(!) This post may now be out of date - but has been left published for archive purposes. It may still prove to be of interest, but some (or all) details may now be out of date (!).
across the Echo Sound Sculpture back in 2011, at a point where this HandPan seemed to have been tentatively titled the ‘AsaChan’. And at that point, the Echo sounded much like you might expect an early Hang-inspired prototype to sound. But just a few short years later (at time of updating), the efforts of the Echo maker, have very much reached fruition. And in many ways the work of San is a lesson in becoming a respected Handpan maker the ‘correct way’. Because while other makers have been happy to cash in on the Hang-demand, while San has been quietly tinkering away, San has always stated that he would not begin to sell Echo Sound Sculptures commercially, until the sound of his sculpture was able to meet his own high standards. And rumour is (early 2013 at time of writing), that that time has finally come.
In addition to the standard HandPan form, San Zahn also produces HandPan in such forms as the ‘Double Ru’, a twin ‘GU’d’ (an open port on either side) double-sided HandPan, that can feature up to fourteen notes. And the price of an Echo (at time of writing) starts at around the $1600 mark (for the standard model). And as with the majority of the more highly sought after HandPan creations, demand is high (so expect to be patient).
For more information on the Echo Sound Sculpture we recommend visiting (and signing up to) the makers Facebook page: HERE. Or alternatively, for more video, check out the related YouTube channel: HERE.
To say that the ‘Echo Sound Sculpture’, has gone from ‘zero to hero’, over the course of the last few years, might not be entirely fair on the Echo Sound Sculptures early development. But as one of the first HandPan to appear on YouTube as a D.I.Y Hang-like instrument, with its maker ‘San Zahn’ uploading videos from its earliest days of conception, through to what recent videos show the Echo to have now become (an instrument as sweet sounding as any of the other big names in HandPan - in our opinion). The zero to hero descriptive, is somewhat fitting.
A Swiss-made HandPan (like the PANArt Hang), we first stumbled
A Swiss-made HandPan (like the PANArt Hang), we first stumbled
In addition to the standard HandPan form, San Zahn also produces HandPan in such forms as the ‘Double Ru’, a twin ‘GU’d’ (an open port on either side) double-sided HandPan, that can feature up to fourteen notes. And the price of an Echo (at time of writing) starts at around the $1600 mark (for the standard model). And as with the majority of the more highly sought after HandPan creations, demand is high (so expect to be patient).
For more information on the Echo Sound Sculpture we recommend visiting (and signing up to) the makers Facebook page: HERE. Or alternatively, for more video, check out the related YouTube channel: HERE.
