The marimbas I've seen in several US high school and college concert
bands have had no buzzers in the resonator.  They have a more mellow
sound than a xylophone but no buzz.  I wonder if there are several
variations on this instrument?

Mike Blackwell

 [ Probably lots!  The makers and musicians of Chiapas will say it
 [ must have a buzzer in the resonator to be a true marimba, and that's
 [ the definition I subscribe to since I'm a big fan of this music! :-)
 [ Others will say, "that's only in instruments from Mexico or Guatemala."
 [ Variations included the closed resonator, which may be conical or
 [ cylindrical (tubular) or shaped like a gourd (Helmholtz).
 [
 [ Bill Flynt pointed out to me yesterday that the bars of the marimba
 [ are severely undercut, in comparison to typical xylophone bars, which
 [ alters the relative strength of the overtones in the resonant bar.
 [ I hope we'll learn more about this.  --- Robbie