Hey, my name is Liam Hatman and I have been playing Hang drum since 2011. I decided to put together this website because a lot of people are asking me where to find the Hang drum for sale. Before I get into it, let see why are hang drums so hard to buy.
Handpan drums are very unique. Unlike most of the other musical instruments, they are hand-made and not mass-produced. This is also a reason why there are only a handful of companies that make them.
Hang is quite a new instrument that was first introduced in 2001 by PANArt. Just a bit over a decade later, PANArt decided to stop making them and focused on making Gubal instead. As you can imagine, Hang drums are still in high demand, especially among hardcore fans.
Where to find PANArt Hang for sale?
Felix Rohner and Sabina Schärer from Bern, Switzerland is the godfather and godmother of Hang. Their company PANArt start selling them (they actually don’t like to call it a drum, prey prefer hand pan or hand instrument) in 2001 and sold a pretty limited number of them.
Between 2001 and 2005 they made on average 850 Hand drums yearly and in the following years, they cut production to half of that. In 2013 PANArt decided to stop the production completely.
Their handpan drum was always in high demand and you really had to be very lucky to get your hand on one of these beauties. If you want one now, your only chance is to buy a used one. They can be found on classified sites like eBay and Craigslist.
Even if you find PANArt Hang for sale, you will have to be ready to pay big bucks. Since they are basically collectibles, the price of a used one can be even higher than the original one, which was up to 2600$.
It’s not unusual to see used one on sale for 7000-8000$ and even 13.000$.
However, keep in mind that all buyers that bought Hang drum directly from PANArt since 2008 had general speculation prohibition included in every sales contract, that stated: The purchaser may not sell his Hang at a higher price than the one he/she paid himself.
Where to buy a handpan drum?
Handpan is not exactly an instrument that you can buy in every local music shop. So where can you look for a handpan drum for sale in general? Your options are quite limited but don’t worry, I’ll help you out with few tips.
- Your first option is to buy it directly from the manufacturer. While this sounds like the logical thing to do, it can also be quite frustrating. All good handpan drum companies have a very long waiting list and you need to wait your turn. Some of them don’t even accept new applications for several months. I waited for mine for almost 6 months before I was able to play it for the first time. If you have enough patience and you want a quality handpan from a specific manufacturer, then this is one way to go.
- Since you can’t buy a new Hang drum anymore (since PANArt stopped making them), you can also buy a secondhand one. That usually means buying it on eBay or other similar pages. Buying a used one comes with its own challenges. But the main challenge is usually the price. If you think that secondhand Hang will be cheaper, then think again. Since a new handpan is hard to get, the price of a used one can be even higher than the price of a brand new one.
- Some handpans can be bought from a dealer and even in online stores. Dealers and online shops that carry handpan drums are rare and hard to get. But at times, you can even get a hand pan in places you would never search. One of these places is Amazon. Yes, you heard me right. The last time I was looking for the handpan on Amazon, I found a few different models and some of them were even reasonably priced. Definitely worth your time to find a high-quality hand drum there.
As you can see, it can be quite challenging to get your hands on the Hang. When you have an option to buy a Hang drum you like, act fast. It’s often the first to come, the first-serve situation and you don’t want to miss your chance.
Check for NEW Handpans right here!
Hang drum price range
If you ever looked to buy a Hang drum, then you know they don’t come cheap. Back in 2001, PANArt’s Hang drum price was only around 400$. Their popularity grows fast and so did the price. By the last generation, the PANArt Hang drum price reached 2600$.
When they stop producing the Hang drum in 2013, the price of the Hang drum rises even more. It’s not unusual to see PANArt’s Hang drum going for 7.000-13.000$ on eBay.
Another reason why people are willing to pay so much is the fact that there were only around 4300 first generation Hang drum produced and around 800 of the second generation, which makes them quite rare.
You can still buy a handpan drum at a more reasonable price. If you are willing to buy a handpan made by some other manufacturer (which can be just as good), you’ll see that their handpan drum price range is somewhere between 900-3.000$.
In case this is still too much, you can buy one from the less known brand and even homemade handpans. You might not get the quality and sound you would want, but some are still quite decent.
You can get one of these for as low as a couple of hundred US dollars. My first handpan cost me only 950$. At the time I wasn’t willing to pay more because I wasn’t sure If I’ll like to play it after some time. And when I was sure, I decided to buy PANArt’s Hang drum.
Looking for a used Hang drum for sale
Looking for a used Hang drum for sale is very time-consuming expensive. Especially if you are looking for original Hang.
Since PANArt stopped producing Hang drum and some of the other top-notch companies have a long list, the prices of used handpans skyrocket and often surpass the price of a new one. However, you might still find some gold nuggets any buy one for a “normal” price.
The best place to find used Hang drum for sale is eBay. You can find new listings almost daily. But be careful of scams. I heard horror stories about paying a lot of money for fake ones, sub-par Handpans, and Hangs that don’t even exist.
Before you visit eBay to find a new handpan or used Hang drum for sale, you might also want to check out the “Handpan bay” Facebook community. You can find daily new listings from eBay and plenty of useful comments that will help you decide if the purchase is a good idea or not.
Many sellers post youtube videos to demonstrate the look and sound of the Hang drum they are selling. This way you can see and hear what you can expect.
This can also be a sign that the seller is not a scammer. If you are still not sure, ask them to send additional pictures or videos.
The great thing about Hangs is that it actually a good investment (at least in most cases). Even if you decided to sell yours, you can often sell it for the same money you bought or even for more with a little bit of luck.
Handpans for sale on Amazon
As I mentioned before, Amazon.com is also one of the places where you can find handpans for sale.
Unfortunately, they don’t have a huge selection and some models might be out of stock at any time. At the time of my writing, they only had a few models (list below).
If you are interested, you can find these handpans for sale on Amazon:
- Lark Music handpan – D Minor 9 notes (D3 A Bb C D E F G A) steel hand drum with soft Hand Pan Bag
- Happybuy Handpan – D Minor 9 Notes 22 inches Steel Hand Drum with Soft Hand Pan Bag
- Tzevaot PENTA-C – Nitride and nitrocarburized for a warm sound that is highly resilient against rust
- Tzevaot AEOLIAN – Comes with a secure hard case good for traveling, shipping, or storage
- Bali steel pan in SHANG DIAO tuning: F Bb C Eb F G# Bb C Eb. Comes with a carrying bag.
- Tzevaot VOYAGER – Scale (E) B D E F# G B D, including a secure hard case that is good for traveling, shipping, or storage.
- Tzevaot D-MINOR – Scale (D) A C D E F G A C is recognized as “beautiful darkness”. Comes with a hard case.
- Bali steel pan – Comes in several different scales. Carrying bag included.
Check for more Handpans right here!
I hope this article helped you and will make your Hang drum buying experience pleasant.
Hang alternative: Steel Tongue Drum
As I mentioned before, Hang and other handpan drums can be very expensive. However, there are much cheaper drums that sound similar to handpans are smaller and easier to carry around. I’m talking about steel tongue drums.
They are often made out of an empty propane tank and have 7-10 tongues cut radially into the bottom. Others have more Hang alike shape or similar shape.
Besides looking great, they are much more affordable and available. While you would have to pay 1000$ and more for a handpan drum, the typical steel tongue drum will cost you only between 100-350$.
Some are handmade and the designer steel tongue drum might cost you 600$ and up to 900$.
Hapi drum, Idiopan, and Guda some of the most popular steel tongue drum brands, and they are a good choice.
Check out my ultimate Steel Tongue Drum guide!