photo of Bamboo Marimba (Boo)
Photo by Paul McAdams
BOO (Bamboo Marimba)

BUILT: 1955-1956, at Gate 5, Sausalito, California.
SIZE: 6 feet broad at the floor, decreasing to 4 feet at the top; close to 4 feet high.
MATERIALS: Philippine bamboo, ranging from 4.25 to 2.75 inches outside diameter, mounted on foam rubber. The frame is of oak, and gum plywood.
TONES: 64 sections of bamboo, each with one closed end, and a tongue cut in the open end for the same natural frequency as its air column. A dry percussive sound, with one prominent inharmonic overtone. The range is approximately from the B-flat below middle C to the second F above. Played with felted sticks and small mallets on the edges of the tongues. The instrument is based upon experiments made by Bill Loughborough.

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