Playwood Timpani mallets World Performer Series 1/2 : description and explanation

Hello everyone, as a timpani player, I've always found very difficult to understand how the former Raymond Curfs series was organized. That's why I wanted to share with you my knowledge acquired after years of shopping and investigating ! Mediawise, I am only an amateur, so I apologize for the mediocre video/photo quality.
Mallets present on the pictures :
Classical Series 3100 (clear caracter) :
3111 (dark red) : the clearest and hardest pair
3112 (formerly red but I lost the thread) : very clear and direct
3113 (pink) : still clear and direct but with a thicker felt
3114 (dark green) : my "go to" felt pair for rythmical repertoire (you can see I always use them)
3116 (light green) : medium hardness, rather heavy, round but still clear mallets (I use them for Tchaikovsky 4th Symphony)
3118 (yellow) : soft, with a clear core, still usable for rythms
Premium Series 3200 :
3211, 3212, 3213 (pink threads) : dark , focused tone. Heavy
3221, 3223 (blue thread) : versatile, from dark tone to very clear attack. 3222 is missing because their sound is close to 3116 and I prefer that pair
3231, 3232 (grey thread) : powerful deep sound with still a clear core. 3233 is missing because I never played in such a big orchestra that I'd have a use for them.
Flannel Series 3300 :
3312, 3313 (modified), 3314 (missing 3311 and 3315) : leather flannels from almost wood to smooth heavy suede leather
3322 (missing 3321 and 3323) : cotton flannel , round sound with clear attack
3333 (missing 3331 and 3332) : white cotton flannel, round deep sound
3341 (missing 3342) : wool flannel, hard and lighter attack
The missing pairs aren't here because I also love Kato flannels, and I'm not that wealthy !

[@remihoulle3456]

I will publish very soon another video with a systematic comparison and some orchestral examples with all these mallets.

[@HectorGarcia-ho3xe]

Very good video, also I wanted to ask which of those mallets will you recommend to buy first, as for building a base of timpani mallets?

[@remihoulle3456]

Thank you for your nice comment !
There are many possible choices, but the pairs I use the most, in order, are the 3114 (medium hard), the 3213 (dark soft -but not too soft- heavy mallets), and the 3116 in-between, and then for flannels I use the 3141(small and clear), the 3322 (more round but still with a clear attack) and the 3314 for leather (they are not too hard).
Another possible approach would be to get all 3 pairs of felt from 32-2 (the ones with blue yarn) which have a consistent sound color with 3 very versatile hardnesses. This being said, I prefer the 3 pairs I said at the beginning.
Good luck in your mallet hunt ! Cheers

[@HectorGarcia-ho3xe]

@@remihoulle3456 Thanks a lot for your reply although I already bought them!! I finally bough 3 models from the 32XX series as I tried all the playwood mallets in a store and it was the series that worked better for me. I got pair 3211 which are quite hard for a more staccato but with a darker sound, the 3222 pair for a more general and medium sound good for rolls, and very elegant and round for whole notes and the 3232 pair for a very good and powerful rolling mallets. Also, I would like to ask you another question: What are the differences between 32XX models and 31XX models? Thanks for you patience and time!!

[@remihoulle3456]

Those seem like great choices! One of each type is a nice idea. About the difference between 31XX and 32XX, I can't be very specific because there are subtilities between each model, but the big difference is the cork core : the 31XX have a small but more dense core, whereas the 32XX is made of a lighter cork type. Furthermore, on the 31XX there is a simple fabric layer on the cork core. The result is a clear sounding series for the 31XX, working well for most of the repertoire, with a rather steady hardness on all dynamics. And between the 321X, 322X and 323X, there are 2 differences : the diameter of the cork core, and the wrapping materials on it, resulting in a dark sound (pink 321X), a multitonal sound from dark to clear depending on the dynamics (blue 322X, these ones have some kind of yarn on it and a "mushroom" type felt cap), or a big powerful sound (Grey 323X).