The Gu Booster - From Dave’s Island Instruments

The PANArt-made "Dum"

Back in 2012 we speculated as to whether in the future we’d see other makers take-up, and play around with, the Handpan accessory first introduced by PANArt “back in the day”, in the form of the “Dum”.  And while recently browsing the Dave’s Island Instruments website, we can see that at least one maker, is now doing just that...

The PANArt Dum is a small flared-tube made of turned pear-wood, that is designed to lower the Helmholtz resonance of the Hang a fifth, once inserted into the Gu.  It is believed that there were only ever about 200 of these things made, so they’re pretty rare.  But now, DII customers at least (we’re not sure if these fit any other make of Handpan), are free to experiment with Helmholtz manipulation once more - thanks to the “Gu Booster”.

The DII Gu Booster

The Gu Booster is a Dum-like plastic-molded insert that fits into the Gu-hole, designed to boost the bass Helmholtz frequency of DII’s Handpans.  Cut to a specific length to achieve a specific pitch, Gu Boosters are available (at time of posting) in:  C3, D3, and Eb3.  And according to the DII website, they can also help to protect the bottom of your Handpan from scratches, etc. (which makes sense).

We’ve yet to try out a Gu Booster ourselves, but we did get to briefly try out a PANArt Dum a few years back.  And while the effect was subtle, it was interesting enough.  And with the Gu Booster being priced at a seemingly reasonable $15 at time of posting, if you’re a DII owner, this might be something that you’ll be interested in having a play with.  

Find the Gu Booster over at the Dave’s Island Instrument website: HERE