Robert van Sice is considered one of the world’s foremost performers of contemporary music for marimba. His varied performing career has centered on establishing the instrument as a serious artistic vehicle, premiering more than 100 works for marimba and appearing in over 30 countries worldwide. In 1997, Mr. van Sice was appointed Director of Percussion Studies at the Yale University School of Music. He subsequently joined the faculties at the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University, and the Curtis Institute of Music.

These mallets were introduced in 2011 to complement the original line of Van Sice Series mallets (M111-M116), specifically designed for Japanese repertoire and any other marimba music requiring multiple layers of timbre. Like the originals, these mallets feature extra-long maple handles for increased comfort when playing large intervals. The difference lies in the head of the mallet - the heavy synthetic core provides a full, rich tone out of the marimba bar and the special interlocking stitch pattern minimizes any contact sound.

These medium mallets work well throughout the entire range of a 5-octave instrument, but can be a bit 'bitey' on the low end and too 'poofy' on the top end.