Common problems
A rapid diagnostic set: what the symptom usually means, what to check first, and when it is a maker’s job.
Troubleshooting
Symptom first diagnosis: what a dead note, a buzz, a wobble or a lost sustain usually means, and when to call the maker.
Most handpan problems are not handpan problems. Damping from a lap or a case, a ring on a striking finger, a room with too much carpet, a cold instrument taken straight out of its bag, a phone microphone held too close: these account for the large majority of reports that something has gone wrong. Work through the mundane explanations first, because they are both more likely and free to fix.
The genuine faults are a short list, and they share a signature. They are local rather than global, they persist across rooms and playing positions, and they represent a change from how the instrument used to be rather than a difference from how you expected it to sound. If you have a reference recording of your instrument from when it was new, this section gets much easier. If you do not, make one today.
Contents#
| ID | Symptom | Level |
|---|---|---|
| TRB-01 | One note sounds dead or choked | beginner |
| TRB-02 | A note buzzes or rattles | beginner |
| TRB-03 | A ghost note appears when I hit a different note | beginner |
| TRB-04 | The sustain has got shorter | beginner |
| TRB-05 | There is a wobble or beating in a note | intermediate |
| TRB-06 | The ding sounds wrong | intermediate |
| TRB-07 | There is a metallic ringing that will not stop | intermediate |
| TRB-08 | Something is loose inside the shell | intermediate |
| TRB-09 | The instrument sounds different in a different room | beginner |
| TRB-10 | It sounds quieter than it used to | intermediate |
| TRB-11 | There is a dent in a tone field | intermediate |
| TRB-12 | The seam or glue line has cracked | advanced |
| TRB-13 | The coating is flaking | intermediate |
| TRB-14 | The whole instrument sounds flat or sharp today | beginner |
| TRB-15 | My instrument sounds bad on recordings but fine in the room | intermediate |
| TRB-16 | My new instrument does not sound like the demo video | beginner |
| TRB-17 | There is a small dimple or deformation from hitting too hard | intermediate |
| TRB-18 | When should I stop playing it and send it to a maker? | intermediate |
Files#
- Common problems · TRB-01 to TRB-18
See also: Care and maintenance, Acoustics and physics, Recording and amplification