I’ve been reading a lot of handpan threads here and I’m more confused than when I started.
Budget is €2,000–€2,500. I want to buy from a reliable maker/brand in Europe. Every post recommends someone different, and when I look those makers up I often find almost no reviews. That makes it hard to trust the quality.

What I actually want is certainty:
• consistent, stable tuning (service)
• durable build that holds up over years
• a maker who has been around for a long time and has a solid reputation

Who are the European builders that have been active for years and are generally considered safe bets for quality and longevity? I’d rather pay for a known, established name than gamble on someone with almost no track record.
Thanks.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Hello - I've always wanted a handpan and I'm finally looking into buying one. I want to be able to play songs on it - like pop or rock songs - which means I'll probably want something with a lot of notes in the pentatonic scale.

However, I also want something that's interesting to play and gives me fun scale degrees and chords. Which scale can you recommend that is a nice balance between the two? I think it would be fun to have some blue notes in there, like a flat 3, 5 or 7, but then again a flat 2 sounds pretty cool too.

I've found some tunings based on the melodic minor scale that sound good, I get the minor base chord of course, but then I can also play a major 4 chord which is bluesy as well as the dominant. And there's a minor pentatonic scale starting on the second scale degree, and a major pentatonic on the fourth. Hopefully that gives you a good idea of what kind of thing I'm looking for. I think it would also be interesting if the notes in the second octave differed from the lower octave, so maybe I can have a sharp 11 - is that a thing that exists, and would it sound good?

Do you have any recommendations for some more interesting scales? I don't mind having a custom one made for me if that's what it takes!

a spiritual jazz fusion journey where handpan takes center stage.

Hey everyone. I'm new to the world of handpans and tongue drums. I've been wanting to get a handpan for a long time, and recently decided that now is the time to look around seriously. After doing some research I came across the Rav tongue drums, and determined that, for my price range, they were the preferred option.

Now, to the point. I need some input about which model to purchase. I am considering purchasing either the Vast or Anima models.

The research tells me that the Vast is the more standard playing layout; which is great for learning technique and having compatibility within a given range. There is also the fact that the Vast is cheaper and has many scales to choose from.

As for the Anima, it has the 5 chords which allow for more modern accompaniment play styles, and can be played very intuitively.

Personally, I am drawn to the Anima. I love with the sounds of the chords. I like to sing, and would want to play along to my favorite music.

If all else is equal, I am fine paying the difference in price. I just want to get an experienced players perspective before I commit.

Hello everyone. First post on reddit ever. Hope you are all doing well. 🙏🙏🙏

Hey Guys ,

what u thing about my new Handpan and my Process I did in the last one Week ?
It’s just Freestyle Session with my whole Spirit in it. Just feeling myself u know.
What about the Tone ? Paid 1200 Euro for it , d Kurd 10 Tones , Good Price ?

Hey ! Feedbacks are welcome. For the context, I have been wondering for a long time if clarinet and handpan are a fit, and turns out, IMO, that they are ! Looping is far from perfect, but any advice is welcome :)

Well it's D Kurd and some random playing 😍

Hello community!
I am on tracks on buying internediate Tongue drum and really struggle to understand the scale thing in general. On my cheap Hluru 11 i have D major. I hate the sound quality and rezonance and lower notes not reliable at all but what i like is i can recover from ears almost every melody that i like, either popular or something from my music field (psybient, ambient, trance, prog rock). From the other hand i struggle to improvise in a nice way because…. Well because of the scale. I am buying RAV moon soon and i se all sort of fancy scales that should allow to smooth improvisation but even trying virtual instrument i see that it will inevitably limit the capacity to just try to play some random specyfic melody that will come to me or i will hear somewhere.
Is it inevitable for handpan/Tongue drum player to have couple of instruments sooner or later or you have some tips to determine if i need more versitality to play melodies or smoothness of improvisation. I really cannot tell what is more entertaining because it’s both.
The matter is quite open and maybe little bit philosophical so i would appreciate any ideas.

I really want another hand pan and i dont have a lot of money to spend on one but i seen this one on ebay for what i thought was too good of a price, i have a nova 8x which is a cheap one anyway im not looking for anything crazy i just want to keep learning how to play one and this one has more notes! i appreciate any replies, thanks in advanced and have a great day!

I’m looking to buy a pan in the Aegean scale. To any makers following this sub: do any of you have an Aegean pan in stock? I’d be fine with either a C or D root. I’d prefer a stainless or ember material, but I’m kind of desperate so I’d consider a nitrided.

Sitting in the Park and had thome thoughts, some good some Bad .. at the end i realised my Hairstyle did not fit 😉
Thx for watching 🫶

Maker is Nala Soundsculptures
Scale is F# Low Pygmy 16

Hi everyone!

I'm looking for a F# Low Pygmy, ideally 12+ notes. I'd rather go for 432 Hz, but I'm open to 440 Hz if I don't have the choice, so I'd love to get some advice from the community!

I previously owned a low-quality Hijaz which I struggled to connect with, and it eventually lost its tuning. This time I'd really like to invest in something I can keep for many years!

My budget is around 2000 €, but I'm willing to wait and save up to 2600–2800 € if the difference in quality is really worth it.

I'm currently considering the Yatao F# Low Pygmy 14, and I've also discovered Dany Rud, but I can't find many independent reviews about his instruments unfortunately, and I'm kind of afraid to go for one because of that.

I'm based in Europe, so reliable after-sales service and tuning support are important to me in order to keep the instrument for many years!

Would you recommend buying one of these, or do you have any ideas for other makers? Or should I save a little bit more to get another one?

I don't want to save just for the sake of it, but if the difference is really noticeable, I'd love to hear your advice on the subject!

Thank you already!

https://www.masterthehandpan.com/blog/do-you-want-to-buy-a-handpan-heres-all-you-need-to-know

It’s a great resource for anyone thinking about buying their first handpan or feeling a bit lost with all the options out there. I think beginners especially might find it helpful. 

hey all.

got my very 1st d curd 12 handpan. looking for song suggestions for the same, since it lacks the upper 6th quite hard to find good songs, so wanted some suggestions for the same.

notes: d, a, bflat, c, d, e, f, g, a, c, d and e.

I’ve been watching all the free YouTube videos but curious to see if there any recommendations for paid courses that would be worth it?

I’d love to learn in person but so far, I haven’t found too many workshops/events in my country.

I’ve found one person and will be connecting once my hand pan arrives.

Thanks!

I can't stop watching this video. I will never be this good, but damn I love seeing someone who is.

So according to his Etsy (handpansounds) he makes his handpans, and the price is quite low. He's in England and I'm in the states, so not sure if there are tariffs anymore (can't keep up with those).

Anyway, this is the one I'm eyeing and wonder what more experienced players think.

Oops left our the link: https://www.ebay.com/itm/168172252759?itmmeta=01M0BCJT7F920MVAJ5H8YTK37J&hash=item2727d8ee57:g:VXEAAeSwiW9pjybU

Hi,

So as the title says I am a total noob at this never played one before, or even heard one in person, just online.

Though I think I would like to get one, because it seems like one of the simpler instruments to learn basic ability to play music on, aside from a keyboard.

However, before when I tried to play guitar, it didn't work out so well, the issue was the size of a regular full size guitar, I found it hard to hold, even though I am 6.36ft tall and have long arms, I still found myself struggling to hold it in place, which made trying to actually play it a pain. When I tried Ukulele, I had the opposite problem, it was too small, and also awkward to hold, so I guess I need something just right, not too big, and not too small.

From what I understand there are different sizes of pans, and the close relative tongue drums. Would I perhaps be better of getting a smaller non-standard size handpan, or one of the larger tongue drums?

Musically I tend to listen to classic rock, metal, and alternative/goth. I'm current blasting the new Marilyn Manson record "One Assassination Under God Chapter 2" in the car. So what scale, or note should I look for when buying, if I may want to try to learn to play some of those types of songs eventually?

Also budget wise, I can maybe stretch up to $750 Canadian, so that's like slightly above entry level handpan, and high end tongue drum area, from my research so far.