Hello! Wondering if my fellow musicians have any maker recommendations?

My first and only pan is a Yatao-pan D Kurd 10 (sadly they didn’t make the 12 when I bought it in 2022, womp) but I am finding myself wanting bottom notes and a different scale. Right now I have my heart pretty set on ordering a manik sound sculpture F2 low Pygmy 17, or an Ayasa C Ashakiran 17 from Europe. I will have both someday. (I live in USA and though there are good makers here for me they just don’t compare listening to recordings)

I have looked at Mudra from South America (beautiful instruments but priced a little crazy being nearly 1k higher in some cases and with Ayasa being the gold standard in my opinion) and looked at Mag too.

Any makers out there I have been blind to?

Oh and is Malte Martens handpan course worth the price? Heavily considering it to up my knowledge and skill.

Thank you for your kind responses! 🙏🏻

I composed and performed both instruments myself. If you'd like to hear the full 1-hour session or explore more of my ethnic music from Argentina, you are very welcome to visit my YouTube Channel (Kaypacha https://www.youtube.com/@kaypachaWeb ). Blessings and Namaskar! 🙏✨

I've been listening to all of the comparison videos I can find to get a sense of what I like for a pan. Amy posted a comparison of 20 different models and 2 of them caught my eye / ear...a Meridian 15 note D Kurd and a gorgeous sounding Celestial model.

I did some research and it looks like the Celestial model is a custom pan with a custom scale just for her...also Celestial isn't taking orders. The meridian though doesn't seem to be for sale. The closes I could find from them was a 14 note model.

Does anyone know if that 15 note D Kurd is a custom handpan or is it just an older model they no longer make.

I haven't been able to find any local makers in my metro area so figured I'd look farther afield for options that caught my ear.

Hello everyone,

I've been playing a beginner's D-Kurd for 5 months.
I played every day and have been really trying to learn as much as I possibly can. Luckily I am in a position right now where I can allow my self to play for two hours every day with lots of energy left in the tank.
The Handpan is such a magical instrument to me because I never really had any interest in making music before and the first time I touched it I immediately knew that I need to do this right now.
Since I've been playing the handpan daily I can already tell that this is the thing I want to do for the rest of my life.
After two months of practicing I even played for my mother's birthday which was very emotional for both of us.

So I went to my first handpan festival and got to know so many nice people from the handpan community and got to try many different handpans and I have to say that several handpans from Ayasa completely blew my mind.

Yesterday I was at the family's dinner and my mother wanted to know how my journey with the handpan has been going and I told her that I played the Ayasa Handpan at the Festival and fell in love with it. She asked my why I did not get this one then? And I replied that I could never afford paying such a crazy amount of money for anything ever in my life.

This morning I checked my balance and realised that she sent over 5000 Euros to my bank account with the purpose of use "go get it"

She never did anything like this before, we are not a rich family or anything so this is a really crazy amount of money for both of us.
It feels like she realised that there will never be any gift that can make me as happy as this handpan and she wanted to grant my biggest wish I will ever have in this life.
Sorry please believe me when I say that I don't want to brag or make anybody jealous here.
So far I never got a car or anything super expensive for my hobbies from her.
I am just so happy that after all these years she knew when it was just the right time to really give the perfect gift to me even without me asking for it.

So I made an appointment at Ayasa in the Netherlands and rented a car to get there which is 3 hours away from me.

Now I'm thinking that this will be the one and only Handpan of my life and I really never want to feel that I need a better one again anytime in the future.

With the D-Kurd I feel that I really like the scale and have already made good progress thanks to so many tutorials out there on youtube I managed to understand quickly what I can do with the scale in order to make music for myself that I like and also I like the fact that I can jam with others so easily.

But I'm still wondering if I should stay with the D-Kurd or get a different scale from Ayasa.

They will give me about two hours in the show room to play all different types of handpans they have available.

TLDR I can get the dream handpan of my life from Ayasa I will get to try all the handpans they have and then I want to decide which one I want to take home and play it for the rest of my life.

When I listen to the finest Handpan players I realised that I really like the E-Amara Scale probably even more than the D-Kurd.
So I'm wondering how different the learning process and playing on the E-Amara will be and also how many tutorial videos I will be finding for the E-Amara and if not will it even matter in the long run?

What other tips do you have to really make the best out of it and make the best decision I can?

Hello,

Rav seems to always be out of stock for their carry bags. I have one bag on back order since May and they assure me it will ship in August. I have a Rav Vast and one of their new Animas. (amazing sounds!) so I need an additional bag. Does anybody know of a handpan bag that will fit a Rav Vast? thank you.

Teardrop, played on a Kosmosky Shelton tongue pan

Hello everyone! I wanted to share my latest composition, "The Four Elements". I tried to capture the different energies of nature through the sound of the handpan. I would love to hear your thoughts! Performed by Kaypacha.

Hello everyone! I wanted to share my latest composition, "The Four Elements". I tried to capture the different energies of nature through the sound of the handpan. I would love to hear your thoughts! Performed by Kaypacha.

Hello everyone! I wanted to share my latest composition, "The Four Elements". I tried to capture the different energies of nature through the sound of the handpan. I would love to hear your thoughts!

Performed by Kaypacha.

Hi everyone! I wanted to share my latest composition inspired by "The Four Elements". Here is the link to the full video:

https://youtu.be/ei4knak8nGY?si=NZAmcqjKIXiLfzsC

Hi, can anyone help identify the brand of this? I saw it a year ago at a store & didn’t purchase it at the time but now the place has closed down :( I really want to buy the exact one in the image & google lens hasn’t been very helpful in identifying.

TIA xx

Hi everyone! I'm just starting my handpan journey and would love some advice.

For those in India, which handpan brand would you recommend for a beginner? I'm looking for something with good sound quality, reliable craftsmanship, and decent value for money. Any experiences or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

I'm a complete beginner and see that the two lower priced handpans available to me are the Thomann Sonority Handpan D-Kurd for €698 or the Startone Handpan D Kurd for €498.

My background is in classical piano and I've been wanting a handpan for over a decade now. I'm really drawn to the idea that I'll have a whole new experience that feels more fluid and less structured than playing/practicing the same classical piece over and over again.

When I play piano I also am really picky on the quality of the piano I play. I really value a nicely tuned piano with heavy keys. This also makes me think if I should buy the more expensive handpan because I'll fall in love with it and want the higher quality one. Or perhaps I'll be such a beginner I won't even notice the difference? If anyone can guide me in the right direction I would very much appreciate it. Thanks!

Hello,

I want to fly the first time with my new handpan.

The decision has been more or less spontaneous and therefore the flight has been already booked. As the title already suggests: it's Ryanair.

My question is: Does anyone has experience in travelling with a handpan on a ryanair flight? In a hard case as extra cabin-bag or checked in luggage?

I also wonder whether they give special treatment to luggage that is checked in as 'instrument' or whether they tolerate you to take your handpan onboard and store it in the overhead storages. I often heard that a handpan actually fits but is officially not small enough for it to be taken onboard.

Any suggestions or experiences in how to deal with handpans and ryanair?

Nadishana and Peter Bognár are playing by the sea.

Hi! I'm looking to buy my first handpan (d kurd 9), and after a lot of research, these two handpans stood out to me. They are both incredibly sweet and rich sounding and I can't decide between the two. Does anyone have person experience with either or both? Thanks!

My 22-month-old is obsessed with my handpan.

Today, he discovered the hole underneath, and his little mind was blown. 🥹

Now he won't stop dropping little plastic balls into it...

It actually sounds kinda awesome. Did he accidentally invent a new handpan technique?

Hi, does anyone have tablature for aria math on d kurd 10?

How do you usually handle communication issues with instrument makers, and do you have any tips for making sure everything goes smoothly?

I saw this handpan on Temu for $160 and I figured I had nothing to lose so I got it. I was amazed by how good it sounded in relation to the cost. What do you guys think?