Are you chasing after a pan drum? Bread can be gotten at a bakery, a book at a library, and a car at a motor show. But where to buy a handpan? Here’s how you can find and get a handpan drum for yourself.
First, choose the drum
Today, handpans are more accessible than they used to be. Remember the year 2013 when the number of handpan manufacturers was so small that you had to wait 1-3 years before you could get your drum? Thank God, these times are behind us and today buying a handpan is as easy as one-two-three. However, this coin has a flipside as the bigger choice brings a bigger headache. Which drum do you choose?
The abundance of handpans available for sale confused me a lot. Thus, I knew I wanted to get a drum that would serve me a long and joyous time. Getting a handpan is a big purchase, so you would like to be sure that you get a good instrument from a trusted seller.
After looking through many different drums and sellers, I decided to opt for the RAV Vast. The RAV Vast is a steel tongue drum which is just like its big brother – the handpan – a diatonic idiophone. Translating to English, that means that the instrument creates sound with its entire body. It’s already tuned in a particular music scale, so when you choose the instrument, it’s about choosing the scale you like as the scale will determine the kind of music you will create.
The greatest thing about the RAV Vast is that you can decide how much time you’d like to spend on learning to play (or not spend any at all!). Yes, you heard that right. RAV drums are tuned in such a way that you can start playing beautiful melodies right after you take it out of the box! Still, you can learn some techniques and patterns and investigate how to create and compose handpan music if you want to.
The drum also has a very long sustain, an eye-catching design, and, unlike the handpan, does not require any tuning while playing. The RAV Vast drum has its own mysterious voice and produces a high-quality sound. It was picked up by many professional musicians. And yet, the price of the RAV Vast is also far more affordable than the price of the average handpan. When I was choosing a drum, it became the reason for me to decide on the RAV Vast.
Online or offline?
Most likely, you’ll be able to find handpans and tongue drums in big music shops or even in a specialized handpan shop if you are lucky to have one nearby. Handpans are also commonly considered to be related to ethnic and healing shops, so you can also take a look there.
The number one option is to get a real feel of your drum, touch it and listen to it. However, the choice of drums at physical shops is usually limited.
What I did was I found the RAV Vast in the nearest physical store and tried it (thankfully, I had one close to me). However, I wasn’t sure about the scale to choose as the store had few options available. I got an understanding of what the RAV Vast looked like and how it sounded, then I got back home and started looking through all the scales to choose the one I wanted.
The drum can be purchased on the official website – ravvast.com. Each drum has a video sample playing the notes and showing the capabilities of the scale. Therefore, you just choose the scale and jump to checkout. The company provides shipping all over the world, so you’ll only need to wait a little while till the drum arrives at your place.
Official partners
You can also shop for the RAV Vast at an official partner’s store (they sometimes have some nice sales and promotions). Here are a few to look into.
• thomannmusic.com is a big and trusted European music store where you can find any instrument you want, including the RAV Vast. You can also get some additional equipment like mics and amplifiers if you plan to record yourself playing.
• hang-drums.com is a music shop that specializes in handpans. Along with the RAV Vast drum, you can shop for a handpan-inspired designer outfit and some authentic cases.
• ravvast.org – is the shop curated by Nadishana – the professional handpan musician. The website provides tutorials on how to play the drum and a CD with 1,5 hours of relaxing music played with the RAV drum.
• You can also check out the RAV Vast at good old Amazon, but always be sure you get the drum from a trusted seller.
Disclaimer
How can you be sure that the instrument you’ve chosen corresponds to the high-quality standards you’re looking for? Do not shop for second-hand drums as you can get an instrument with some hidden defects. The official seller or their official partner will always provide you with a warranty and the perfect drum that you’ve been dreaming of for so long.
