While it seems likely that the ‘Dome Control’ MIDI controller will fail to hit every note fluidly, in terms of successfully mimicking all of the sonic nuances of an acoustic HandPan, the unannounced (and unprecedented?) appearance of the Dome Control is still quite exciting news. Not least for the potential fun, and games that a device like this could open up for the HandPan admirer, but also because, quite literally, this is yet another first step along another distinct tangent, of the HandPan’s now fast moving, and fast mutating; evolutionary path.
Built by Argentina based company ‘Sonic Fingers’, the Dome Control is a Hang/HandPan shaped MIDI controller, that when mixed with something like ‘Soniccoutures Pan Drum Sample Pack’, can be used to create an electronic HandPan (of sorts). Constructed from stainless steel (possibly more for looks than anything else), this first attempt at an electronic HandPan offers several benefits over its acoustic brethren. The main of which are:
* No need to worry about loss of tuning.
* Play multiple scales, and instruments all from a single dome.
* Increased volume potential for live performances.
* Cheaper (than the majority of HandPan at time of writing).
All of which are great. But before you go rushing off to buy a Sonic Fingers Dome Control, ask yourself, am I buying this for what IT offers, or am I just buying this because I desperately want a Hang/HandPan, can’t get one, so am going to buy this instead because it looks like one. Because chance is, if it's the latter, this isn’t going to offer you the experience that you’ve been searching for. It will lack the wave of sonic vibrations that envelope the HandPan player, and those listening, and fall short on subtleties of play. But, for what the Dome Control offers under its own merits, and taking it for what it is, This HandPan shaped MIDI controller could, using the Hangs notoriously intuitive note layout, have serious practical uses within the studio, and most importantly (to us), be a whole heap of fun to play.
Built by Argentina based company ‘Sonic Fingers’, the Dome Control is a Hang/HandPan shaped MIDI controller, that when mixed with something like ‘Soniccoutures Pan Drum Sample Pack’, can be used to create an electronic HandPan (of sorts). Constructed from stainless steel (possibly more for looks than anything else), this first attempt at an electronic HandPan offers several benefits over its acoustic brethren. The main of which are:
* No need to worry about loss of tuning.
* Play multiple scales, and instruments all from a single dome.
* Increased volume potential for live performances.
* Cheaper (than the majority of HandPan at time of writing).
For more information, and/or to buy the Sonic Fingers Dome Control, you can visit their website: HERE.
