Chords for Hang/Handpan vs. RAV Drum Comparison

Hi, my name is Jerry Walsh from Didge Project here in Brooklyn, New York, and I'm going
to be comparing an original PanArt Hong drum, also known as a handpan, to a Ravv Vast, which
is a steel tongue drum, but also kind of a hybrid with the handpan.
Just want to talk about two of the differences, because they're both awesome instruments.
I don't think that one necessarily is better than the other, but it's kind of cool just
to look at what distinguishes one from the other.
So with the PanArt Hong, what you have are two pieces of steel pans that are glued together,
and then covered by this brass ring. _
This one is a hijaz scale, so it sounds like [D] this _ in _ _ _ _ D minor.
What makes this particular [Ab] instrument by PanArt really special is that it has an amazing [Dm] resonance.
_ _ _ _ _ [G] _ _ _
_ [Bm] _ _ [C] _ _ _ [Dm] _ _
_ _ The sound is just [D] really rich, and it really carries, and there's a lot of really beautiful overtones.
[E] _ _ [Dm] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ So if you get [Bb] other handpans made by other companies, some of them have a really powerful,
rich sound [D] _ _ that's comparable to that, but I find that with this particular instrument,
things like the subtleties and the overtones, _ it's just really [D] powerful, _ _
[Gm] and it sounds really beautiful.
[Ab] And then there's some other things [Dm] you can do. _
_ _ _ _ _ [D] _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [Dm] _ _ _
_ _ _ [D] _ _ _ It just has a lot of, _ [Ab] I guess, almost accessory sounds aside from the [E] primary tonal field
here, which is really nice.
And then if you flip it upside down, it almost becomes like an oud.
It's almost like two instruments in one, which _ _ [Dm] _
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is cool.
_ So it's a great instrument, [Ab] and _ these are pretty hard to find.
_ [N] There are a lot of makers out there, but when I say a lot, I think there's probably less
than 100 people that know how to make them in the world, and I would say that not all
those people make quality instruments, which is unfortunate.
And so the price for these can be really high.
I've seen them probably as low as $1,000 and as high as _ $6,000 on eBay, sometimes even
more than that, depending who the maker is.
So you just gotta kinda do your research and be careful where you buy it from, make sure
you get something quality.
_ And then the rav drum over here is invented in 2013, which I believe is actually the same
year that Panart stopped making original Hong drums and started making different instruments.
Their intention was to keep it a very mystical and kind of elusive instrument, so they only
wanted to make several thousand of them, to my knowledge.
So they don't even make Hong drums anymore, they make a different kind of instrument that's
similar but totally different.
So the rav vas comes from Russia, and what's different is that the keys here are cut.
It's unlike this, this is tuned totally with a hammer, they just [Ab] bang this with a hammer
until it sounds the way it should.
But with [C] this, the keys are cut.
[Gm] _
_ _ [C] _ _ _ _ _ _
_ [Gm] _ _ _ [G] And so you get a really, like the reverb, the deep resonance, the sound, the last of
the sound just goes on for a really long time, like, _ _ it's _ _ _ _ _ _ still going.
But with the handpan, [D] _ _ _ _
this is even still going now, and this is gone already.
So now it's gone.
So this is like, it just lasts a really long time, which is really cool because you can
kind of get really experimental with the rhythms, you don't need to worry so much about
being on top of everything, you can put a lot of space between your hits, you can be _ like_
_ _ _ [Gm] _ _ _
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_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [G] _ _ _ _
_ _ So I find that this is almost more of a meditative instrument to play with, because the fullness
of the sound and the way it fills the space, but also the duration of how it plays, and
you don't need to be very quick with it, you can play it very slowly and it still sounds
really cohesive because the sounds blend together really beautifully.
I just also love the scale here, it's G minor pentatonic.
[D] _ _ _ _
_ [Gm] _ It has a very dramatic sound to it, so this in particular is really beautiful.
You are not able to play it really from behind, _ _ _ [G] kind of, like you could play anything, but
it doesn't have the [E] same _ [Gb] _ [F] backside as a [Db] handpan does, which is, you know, just perhaps one
_ _ thing that it doesn't compare equally to.
But what's great about this instrument is that it's basically a third of the price,
and the makers _ wanted specifically only to charge it the way they did to keep it [C] from
becoming _ too hard for people to buy.
So it's more accessible, _ which is really nice, because a lot of people always want these,
but then they can't afford [E] them.
_ _ So it's nice to have something that everyone can enjoy, and it's actually even easier to
play than this one.
Even though this is a very easy instrument to play, I have no percussion background,
but I picked this up and within a couple of months I can make it sound really beautiful.
_ _ I brought this to people and let them play it, and they can't seem to figure it out for
a couple of strokes, maybe even an hour.
But with this one, anyone, even little [Gm] kids, just_
_ _ [Gm] it's perhaps the easiest percussive
instrument to play ever, and it's arguably one of the most [G] beautiful ones I've ever heard.
And [Fm] so what's great about the Rav 2 is that it also has harmonics like the handpan does.
So you have the fundamental sound here, _ _ [Cm] but then you can, by putting your finger in a
certain location, you can isolate the overtone.
_ [Gm] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ [C] _
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_ _ _ _ _ _ _ [Dm] _
_ _ [D] _ _ _ _ _ _
_ [Gm] _ _ _ _ [G] _ _ _
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_ [G] _ _ _ _ _ [Gm] _ _
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Yeah, so it's a very similar instrument. _
Really the difference between the two is that the keys here are cut, _ probably with a laser,
that's my guess just looking at it, I haven't actually contacted and asked them specifically.
While this is one solid piece of metal.
But both have the same ability to create these harmonic overtones, which are really beautiful.
Yeah, so those are some of the [B] differences. _ _
_ And you can find both _ handpans, like the Hong drum, not the Hong drum in particular, but
handpans, very similar quality for sale at Ditch [F] Project.
And you can also find Rav [Dm] Vastrums through us, we're working with the makers and _ we are
selling their instruments.
So if you guys are interested, please let us know.
Enjoy!
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