The sellers of handpans (also called Hang Drum) have increased in recent years. Going from one manufacturer in 2005 to over 300 today, how buy a good Handpan ? While few music stores carry this instrument on their shelves, where to buy a good Handpan online?
There are no secrets, you have to investigate to determine if a website is the right place to buy a Handpan. Some offer you the best handpans tuned in D minor, ranging from 9 to 17 notes, others handpans in D or C major. How do you know who to choose?
Pay attention to the quality of the site
Websites offering handpans for sale are legion. To separate the wheat from the chaff, attention should be paid to the quality of the site. There are several things to consider here:
- page quality,
- Clarity of the characteristics of the Handpan,
- Depth of the range of handpans,
- Customers' opinion,
- Quality of advice.
We will detail each of these points, so that you are sure to make the right choice.
Page quality
When we talk about the quality of web pages, we think of the loading speed as well as the quality of writing.
A website reflects the quality of a company, neither more nor less. If you are browsing a website whose pages take a long time to load, or where certain pages cannot be found because they simply no longer exist, it is because you need to change vendors.
Likewise, if the paragraphs are stuffed with spelling and grammatical errors. These signs only rarely deceive the seriousness of a company.
Clarity of Handpan Features
When buying a Handpan, you should know how the instrument works offered to you for purchase. That is, the manufacturer should tell you about what range the instrument is tuned.
It should also tell you how the notes on the dimples (or Dimple) of the Handpan, as well as the best products to use to ensure its maintenance.
This is notably why any Handpan seller must tell you if his instruments are made of nitrided steel or stainless steel, maintenance being different from one to another.
The handpan frequency is another extremely important piece of information that the seller must tell you. Is it a 440Hz frequency, i.e. the same frequency as Western instruments, or is it a 432Hz frequency, which does not allow you to play in an orchestra with this instrument ?
These are all characteristics that will give you the handpan sellers trustworthy.
The depth of range
The making a Handpan is an art that requires great technical skill. The more notes there are on the dome, the more frequent the errors and the more false notes.
Only experienced manufacturers can afford to offer a wide range of handpans, ranging from nine to 17 notes.
Manufacturers new to the art of make a Handpan cannot engage in the manufacture of such complex instruments.
Customer reviews
Do not stop at the previous tips before reading the reviews left by customers on the instrument you want to buy.
In the absence of customer reviews, you have either the choice of embarking on the adventure and being the first to leave a review, or that of abstaining and changing the website, to favor a handpan maker better established.
The quality of advice
A Handpan maker knows what he's talking about. The articles on its website normally allow you to answer all the questions you have, in clear language.
Always remember the words of Boileau: "What we conceive well is clearly stated, and the words to say it come easily." » In other words, when you are in front of a professional, he knows what he is talking about, and knows how to explain it to you.
When you are faced with a site offering you Handpans for sale, and that he did not explain to you what a octave, a diatonic, or what is a nitrided steel, it is better to change the website.
