AM DRUMS - Melodic steel tongue drums, by AM Rustic

AM Drums are made by AM Rustic, who began producing them purely out of love for the sound. When busking with their first home-made AM Drums, people would literally stop in their tracks and seemed to be happily hypnotised. The effect was addictive and AM Rustic began to make as many as they could sell, to spread this feeling as far and wide as possible.
Several years later, their experience has led them to refine the production process to maximise the quality of the instrument.
All AM Drums are tuned very slowly and carefully, by hand, to achieve the right notes.
AM Rustic always keep a selection of AM Drums in stock (ready for immediate dispatch), including these commonly used scales:
  • Aolian - A, D, E, F, G, A, A#, C
  • Ake Bono - G, C, D, D#, G, G#, C, D
  • Dorian - A, D, E, F, G, A, B, C
  • Ionian - G, C, D, E, F, G, A, B
  • Oriental - C, D, F, A, A#, C, D, F
  • Pentatonic C - C, D, E, G, A, C, D, E
Listen to AM Drums on Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/user/AMRDRUMS
AM Rustic say that virtually
any scale is possible (provided it can be adapted to 8 notes) and will tune your AM Drum to any scale you choose. They love a challenge and are happy to try out new or exotic scales, or different kinds of tuning.
AM Drums can also be hand-painted in the colour of your choice, and all this comes at no extra cost, with your AM Drum ready for dispatch in less than one week.
At 150 euros each, AM Drums are one of the best value melodic steel drums on the market, and are a great alternative to expensive, elusive alternatives, such as the hang.
AM Rustic love to hear your feedback and suggestions, so don't hesitate to get in touch.
For more information, email: amdrums@live.com

Or visit their website:
https://sites.google.com/site/amrustic

You can also find them on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/AM-Drums/168619476501078

HandPans Magazine - The PANArt Hang, HandPan, and Hank Drum Explored

Welcome to HandPans Magazine. A place where like you, we're very much interested in all things Hang, Hank Drum, and HandPan related. Our mission, if we have one other than documenting our own interest in, and love for these beautiful instruments, is to try and offer useful information regarding these singing steel 'sound sculptures', right here on site. While at the same time pointing you towards more in-depth resources, instrument makers, artists, the latest news, and anything else that 'tickles us' too, elsewhere on the web.
We may not always get it right. But we can promise you this, we'll never shout at you for accidentally, or mistakenly calling the PANArt Hang a 'Hang Drum' (a big 'no-no' in certain circles), and that you'll always be welcome on this site, whether you're 'lucky' enough to be deemed to 'resonate', with PANArt's 'Felix Rohner and Sabina Schärer' (and will possibly one day get to own, or already own a Hang), or not (because there's plenty of other great options out there for you too).

The DreamBall - The Russian Made ‘Hang’ (Drum) Alternative


Made in Russia and marketed as an alternative to PANArts Hang, the ‘DreamBall’, is a unique acoustic instrument produced from a light metal alloy featuring a special ‘sputtering’, that results in a sound unique to the DreamBall.

With a stylish design and clear pronounced tonal zones the DreamBall is currently available in the following three scales:

• FGACDEFG
• FGA # CDD # FG
• GA # BCDD # F G.

Deftaudio are a creative union of musicians located in ‘Nizhny Novgorod’ the fourth largest city in Russia, and are a team with a proven track record from concept to realization, of successfully bringing their creations to life in the workshop. And if you can speak a little Russian (or can use an online transaltor), you’ll find the DreamBall available to order priced at roughly $600, at the Deftaudio website, HERE.

The Hang (Drum) Hits Soundcloud - Check Out the Tunes


Established in August 2007, ‘Soundcloud’, is an audio distribution platform that allows musicians to collaborate, promote, and distribute their music.  Originally designed only to allow musicians to share tracks with each other, Soundcloud grew quickly into a fully featured distribution platform, that offers all music makers from bedroom composers to record labels the tools to promote their tunes online.  And Soundcloud has not been left untouched by the recent musical phenomenon and sound sculpture known simply as the ‘Hang’ (or Hang drum).  Making Soundcloud the perfect place to go and check out musicians from around the world putting their Hangs to work, and to enjoy their euphoric creations.

Examples of some of the great Hang music being shared over at Soundcloud include:

"CROSSINGS" (2010)- Doumbek/Hang Drum (Zamir Dhanji) Flute/Beatbox/Vocals (Rahul B) by Cardamonics

Hang impromptu by kronsilds

To hear more, or perhaps to even upload and share your own tracks, go visit Soundcloud.

The Spacedrum - A HandPan Made in France

(!) This post may now be out of date - but has been left published for archive purposes.  It may still prove to be of interest, but some (or all) details may now be out of date (!).

Described by some as the Hangs ‘little brother’, the ‘Spacedrum’, is a French made hand pan, built with love by its designer ‘Philippe Maignaut’, in partnership with ‘Djoliba’ (the French world music instruments specialized shop).

The Spacedrum is the first hand pan to be made available in a thirteen note chromatic model, in addition to diatonic and pentatonic 8 note models. And this blissed-out melodic percussion instrument is fast becoming a popular and respected alternative to the much sought after Hang.  And are priced at roughly $1200 for an eight-note model.



[Update from the makers]

Metal Sounds is a french company, created in October 2011, by three persons: 

- Cédric Aimé, Djoliba's music shop manager 
- Philippe Maignaut, Steeldrum maker 
- Marc Guilliou, Djoliba's associate 

Thanks to the Metal Sounds company we've been able to move in a new workshop, to invest in equipments and tools and, as a result, to improve our instruments. Since October 2012 we propose the 4th generation of Spacedrum, called "Evolution" and made out a special stainless steel alloy. 

Here is the list of our websites: 

http://metalsounds.fr (Official webshop) 

http://spacedrum.fr (Official Spacedrum's page) 
http://steeldrums.fr (Philippe Maignaut's former website)
(Facebook page)  

All the Metal Sounds' team does its best to provide high quality handpans in the shortest time frame as possible (at this date the waiting time for a Spacedrum is 6 to 8 months). 
Check the makers page for more information: HERE

Get a FREE Hang Drum for your iPad


Due to the fact that I don’t own an iPad I have been unable to test this new app, but for the bargain price of absolutely nothing, ‘Dizzy Studios’ are giving you the chance to play their new Mandala Hang drum app on your iPad for free.

Claiming to be the first Hang ‘drum’ style iPad app to hit the market, this Mandala style Hang features eight tone fields, ‘realistic’ sound, and multiple simultaneous touch.  And the app also promises the ability to record and playback your creations to be released in a future update.

So if you find yourself with a little time to kill and you’re in need of amusement, go play.
Get the FREE Mandala Hang Drum

HangOut in the UK - Festival of the Hang

Bringing together from all corners of the world lovers of the Hang, hand pans, and music in general is ‘HangOut (in the) UK’, a small but growing music festival held in ‘Surrey’, in the Southeast of England.  Hosted at ‘Mellow Farm’, a small family run farm on the beautiful Hampshire-Surrey border alongside the River Wey, Mellow Farm is set on a sandy heathland formed of grasslands and wooded areas.

Held towards the end of September the HangOut (in the) UK festival features live performances, jams, open mics, and workshops, allowing people of all levels to come along and enjoy the beauty of the Hang, and learn some new techniques.

The 2010 HangOut (in the) UK Hang festival featured performances by: ‘David Swarupe’, ‘Curt Ceunen (The Tipsy Gipsy)’, and ‘Anne Malone’, amongst others.  And tickets for the 2011 festival go on sale in February.


Download Hang Drum Samples Online


Unless you’re relatively wealthy, and incredibly determined in your search, there’s a pretty good chance that sooner or later, you’re going to have to accept the fact that you’re never going to own a Hang.  But that doesn’t mean you should miss out on the opportunity to create the sort of blissed out tunes that the hang ‘drum’ is capable of creating altogether.  So should you feel the need to inject a little hang into your musical love life, you could do a lot worse than downloading the ‘Pan Drum’ sample pack recently released by ‘Soniccouture’.

At 2.4GB in size this Hang ‘drum’ sample pack features thousands of samples, recorded from both Mk.1 and Mk.2 Hangs, as produced by PANArt.  With up to 21
velocity layers the Hang have been sampled in 6 different areas ( Gu, Ding, Outer Ding, Tone-field Centre, Tone-Field Edge, and in-between the Tone-field). With each area sampled being played with finger, slap, and knuckle, to beautifully reproduce this most beloved of musical discs sensitive and dynamic tones, in a manner that represents a close-as-can-be experience, for those unable to lay their hands on a genuine PANArt Hang.


[UPDATE] - For those of you looking for something a little more 'free', the following may be of interest: Click Here

‘The Roswell Incident’ - New Hang CD for Sale

With a name inspired by the UFO shape of the hang, the ‘Roswell Incident’ is a ten track album of hang music recorded by the musician ‘Randy Granger’.
Transporting the listener on a journey of sound exploration through Hang drum rhythms Randy Granger with the Roswell Incident weaves his way through a myriad of moods, simple and complex both, as he carries you away with his lullaby beats and tribal rhythms. In addition to the Hang the Roswell Incident also features such instruments as the Native American Flute, and the Didgeridoo, accompanied by Randy Granger's inspiring vocal harmonies.

Featuring tracks with such names as 'Mi Corazon', 'Lavendar Lover Lullaby', and 'Solstice' (see video), the Roswell Incident can be purchased and enjoyed from Amazon: The Roswell Incident

Zen Tambour for Sale


A relative of the ‘Tank’ drum, the ‘Zen Tambour’ is the handcrafted percussion instrument created by ‘Steve "Spike" Finch’. And is an instrument that boasts completely customisable and personalised sound depth, artwork, and finish.
One of the most popular (and most beautiful) steel tongue drum, the Zen Tambour are considered as much 'works of art', as they are musical instruments.  Which unfortunately means, that as with most of the HandPan, the Zen Tambour also (at time of writing), has a considerable waiting list.

Costing around $500 the Zen Tambour is internally dampened with a resonator installed within to increase the instruments volume, and help produce a warmer tone.  Qualities that have, among others, led to the Zen Tambour being considered at the top of its league among many steel tongue drum collectors.
Hand-made, hand-painted, buffed, and waxed, Zen Tambour are offered for sale over at the Exotic Vessels website: HERE.

* Find alternatives to the Zen Tambour available for immediate purchase: HERE

Don’t Call the ‘Hang’ a ‘Drum’: Or There’ll be Trouble!


Image result for no drum

Some Hang musicians/fans are known be notoriously elitist, and cliquey.  An attitude that unfortunately seems to some degree be encouraged by the Hang's creators, ‘PANArt’.  And many who have wandered into one of the Hang's limited online resources, or forum, having only just stumbled across the instrument on YouTube, etc. seeking  information,  and having mistakenly called the Hang a 'drum', will have received an ear-bashing for their troubles.  Usually something along the lines of:

"Please do not refer to the Hang as a drum, every time you do you take one step further away from ever owning one!"

Something that has led most outside of this 'inner circle' to refer to these types of Hang musicians as 'Trustafarians', and/or 'purists', and usually with good reason.

But here at HandPans Magazine we forgive you, because we know that if something looks like a drum, then there's always a pretty good chance that it is one.  But in fact the Hang (and HandPan in general) are a musical instrument of the 'idiophone' class, a group of instruments that create sound primarily by way of the instrument's vibrating, without the use of strings or membranes.

>> IDIOPHONES: MORE INFORMATION <<


Buy Hang Drum for Less than $1 Online

OK, so it’s not a real Hang ‘drum’ as produced by the Swiss company ‘PANArt’, but for those who grow impatient of waiting, or wouldn’t even know where to begin trying to lay their hands on a real Hang, this is the very next best thing.
They say there's an App for everything these days, and if you're lucky enough to own an Apple iPhone, you're in luck. Because for the tiny sum of only 99c, you can now forget about having to drag your lazy ass over to Switzerland, and forget about twiddling your thumbs as years pass and you never get any closer to the top of the Hangs infamous waiting list. And download one right now.



And surprisingly, the sound is actually very good, and the look is clean and uncluttered, so while they're never going to be as good as getting a real Hang in your hands, for a dollar or two, you're not going to get anything better.

And of course most iPhone apps now also work on the iPad too.  Meaning that while playing this Hang drum simulation on the iPhone may be limiting due to its small size, the iPad utilizes this app to essentially convert itself into a decent sized, playable, virtual Hang.  And the first virtual hand pan.

Buy 'Hang' Drum Style Apps at iTunes: Hang Drum - MagischMeik

Alternatives to the Hang Drum for Sale:

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(NOTE) This was the first ever post on HandPans Magazine back in 2010 (and is still overall the most 'popular' - by views).  And as such, some (or all) details may now be out of date.  But it still makes for a useful introduction to a handful of the earliest-introduced brands of Handpan, and "Hang drum" alternatives...

The Halo

Advertised as the first US made handpan ‘The Halo’ like PanArts ‘Hang’ is a descendant of the steel pan family of percussion instruments of Trinidad and Tobago, and like the Hang, the Halo is usually played positioned within the lap, or directly in front of the player, in a style similar to that of bongo drums.
A resonant steel instrument, the Halo, is designed to engage both body and mind, carrying both musician and audience away in a trance like exploration fueled by expressive and beautiful notes and tones, delivering a new voice to the world of modern sound sculptures that gives the original Hang a run for its money...

MORE INFORMATION

The Caisa

Designed and produced in Germany by ‘Bill Brown’ the ‘Caisa’ drum is another Hang alternative sound sculpture. Constructed from steel the Caisa is hand tuned with the tone areas being hammered by hand, usually in a pentatonic scale, and feature between ten and twelve notes (depending upon the model).Like the Hang and the Halo, the Caisa is best played from a lap position, and while the Hang are nick-named U.F.O’s due to their shape, the Caisa have been nick-named the ‘Mushroom'; due to its (optional) protruding horn like base.



MORE INFORMATION

Bali Steel Hand Pans

With a sound that seems a little closer to its predecessor the steel pan, Bali Steel hand pans are for all intents and purposes an almost perfect replica of the Hang. Shaped by hand on the island of Bali, Indonesia, and built by a team of three people, Bali steel hand pans are currently available in two scales, ‘Shang Diao’ (F Bb C Eb F G# Bb C Eb , and ‘Gong Diao’ (F Bb C D F G Bb C D), at the current price of $1050.



MORE INFORMATION

BELLArt BEIIs

Not speaking Spanish there is very little I can tell you about this next hand pan, except to say that of all the hang replicas I’ve heard, this one by far has my favorite sound. Said to cost somewhere in the region of $1800, BELLArt BEIIs, like the Hang, have a long waiting list, however, rumour has it that they are starting to appear more frequently now, and they do occasionally appear for sale on sites like ‘GumTree’, and eBay.



MORE INFORMATION

The Spacedrum

The French made space drum is another excellent alternative to the Hang, designed by ‘Phillipe Maignaut’, and ‘Djoliba’, the Spacedrum is the first handpan to be made available in a thirteen note version (in addition to its six and eight note models). This spacey melodic percussion instrument is available in pentatonic, diatonic and even chromatic ranges. permitting the musician to play all styles of music in any key.



MORE INFORMATION

[EDIT] Since this original posting more Hang drum alternatives have appeared: Find more.
© HandPans Magazine