Your toolbox consists of the instruments, accessories, sticks and mallets you choose to design and build your musical voice. They collectively identify your decisions as a musician and performer to your audience, whether that is a live concert, wedding gig, recording or video. Since 1980, I have spent much of my career making these decisions. The instruments I endorse, and those that I use are true to the sound and emotions I focus on while making music. This could be something as simple as triangles and beaters to the more complex and expensive varieties of marimbas, drum sets, cymbals, snare drums and your stick bag of tools. There are endless options for instruments, sticks and mallets. As a percussionist, I am committed to my collection. I own and endorse DeMorrow Instruments, as I have a set of orchestra bells, 4 oct. quint-tuned xylophone, and 5 oct. concert marimba - all of which were custom built for me. DeMorrow is simply unmatched in sound quality, build detail and consistency, and I have played hundreds of keyboard percussion instruments over decades. Surprisingly, their marimbas are often the least expensive compared to other brands. I am confident I made the right choices for me. I feel the same about Salyers Percussion. Their mallets and sticks are competitive with all the major players in the industry. For me, Salyers has high quality tools for reasonable prices and are made with great materials and detail! I play Bison, Leedy and Ludwig concert snares, DW drum set, and a vintage 1968 Ludwig set that just sounds and records Great! I use cymbals from Paiste, Sabian, Zildjian and even Wuhan - and each of my 3 drum sets, I have a collection of cymbals to match. Take your time looking, playing, listening and comparing. It took me 20 years to build my collection, but what I have now, I wouldn't trade for anything.