The great thing about these projects is that they will work for you
, no matter what wood you have available - or in the case of the vibraphone and glockenspiel they will work really well with standard metal stock which is inexpensive and easy to get hold of in most parts of the world.
Concert quality marimbas are usually made from Honduras Rosewood or African padouk, and obviously the better wood you have access to the better instrument you'll be able to make. However you can make these instruments from just about any hardwood (eg, Durian or Meranti).
And if you wish to make a better quality instrument you can of course invest in a better quality wood, such as Rosewood. This will cost you a few hundred dollars, but will still be way less than purchasing a real concert instrument.
Absolutely not! I'm not a carpenter - I'm a musician. Most of the skills required are fairly basic woodwork measuring, cutting and sanding.
Even if you've hardly ever picked up a hammer or a saw in your life I'm confident that you'll be able to achieve a workable instrument using these plans. Of course I've picked up a few clues over my time designing and building instruments, but I've put all the important construction tips in the package for you.
Absolutely not! All of the tools you will need are common houshold tools.
Plus a few other bits and pieces commonly found around the garage!
Of course if you are saving extra money by using a cheaper timber for the bars then you can't expect them to sound like one of the traditional timbers used for marimbas. And of course the final sound will also depend on the care and precision with which you make and tune your bars. BUT... particularly with the P524 or PV guide which are designed for fully professional instrumets - ALL the information you need to make your marimba or vibraphone sound exactly like a commercial one, is supplied in your building guides.