Blog for Christopher of the Wolves and Steel Drum Making Adventures

Keeps me going...

8/17/2018

Got this review today from a customer who bought a 12" tongue drum with 9 notes (shown below). Due to carpal tunnel problems, every drum I make involves a degree of pain. Two things keep me going: One is how much I love these drums, and what they can do for people. The other is reactions like I've pasted below:

After loads of research I resonated with the Dragon Drum and Christopher's attentiveness. I wanted a drum for my public meditation classes and to also to just soothe myself. I specifically ordered the 432 hz frequency tuned drum because of how the sound positively organizes the human energetic field. The drum is absolutely beautiful and came with the most exquisite case and drumsticks and I am so pleased. Anyone investigating a tongue drum..you will not be disappointed with a Dragon Drum .You can also ask Chris for a suggestion for your particular need.Thank you Christopher for this absolutely stunning piece and for your hands and intuitive craft.

May you be blissed and blessed Christopher!

Krista L. from Austin, TX

August 09th, 2018

8/9/2018

Memorable day for me today, as I shipped one each of the three different size instruments that I make. One of my favorite parts of the designing, making, selling and packaging of instruments is the final task: taking the instruments downtown to the Fedex office. I use my electric bike and trailer, and even with 100 degree heat, or falling snow, I always enjoy the trip. Feeling enormous gratitude for the people that buy my instruments and allow me to keep on creating.

We never know...

7/18/2018

I remember what Sabina, one of the two original handpan makers said to me in 2005, when I was leaving the Hanghaus in Bern. I had asked her a silly question, which was something like "do you think I could ever make one of these?" She looked me up and down for a couple of seconds, and then definitively said "no". I believed her for many years. But then in 2012, with zero experience working with metals, I decided to actually try. Although my latest creation is not the same as the original in sound, I think it's good. I hope it will make someone happy for a fair price. We never really know what we are capable of, what lives deep inside, until we try.

18" tongue drums with 10 notes

7/15/2018

I'm digging these new 18" tongue drums. The larger container gives me more options for scales that sound good. My favorite so far is the A minor scale variation, with A2 (110 hz) as the center note. I timed the A2 resonance the other day, and it reached 15 seconds. Two of this scale are under construction now (432 and 440 hz) and a D minor 432 hz.

New Stainless Steel Gongpan Coming Soon

5/24/2018

After years of searching and trying different alloys, I've got the perfect stainless alloy. In the spirit of my OMMAH initiative from the past, these Gongpans will be priced low to offer a good handpan for a reasonable price.

8 Note Tongue Drum Customer Review

3/16/2018

Christopher,

The drum arrived 2 hours ago…and I have been playing it for 2 hours! I love it! It has an incredible sound and looks great! I have been playing it alone and alongside my other one (Pentatonic scale) It’s amazing the different sounds they make and the added notes….and then playing them together is very cool! I was experimenting to see how different combinations would sound. (I have no musical training…or much of an ear for it….) and music is coming out of me! I’m almost ready to set up on the sidewalk and play for coffee and McDonald’s money…ha@ So, thanks for what you do in the world…the impact of your talents is spreading and I appreciate how my life is enhanced by these simple but beautiful instruments.

Be well…till I order my next one!

John R. from Maryland

18" Bronze Gongpan Customer Review

2/6/2018

18” Bronze Gongpan G# Mongolian scale

I received my 18” Bronze Gongpan a little over 3 weeks ago. I absolutely could not be more thrilled or pleased with it. It is all that I imagined, and more!
I was first introduced to a hang pan about 6 months ago when a friend bought one. It was a full size steel hand pan. I liked it very much, although being on the shorter stature side, it was a little too big for my friend, or I, to play ‘comfortably’.
As I started my quest to find my own hand pan, I came across Christopher of the Wolves’ Gongpans on Etsy. Because hand pans in general are expensive, I did research. I went to the Dragondrum website and discovered to my delight, that Christopher of the Wolves made an 18” Gongpan, AND he made them out of BRONZE!!! To the best of my knowledge, and my internet research skills, he is the only maker of Bronze hand pans.
As a person, myself, that tends to think outside of the box; I was elated to find that this maker does too! Being a person that appreciates singing bowls and chimes made out of bronze, I was intrigued by his bold endeavor to make hand pans out of bronze. Simply brilliant!!! In my humble opinion.
When I first reached out to Christopher about the Gongpan I now own, this pan was still in its tuning phase. He kept me apprise of its progress and promised to send me the YouTube link once it was complete. As I waited patiently for that to happen, I grew anxious. I knew that his concept was brilliant, and I knew that this was the drum for me. I began to be concerned that if I waited for him to post the clip on YouTube, that I might not be fast enough to order before the other 10 people on Etsy that were also waiting for that same clip before purchasing. I decided to make my purchase before that happened, before the clip was even made...
He made the audio clip, sent my Gongpan to me, and then sent me the link to YouTube to hear my drum. I cried. It was incredible!!!
The next day, when it arrived, I cried more. It is so incredibly soothing and relaxing! As I am not a ‘musician’, I am not sure how to explain the why’s of it, yet there is something about the bronze that causes it to resonate better, and be more soothing, than the steel hand pans my friend has, and that I have encountered in my quest for my own drum. Not only that, the 18” size is perfect for me!

C.G. from Kent, WA

Customer Perspective

12/10/2017

When I arrived at Christopher's studio, he asked me a single question…"So, how did you find me?"

That was a journey that encompassed months.

Early last fall, I was walking my dog in the park and heard the most beautiful sounds. I followed them to a very nice gentleman who happily showed me his hand pan, even letting me play it. He was very happy to welcome me to the hand pan community….as long as I bought a drum from an approved manufacturer. The waiting lists were only 1-2 years long or so.

Excuse me? Isn't that elitism? Only approved manufacturers? Sounds to me like some approved manufacturers have the wool pulled over everyone's eyes. This is America, land of the FREE to choose. So after venting my amusement, I went online and began looking for local manufacturers.

There's three of them in California but only one in the Pacific Northwest. Only 160 miles from where I live. So I drove over to Bend and knocked on the door of Christopher of the Wolves.

I made him play every drum he had before I decided on a 22" bronze pan….his favorite of course. It's a C with the deepest, most resonant tone you ever heard….and it's all mine! (Although I did have to agree to visiting rights. And I had to wait while he recorded one last piece of music on it.) And I was really tempted because he had a steel drum that just begged to be played like a bongo! But I took my prize home and the best thing of all is every night I play for a bit before going to bed, and I sleep so good!

Thanks Christopher!

Keri E., Portland, OR

Etsy Customer Review

7/19/2017

Recent Etsy customer Patricia M. from Florida posted this review today. She received her 9 note tongue drum yesterday: "It makes enchanting music just by touching it, no need to be a savvy musician. Great resonance. I just got it, and I am thrilled. I look forward to getting more familiar with it & share the awesome music it makes. Well made product, makes awesome music, looks beautiful, and the service from maker is outstanding."

Something different...

4/28/2017

Very encouraged how this one, a new alloy, is coming together. Tomorrow I will hammer out the tone fields and the wrinkles, and begin the tuning process.

Christopher of the Wolves

At first, making these drums was more of a business idea. But then as I made my first batch of 10 drums in July of 2013, I realized I had stumbled onto making a very special musical drum.

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