmarks, anything from about G4 on down needs to have the entire side of the bell and not just the lip come into contact with your body. Yes, that's what my stomach is for! But it doesn't work with scrawny 7th graders, plus if I ask them to damp on their stomachs, some are so awkward that they would hit something with the bell. So I usually ask them to pull their elbow back when damping the big ones on their shoulders (actually, below the shoulder, obviously--but we call it shoulder damp!). This pulls more of the bell against their bodies. Of course, you've got to be really careful that they don't develop a weird way of damping, like bringing the elbow up and out to the side. Why this happens, I have no idea, because it certainly doesn't help to damp the bell better . . . but it does happen, so you've got to watch for it.

References to the harshness of Malmark bells compel me to comment further . . . stop reading if you don't care. :o) My personal opinion (and many may disagree!) is that Malmark bells provide the possibility for a much more musical performance. (Notice I said "provide" and not "guarantee," and "possibility" and not "probability.") Each spring I spend an entire day evaluating mostly intermediate and advanced high school handbell choirs, and I've done this for probably 15 years or more. So I've logged a lot hours observing teenage handbell choirs. Generally speaking, the groups who ring Schullies do not have as fluid a ringing stroke, and they do not have the dynamic range available on Malmark bells. They tend to "punch" the Schullies more than those who ring Malmark bells, especially on forte sections, because teenagers love loud extremes. (And no matter how hard they punch a Schulmerich bell, they'll never get a really satisfying--to them--fortissimo.) Again, there are clear exceptions to this--sometimes I'll hear a Schullie group who rings with great musical sensitivity. But I would love to hear the same group attempt their piece on Malmark bells--I have an idea that their performance would be off-the-scale in musicianship, because they would have such a greater dynamic range to work with. I know Malmark bells can sound harsh, but it all depends on HOW they are rung. If they're used properly they can be beautiful. I understand wanting the mellow sound of Schulmerich bells for an adult church choir playing your standard intermediate hymn arrangements, but in a school situation or a community group in which you're playing a wide variety of original compositions and classical transcriptions, the wide dynamic range of the Malmarks can't be beat. I love really soft pp's and really, really loud fff's . . . all in one piece if possible! Now I'm stepping down from my soap box, since I'm done defending my Malmark bells . . .

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