Metallophone Model 11140 : Cheap and fun.

I got this just to add to the pile of "fun" stuff in my studio. It works great. The sound is a little thin and metallic, like a toy xylophone to be honest but unlike a toy xylohone it is perfectly in tune and very much useable as a real musical instrument. The sound can also be made CONSIDERABLY richer by placing the metallophone on some kind of resonant box. Like a wooden table or a speaker cabinet. Even a wooden chair can work.

The bars are a lot smaller than on a full size xylophone so a lot of precision is needed when playing.

Build quality of the wooden frame is excellent but the little plastic parts that keep the bars in position seem VERY fragile and I suspect they may prove to be a weak point.

For the price I'm really happy with it. It's not a top quality instrument but great fun to have around the studio and lots of cool arrangements can be made with it. Certainly a lot more fun than loading a MIDI xylophone (although the result may not necessarily be better...).