The Parisian Connection (Page 1 of 2)

The Parisian Connection runs deep obviously..... coolio!

oh btw, did I mention that I still have a mic stand of yours?

HI John,
Welcome to Hangfan and I know how it feels to be entranced by one of these things!
If you're in the UK, why not come along to the Hang Out Convention in a few weeks time? It the perfect place to meet up with the UK crowd and get your mitts on a real Hang and have a play.
More info here: http://www.hangfan.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?id=22

It would be lovely to meet you if you could make it. You may, however, be somewhere completely different in the world!

There's nothing to stop you writing a letter to Felix and Sabine and seeing if you can book a slot with them next year to go over - assuming you can save up the cash for the trip by then.

Otherwise, take care and good luck on finding one.
T.

x

I too first witnessed the hang on youtube this morning. They featured a clip and Im sure a whole new wave of fans were born! I was instantly hooked...my 15 month old son and I fell in love with the Hang at the same time. We just sat there in a trance...watching video after beautiful video of the magical instrument.  Every hour since has been wrapped up in finding out more about them...and with that the frustration mounts. It has become a new goal of mine though...to find my Hang.

I would love to write a letter to Felix and Sabine...do you know the address? Time to start saving up for the pilgramage.

So glad to find this site..and I will be visiting often.

THanks!

Last edited by paula444four (2007-10-12 18:36:04)

I first discovered the Hand on the web site "oddmusic.com".

I was just browsing the many unusual musical instruments and came across a Hang. Of course the first thing that intrigued me was it's looks but once I listened to the sound file I had to have one. With the help of Ron Kravits I owned a Gu Du Hang in about four months. It was the last shipment of Hanghang to the USA.

Unfortunately about a year later I ran into serious financial trouble and ended up selling it for $1300.00. I have regretted it ever since. I only hope that someday I will once again have the joy of owning one, (or more), again.

dwzipp

It truly will.

Oh yeah... my story! Errrmmm 2004 I think? may have been 2003... was at Didje Fest in Devon, UK and a band from the Netherlands were playing on stage, one of them had this strange UFO on the stage, at the beginning of the set the player introduced it as the Hong and then started playing... I was hooked.

On getting home from the fest I looked up the Hong and found very little info on the net about it, some scales in Oddmusic and a couple of blogging sites but that was pretty much it... I then forgot about it and it wasn't until the Didje Gathering in May 2006 that a guy called Tall Paul (didje maker here in the UK) arrived at the festival with one.... he let me have a play on it and that was it I was hooked.... Obsessed would be another word some friends might use.

Either way I had to have one and I was hell bent on getting one.... alas in April that year world wide distribution had ceased and Knock on Wood the only UK distribution point had sole their last one two weeks before I called.

The only thing left was to email PANart, yes they used to answer emails back in the day so I sent them an email begging, pleading and selling my soul to just be able to get my hands on one of these instruments... I knew the scale I was after... Pentatonic F

I got a reply back from Sabina.... I kept it and here it is below

"Welcome to Hangbauhaus in Bern, Switzerland

After 5 years of experience with the Hang and its music, the Hangmakers are no longer working with various standard models, but are creating their own instruments. These creations are based on our knowledge of the acoustical properties of the resonance body, our studies of scales and our musical experience. Each Hang is a unique work of art. We don`t ship them.

Hangbauhaus

In Hangbauhaus, PANArt`s new workshop space, Sabina Schärer and Felix Rohner, the two Hangmakers, create their Hang instruments. After the treatment of the raw material and tuning, the hanghang are brought down to the Hanghaus, by the riverside.

Hanghaus

In this old wooden building, where the Hang was born in January of 2000, our guests can play the instruments in a quiet atmosphere. If you would like to spend a night at the Hanghaus, there is a guestroom with a kitchen.

Bern

Bern is a beautiful city, dating from the middle ages.Major train routes, including the TGV, the Euro-City and the Cisalpino pass through Bern several times a day. Hanghaus sits on the bank of the river Aare, 20 minutes walk from the main station. Bern is also reachable by road from all directions. If you have enough time, you can visit the famous Alps, only an hour`s travel from Bern."

Sad I know, but its my story of how I got my hang and  kept everything.

Anyway the words that killed me were We don`t ship them you may have noticed them at the end of the first paragraph... I was gutted.

So I stepped up my pleading as there was no way I could get to Switzerland for one, my wife and I had just welcomed our baby boy into the world so not only were finances tight but so was getting away from the chains of fatherhood... I was now trapped, tied to the house with a screaming child and wife! (love you sweetheart )

So another email was sent and the reply I got was that they would be willing to get me a Hang but could someone come in my place to collect it... I had a breakthrough... I knew of a chap in Switzerland from the Didje scene, so I contacted him. after some more pleading and praying he finally agrees to collect one for me, I offer of course to pay all his expenses for the trip of 50 miles to Bern from his homw town.

Then out of the blue I get an email from Sabina

"Hello Kelly,
I have a new option for you. Someone brought back a hang in a pentatonic F tuning, a very nice hang.
We could send it to you directly, so you don`t have to send your friend to us. And once you are in switzerland you pass by and see the new hang.

Please let me know soon what you think about it, then we can send it to you.
regards
Sabina "

HOW CHUFFED DO YOU THINK I WAS.... very, very indeed.... I got my Hang like it was some strange twist in fate that the Penta F turned up just before my mate was about go... literally a day or two.

Never looked back ever since, I love my Hang and my Hang loves me... its a mutual relationship with much Ding love.

So, sorry if I bored you but that was my story of how I found the Hang.

Kelly

nice kelly nice, my story is a lot shorter:

Heard the hang at the didge fests and actually thought OMG whats that it sounds bad but soon learnt its not the hang its the person playing it, then Kel got his hang I loved it went with him to the hang gathering at torbz's place in nov 2006 where F and S were there with a hang for sale which i managed to get my hands on woooooooooooooooooooooooooooot, but i had an hour to find £400 before i had to leave so to ensure the hang was mine, and with the help of my credit card and a lift from kel to the town i got the cash and went home with my hang

was weird though because previous to the hang gathering i said to kel I will get one mate deffo and then we went to the hang gathering and i did not even think they would have a hang for sale, when F and S turned up with a hang everyone was very excited and many people wanted it but i think i asked first and was one of the people who did not have a hang and also felix was aware that there were many hanghang in the glastonbury area and that kind of influenced his decision, but what a feeling when F sat by me in the morning while nursing a hangover and said he wanted me to have the hang if i could get the cash asap !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! wow and michael colley all that night had said it was mine but i did not have his faith but i should have

So I went to the hang gathering with no hang and no hope for one and left on cloud nine in shock with a hang in tow what a weekend and its weird coz i can say that my hang found me lol

rob

Hi Danny
Nice story and almost the same tuning I have on my No. 0485 gudu 2007 Ding D, A Bb C D E F G A.

Last edited by Napfgoldwascher (2008-03-03 19:41:35)

I can firmly remember the excitment of waiting for my Hang to arrive... I know where you're at and its the best feeling in the world!

May I suggest a day at home when it arrives... mine arived in the morning before work and I spent the longest day at work of my life that day! dying to get home to get my mitts on it.

Have you played a Hang before?  if not then use light fingers and tap at the tonal circles... As Danny said above he thought his was broke when it arrive, I thought mine was rubbish too, but I was hitting it too hard and leaving my hands on the steel for too long so the sound was being dampened.

I think someone once mentioned playing it like a Tabla, firm but quick taps with the fingers..... Oh the sweet music.

Have fun... I just know you will

You have every chance of getting hold of one, PANart are now shipping the instruments again but you have to be on the list to recieve one. They offer you the chance to go to Bern to collect in person or to have the Hang shipped to you... they are getting quite pricey nowadays though at €1200 plus your postage on top.

Get your letter in the post and then await your reply... be be aware they will probably bulk respond later in the year for 2009, so you may not hear anything for several months.

Kelly