There are many companies (bigger or smaller) as well as individual crafters who make handpans. It’s better to rely on a trusted seller and get a good instrument than to get scammed trying to save the money and taking a handpan from hands to hands.
Buying hand pan drums is a thing you more likely won’t do in a second. Unlike buying a new mug or a pair of socks, you will think about it during days (or even weeks), save the money, read reviews and compare different instruments and brands. And if you decide to take one, you want to be sure, you get a high-quality instrument. But how to avoid buying a fraud?
Why is this question so crucial? The matter is in the very idea of the handpan. You might know (and if not, you’d better know), that handpan is a handcrafted drum.
The beauty of the sound is born in a thousand hammer blows. Handpan tuning is a real art and requires knowledge and many hours of hard work. That’s what determines the not-that-low drum’s price.
The complexity of creation and tuning makes were the reasons why for many years when there was the only drum – the hang drum – available, and this instrument was insanely hard to buy.
You had to wait for over a year in a queue to be able to get one. But today we can see a great bunch of handpan producers who can make your wish of acquiring a handpan come true fast and easy. How to make sure you get a good instrument? Here are the things you should pay attention to (and some to avoid)!
Never buy a second-hand drum
Maybe you think that getting a used handpan is a good way to get the same good sound for a better price. But the point is, there is little likelihood to get a really good sound in this case.
Who’d like to abandon and sell a really good handpan? Literally no one. Of course, there are some good options, but they are extremely hard to distinguish. The handpan can have some hidden defects that you only will find after you pay the money.
No need to say, you won’t be able to return the drum. Besides, handpans require additional tuning from time to time. You can get an instrument that will be completely untuned and instead of instantly start playing, you’ll have to waste your time sprucing it up.
Stay of away from these kinds of announcements
There’s no big deal to find some cheap handpan drum for sale. You’ll instantly see a countless number of announcements about the instruments for $1000, $700 or the original Hang from PANArt for $200 only (there are various offers) on Facebook, eBay, Etsy and even Amazon.
But before you excitedly push the button and take the offer, keep in mind. you will be scammed faster than a bullet. Say bye-bye to your hard-earning money spent for a bucket with a horrible sound that makes your ears bleeding (or even for no instrument at all). How to avoid getting into trouble?
Choose a trusted producer
There are many companies (bigger or smaller) as well as individual crafters who make handpans. While searching around you could see the RAV, Saraz, Opsilon handpans for sale and many others.
It’s better to rely on a trusted seller and get a good instrument than to get scammed trying to save the money and taking a handpan from hands to hands.
How to find a trusted seller? Check out the website first. There should be plenty of information about the company itself, the production process, the scales, shopping and shipping conditions.
For example, if you go to the RAV website visiting the ravvast.com, you will be able to find out about their instruments (both handpans and their special RAV Vast steel tongue drums) with the video samples of each scale recorded by a professional musician.
The company has been creating the instruments for 5 years and it partners with many professional handpan players and music shops and ship the instruments worldwide.
Never hesitate to get in touch with the brand. The official handpan producers will provide you with all the detailed info and (the guys from RAV have good customer support that will give you recommendations on choosing the right instrument according to your taste and purposes).
One more tip, avoid unknown resellers. Good handpan makers always list their official partners.
Choose the price
We all know, handpan costs money. And what many are asking is how to get a cheap handpan. In the case of handpans, cheap is likely to mean not good. The average and reasonable price for a good handpan (depending on the brand and scale complexity) is between $1200 – 2500.
There are some handpans that can cost $3000 and $4000. You can find a second-hand Hang for more than $4000 (there’s no upper limit at all). To compare, you can take the RAV handpans for $1690-$1900 depending on which scale you prefer (and what mastery level of playing you have).
The more complicated the scale is, the higher the price will be. If you are a beginner, take a look at the scales like D Celtic Minor and B Celtic Minor (those are easier to acquire still they provide a great toolkit for a musician to learn).
If you are an evolved musician and look for something specific and challenging, opt for the D Major or F Pygmy. Those scales are very popular among the handpan musicians.
What you get is a lush and mellow sound without any metallic twang (a big problem of many handpans) with a protective case and a warranty. Doesn’t it sound like a really good offer for any handpan enthusiast?