Percussion Parents’ Guide to Buying Mallets
Step 1 - Understand Your Need
You’ve likely been approached by your band director or lessons teacher and asked to buy some mallets for your student. However, the percussion world is full of professionals who want as many options as possible, which make things confusing for beginners and newcomers. To narrow down your options, ask your band director:
How many mallets should I expect to buy?
What instruments do I need to buy mallets for?
Do I need to buy any other accessories such as stick tape or a stick bag?
Step 2 - Selecting a Retailer
In 2025, by far the largest retailer of percussion instruments and accessories is Steve Weiss Music, which is the primary retailer for most mallet brands. A few other retailers include Percussion Source and Another one. If you need a physical retailer, a local Guitar Center or other independent music store may have some options, but they can’t be guaranteed. We would recommend against buying from Amazon as they often have quality control issues, but may be convenient if you need 2-day shipping in a pinch. There are also a handful of independent mallet retailers, some of which will be quite expensive, but some like Artifact Percussion are more focused on affordability.
Step 3 - Mallets!
Marimba Mallets
Marimba mallets have two important characteristics- Hardness and Handle material. A medium hardness mallet will cover most student use cases, and we would recommend a birch or maple handle for most students because they are less prone to bending and warping over time.
Here are some suggestions, ordered by price:
Artifact Percussion - Ignaelum Classic Marimba Mallets with a Maple handle - $34.95 USD
Innovative Percussion - IP240 Medium Birch Marimba Mallets - $42.95 USD
Xylophone and Bells Mallets
Many hard mallets (mallets without yarn) can be used for both xylophones, bells (also known as glockenspiel), and other instruments, so an easy budget save is to get a pair that works for both!
Artifact Percussion - Apus Hard Xylophone & Glockenspiel Mallets - $34.95 USD
Malletech - Bob Becker Medium Rattan Xylo/Bell Mallets - $39.00 USD
Innovative Percussion - James Ross IP902 Med Soft Xylo/Bell Mallets - $39.95 USD
Timpani Mallets
Mallets for timpani are going to be generally more expensive than the keyboard mallets listed above, if your student is in a band program make sure that they can’t be provided by the school first if that becomes an issue! For a student passionate and/or taking private lessons, here are some suggestions for timpani mallets.
Vic Firth - American Custom Timpani T1 - General - $47.99 USD
Innovative Percussion - Concert Series Medium General Timpani Mallets - $54.95 USD
Artifact Percussion - Street Magic General Timpani Mallets - $69.95 USD
Accessories
The main other item that we would recommend for any percussion student starting their mallet collection is a sufficient stick bag for holding them. Sticks that live in students’ backpacks almost always end up broken or lost and need replacing. For a budget option we would recommend either of the two size options below from Steve Weiss Music’s Liberty One bag collection.
Liberty One Stick & Mallet Bag (01S) 11.5 x 18.5" - $29.95 USD
Liberty One Basic Stick Bag (02S) 7.5" x 18" - $12.95 USD
What about these big bags already full of mallets!?
Several retailers offer mallet packs that offer sticks, mallets and a bag bundled together at a slightly discounted price. I would generally recommend these, but also run them by your instructor first to make sure you aren’t paying for something you don’t need! The Steve Weiss Best Seller Pack includes one pair of mallets from each of the sections above, and a pair of concert snare drum sticks if you need those, too.