just on the part about striking technique: my high school band teacher taught us (percussion section) not to hit the instrument (e.g. marimba) to make notes, but rather to pull the note out. in retrospect, it was a great way to explain the movement to short-attention-span high schoolers about overtones, I found on mine (weird 15 note scale) the middle range notes are easiest, I can even get the octave with single finger by tapping hard in the middle and let the tip of the finger damp the fundamental two other tricks I found fun to play with were (a) raking the finger across the sections of the tongue to create a very high sound and (b) place small magnets on different parts of the tongues to modify the fundamental
Yes, that’s probably another way to explain sound extraction. Regarding the placement of small magnets for "tuning," this is only a temporary modification and won’t damage the instrument unless it gets scratched. However, as a tuning method, it doesn’t work at all with the Pulsar. Each cut on a note is an interconnected system, it’s impossible to isolate one overtone from another or from the fundamental tone. So, if you attach a magnet to the fundamental tone or to a single overtone, the entire system will be distorted, and you’ll simply end up with a detuned note.
In my workshop, I use technical petroleum jelly (Technical Vaseline) and apply it to hot steel. This is a somewhat tricky technical process that cannot be easily replicated at home, but the main protective layer is technical petroleum jelly. It can be purchased at any hardware store and is quite inexpensive. However, it has one downside, it is quite viscous and tends to stick to clothing. That’s why, before packing the instrument, I wipe it down with WD-40. This helps clean off dirt and create an additional oily film. However, I wouldn’t recommend using WD-40 as rust protection, it’s not very effective for that. You can also use gun preservation products, which are sold in gun stores and tend to be quite expensive. But in most cases, their base ingredient is the same technical petroleum jelly. These products are usually applied to gun barrels when they are not in use. There are many different oils for handpans on the market, and you will likely find something suitable among them. But to be honest, I don’t know much about them since I found what works for me a long time ago. And finally, never use vegetable oils like coconut oil or linseed oil. They are meant for food or skincare (primarily for living skin, your skin! 😊) and have nothing to do with steel. I understand that many people seek eco-friendly solutions and value their connection to nature, but handpans and tongue drums are about as non-eco-friendly as it gets.
It seems like a really pleasurable meditation improvising on this instrument
Awesome to see a tutorial from a maker! Haha we can't argue with that! Thank you :)
Beautiful! Thank you for playing!
Excellent tutorial my friend! 👏😎👍
That thing's pretty cool, man. 👍👍
I‘m looking forward to this amazing instrument, it sounds so wonderful🥰
Amazing sound and awesome instrument
just on the part about striking technique: my high school band teacher taught us (percussion section) not to hit the instrument (e.g. marimba) to make notes, but rather to pull the note out. in retrospect, it was a great way to explain the movement to short-attention-span high schoolers
about overtones, I found on mine (weird 15 note scale) the middle range notes are easiest, I can even get the octave with single finger by tapping hard in the middle and let the tip of the finger damp the fundamental
two other tricks I found fun to play with were (a) raking the finger across the sections of the tongue to create a very high sound and (b) place small magnets on different parts of the tongues to modify the fundamental
Yes, that’s probably another way to explain sound extraction.
Regarding the placement of small magnets for "tuning," this is only a temporary modification and won’t damage the instrument unless it gets scratched. However, as a tuning method, it doesn’t work at all with the Pulsar. Each cut on a note is an interconnected system, it’s impossible to isolate one overtone from another or from the fundamental tone.
So, if you attach a magnet to the fundamental tone or to a single overtone, the entire system will be distorted, and you’ll simply end up with a detuned note.
thanks for the mentioning the rust, I noticed this a bit with my raw coated mini. what kinda oil should I use?
In my workshop, I use technical petroleum jelly (Technical Vaseline) and apply it to hot steel. This is a somewhat tricky technical process that cannot be easily replicated at home, but the main protective layer is technical petroleum jelly. It can be purchased at any hardware store and is quite inexpensive. However, it has one downside, it is quite viscous and tends to stick to clothing.
That’s why, before packing the instrument, I wipe it down with WD-40. This helps clean off dirt and create an additional oily film. However, I wouldn’t recommend using WD-40 as rust protection, it’s not very effective for that.
You can also use gun preservation products, which are sold in gun stores and tend to be quite expensive. But in most cases, their base ingredient is the same technical petroleum jelly. These products are usually applied to gun barrels when they are not in use.
There are many different oils for handpans on the market, and you will likely find something suitable among them. But to be honest, I don’t know much about them since I found what works for me a long time ago.
And finally, never use vegetable oils like coconut oil or linseed oil. They are meant for food or skincare (primarily for living skin, your skin! 😊) and have nothing to do with steel. I understand that many people seek eco-friendly solutions and value their connection to nature, but handpans and tongue drums are about as non-eco-friendly as it gets.