Marc Damoulakis Series Tambourines
Marc Damoulakis has been a member of The Cleveland Orchestra since 2006 and principal percussionist since 2013 where he holds the Margaret Allen Ireland Chair. Marc and I worked on and designed these instruments back in 2020 when we had time to experiment and take our time. It was a great experience and he was so helpful in guiding me towards making these beautiful instruments. I even had help from John Stoessel who made instruments for many great orchestras and percussionists over the years. He was able to demystify a few things and help shorten my learning curve with the copper alloys.
**May 2026 - first price increase since 2020 when I started making these. Everything is costing so much more. Copper, skins, badges, lacquer, wood, import fees, higher shipping rates, etc... I have also become more selective in which shells make the cut. Roughly 35% do not. So, instead of not making tambourines and focusing solely on timpani mallets the prices have finally gone up $15. The price will most likely continue to rise since these factors are not in my control.
**The mulberry shells do not have the metal badges. The jingles are made exactly the same as the black ash version except I can get the shells at a lower cost.
Below are the basic descriptions for each of the initial four models. All of the instruments have great response at all dynamics. There is no special “soft” model. They are all meant to used at all dynamics. The color is what changes the most from model to model.
36 jingles per instrument
Stacked layout
Steam bent solid ash shells.
Clear calf heads from Parchment & Vellum Works in Ireland (Kalfo)
GS/Bronze mix - 18 German Silver, 18 bronze. The workhorse of the line. It can cover a lot of repertoire in many different settings.
Brass - shortest sustain of the line. Very quick response. Middle of the pack for color. Not super bright and not dark.
German silver - very bright and crisp.
Bronze - dark and chunky. Old school sound but with better response and clarity.