• Registered: 2009-05-16
  • Posts: 7

Topic: HI from Canada!

hi hang-bros! i've been a percussionist for most of my life, hand drums being my main percussive passion. i have also played guitar for some years, and have enjoyed my kalimba for many years too.
like most people, the hang caught my attention immediately. i don't expect that i will ever own one, or even get to play one, in my lifetime. (there isn't much of a lifetime left for me, my kidneys failed two years ago and i rely on dialysis to stay alive now)- i can't listen to the hang being played without crying, it seems. i don't know if its from the sheer beauty of the sound, or the fact that i will never have one, but, it is a moving, haunting sound.
so far, my hands work alright, so i can still play my djembes, bongos, kalimba and guitar. (not all at once, mind you, heehee) and that keeps me relatively sane, i suppose.
some may disagree ... anyhow, just wanted to say 'hi' to all of you and announce my entry into the brother-of-the-hang community.

take care, all.

happy sounds!

~LightLIzard~

Last edited by LightLizard (2009-05-16 14:58:23)

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  • Registered: 2009-05-16
  • Posts: 7

Re: HI from Canada!

this is a recent one..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hH_8tCXe_J4

i live on beautiful vancouver island, in the capital city of british columbia, victoria.
a travelling busker, playing a hang, passed through town awhile ago.
i'll never be the same...

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  • Registered: 2009-05-16
  • Posts: 7

Re: HI from Canada!

here's another kalimba song, done on a portable 4-track.
i'd  love to hear hang and kalimba together.

http://www.esnips.com/doc/49f561cf-3cdf … RiverChase

Last edited by LightLizard (2009-05-16 23:03:16)

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  • Registered: 2009-05-16
  • Posts: 7

Re: HI from Canada!

yep, i've accepted the fact that i will never own a hang. so maybe the way to go is a hapi drum? the thing i like about the hapi drum is that it doesn't need re-tuning every year. it may not  have the richness of tone of the hang, but it is considerably less expensive. and the halo?; gimme a break! 1500 dollars?!! i'd have to stop eating for 3 months to get one of those. living on a disability pension sucks badly.

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  • From: Just outside Reading, UK
  • Registered: 2007-07-09
  • Posts: 52

Re: HI from Canada!

hey there fella,

Just to comment on the Hang, they don't need a retune every year.. in fact if kept well and not mistreated then really the hang should never go out of tune. I think Kyle with the Halo is only adding the tuning of the halo annually as a preferred method to keep your Halo in tip top condition, but it should definately not be neccessary to retune once a year, that's costly!

Sorry to hear about your failing health, I hope there is something they can do for you, it'd be a shame for to not get your hands on a Hang, and hopefully your plight will be read from someone on hear that might live locally and would happily make a sick man happy!

Miniman's Website

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  • Registered: 2009-05-16
  • Posts: 7

Re: HI from Canada!

hey thanks for that Miniman.

Glad to hear the tuning issues are not that huge!

here's another  spin-off of the hapi, for interest's sake..

http://milltonedrums.wordpress.com/

be well hang-gang, and get your kidneys checked out, please! kidney disease is becoming a major epidemic.
if your pee is foamy and you're tired a lot, a simple blood test could save your life. it saved mine...

be well all

happy drumming!

~LL~

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  • Registered: 2009-05-16
  • Posts: 7

Re: HI from Canada!

the milltone has 4 on ebay right now, with no bids, so far.

the milltone claims to be tuneable with magnets (?)

i got in touch with the manufacturer (larry) and he tells me that it retails for around 700 dollars US (!)
the starting prices on ebay is around 250. basic price is 450.
i think the hapi looks like a better deal.

i also was in touch with a local player who owns a hang. he claims that he has had to send two hangs back to switzerland to get them re-tuned. this sounds like a major flaw to me. what good is an instrument that the owner/player can't tune him/herself? not to mention the expense!

seems to me that the hang is not for buskers and street musicians.

if you can afford one, you don't need to busk for a living, that's for sure.

Last edited by LightLizard (2009-05-18 22:28:44)

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  • From: Just outside Reading, UK
  • Registered: 2007-07-09
  • Posts: 52

Re: HI from Canada!

Never... I can't believe the Hang were not mistreated to begin with to require retunes! people need to treat them with respect, don't use soft mallets and don't hit them too hard (or drop them), like anything they can go out of tune, and the downside of it is you have to send it back to PANart, unless of course you know how to tune a Hang yourself.... which is more complex than steel pans, people buy and play those but not everyone can retune them themselves either.

I know pleanty of people that busk with their Hang and have never had any problems, remember new they are 1200 euros, mine when i got it cost me £350... eBay is pushing prices up to still unaffordable prices but that's only through the demand, those that buy at the silly prices probably do not need to busk you're right... but some spend, save bloody hard all the money they can just to own one.

Personally, although these steel tongue drums are ok, they're not the Hang and to be honest i'd rather spend my money on a proper wooden tongue drum, the sound and resonance is way superior to that of the steel, wood is way more natural in tone and sweet on the ear. www.tonguedrum.com

I'd imagine with the Milltone drum that you can apply magnets to certain parts of the metal to change the pitch, I would think that if you knocked it out of tune by bending the metal then you'd have to know what to do to bring it back in tune... much like the hang.

There are no alternatives for the Hang at this time, the Halo is not on general release as yet, the BELLart from Spain is out there but the tone is still not quite that of the Hang and the waiting list is long.... 1200 euros too so the same price as the Hang but not yet the quality of the Hang... make your own mind up on that one.

Halo is the best bet for anyone in the US, but $1500 I though it was coming in at less than that to buy... more like $1200? the market dictates the price of these instruments... I do however believe that new makers to the instruments shouldn't have comparable prices with PANart, the experience and the client base just isn't there for them and they could well be setting themselves up for a fall... better in my eyes to start low, build the product and then increase the price.... but that's just my opinion.

Kalimba are nice though... you still have to pay for the quailty there too? right?

Miniman's Website

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  • Registered: 2009-05-16
  • Posts: 7

Re: HI from Canada!

Hi MM, and thanks for the really good points! Yes, i do have a wooden tongue drum. Generally, i find tongue
drums, (the wooden ones) do have a nice  warm tone. But, the duration of the notes is nowhere near the length of the metal ones, to my ear, and that lends itself to more pleasing combinations and chords, i think.
I'm leaning towrd the hapi drum. It's much less expensive that the others, has a nice tone, reasonable price and there are no tuning issues at all, plus, you can use mallets as well as hands.
i really appreciate your comments!

peace

LL

Last edited by LightLizard (2009-05-20 18:56:15)

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