Sonor NKS 60 PO Fiberglass Contra Bass Bar, A

A single fiberglass contra bass bar, pitched to A. These are the floor of an Orff ensemble: it sounds an octave below a bass xylophone, and one or two under a classroom arrangement do the job a timpani or bass would in a band, at a fraction of the space. Fiberglass is the easy-care option: it does not crack or drift with humidity the way wood can, which matters in a school. The bar is overtone tuned, with the first overtone brought into line with the fundamental so the note rings clean rather than clangy, and it sits on an all-wood resonator box. A black tuning plate under the bar lets you nudge the pitch if it drifts.

• Contra bass bar, pitch A
• Fiberglass, overtone tuned
• All-wood resonator
• Tuning plate