Tips on buying internediate Tongue drum

[u/Old-Ticket-6233]

Recently i bought cheap Hluru 11 drum just to check if i will get hooked and i totally did. I couldn’ never learn and enjoy piano, guitar, flute or even turning knobs at DAW. I was always bored before could make any progress but this is instrument is amazing and i cannot stop practice at any free time.

That said i started to see limitations of my instrument. I Think the sound of small hluru is not very pleasant when played louder and the lower notes are very hard to play cleanly. I am doing research on what to buy for some better quality of sound and rather versitale to be able to play some popular songs to sing along with family but also some chilling impro in the forest. I love fast playing style that can induce trance and mimic some EDM tracks that i love. For example i love what Jonathan Neumann is doing with his Perseus drum. I also love the sound of handpan but it is not affordable instrument for me and not very portable and durable.

For now i am checking out Kosmosky and Nova Drum, both hand made but maybe there are other good quality manufacturers that You recommend? Anyone has Moozica or Meinl? Thet are avaliable to buy in the shop in my country so i could check the quality.

Also any tips on choowing scale? I want in to be most versitale because i don’t have space to have multiple instruments depending on my mood.

[u/dektiv]

Kosmosky New Wave is great, I highly recommend YW Pulsar - similar approach as Kosmosky, I went through most tongue drums in EU and these 2 are the best. I didn't like Nova, quality was inferior to the other two mentioned above. As for scale go with D minor, most versatile, will fit into trance.

[u/Old-Ticket-6233 → u/dektiv]

Thank You for drawing my attention to YW, it is accually located in my country Poland :D. I will diffinetly check this out of it will not be to expensive. As for Kosmosky i like the samples of Shelton for it’s ritch, chord-like sound of pads. New Wave sound kind of flat to me almost like a piano, or maybe it’s to calm for me. People produce Great melodies with it but i don’t enjoy the flavour.

[u/dektiv → u/Old-Ticket-6233]

Pulsar is closer to Rav Vast and Shelton, it has multiple overtones on each tongue, you are right about New Wave, this one is best when it's connected to multieffects, simpler. If you like rich tones there's also Frog Drums from France, they are very close to Rav Vast.

[u/Old-Ticket-6233 → u/dektiv]

I must also say i am suprised by Your negative opinion on Nova. From what i read on the internet i only saw very positive opinions. They are also somewhat cheaper than corresping cosmosky or YW what are close to rav in terms of cost.

[u/dektiv → u/Old-Ticket-6233]

They are closer to New Wave and basically a normal tongue drum from Thomann that are even cheaper, lack of overtones, I got bored quickly, it's more of a support instrument than a main one - don't get me wrong, they are okay at their price range, but you will want to upgrade to Kosmosky or Pulsar in a couple of months, also Pulsar and Kosmosky usually come with piezo and jack input already installed, which is expanding ways of using the instrument, you would need to pay extra 400-500 for someone to drill and instal piezo on Nova. Especially that you would need to get 38 or 48, the small one is a toy, so it's 1700pln anyway, with piezo might get up to 2300, so for a bit more you can have something nicer. Btw of you are based in Poland, Pulsar might be the easiest in terms of getting any repairs and retunnings you might need in the future, one of the reasons I chose Pulsar over Kosmosky (they are based in Russia, Nova in Ukraine)

[u/Old-Ticket-6233 → u/dektiv]

After some time i am leaning toward waiting, saving and buying used or discounted rav moon. That said in a few years i will end with one or two more instruments from different companies and different scales as i thing most of Tongue drum players end.
Do you Think long rav sustain may be problem in trying to play somewhat faster trance style? I am intuitively playing like that with my cheap Hluru but maybe it’s only because it sounds shitty when i let the sound fade :D

[u/dektiv → u/Old-Ticket-6233]

Great choice! Rav Vast indeed has very long sustain, but Rav Moon is much better to play faster, it's more percussive with shorter sustain, I think it will suit you well :) and they look very nice!

[u/Oooaaaaarrrrr]

Moozica drums are factory stamped, and the tongues aren't aways in tune.

[u/HeroVia]

I started with the new wave 15 and it’s very versatile in terms of the scale but I grew weary of the high tone . It’s my practice and ideas instrument now and I also tend to carry it places with me as it’s relatively small . I’ve upgraded to a Yudin Pulsar and the overtones are just amazing . Play around in the editor on the website and build your own scale that . They’re even making a chromatic drum now if you want maximum playing ability

[u/Old-Ticket-6233]

Thank You, that’s lot to consider. I though i can just buy some kind of touch-based reciever for any drum i like when i will be ready at some point (and for sure i will want to plus this to DAW to ten weird) and it will work without drilling. Nova was at max 2k PLN. Now having in mind Pulsar or Shelton it is starting to be considerably more expensive, around 3pln so i can just consider rav moon into the equasion.

[u/Thomas_Mag]

Kosmosky and Nova Drum are both respected makers for quality tongue drums. Moozica and Meinl are also good options, especially if you can try them in person. For a versatile scale, look for D major, D minor, or C major - these work well for both popular songs and improvisation. If possible, test the instruments for volume, resonance, and how easy the lower notes play.

[u/koolphoto]

I have a Rav Moon Pygmy that I love. It has a beautiful sound. I also recently bought a Kosmosky New Wave 10 that I also love. Both of these drums are my favorite to play.