Production

Where our instruments are made

I've held many handpans in my hands. Beautiful instruments, touching ideas — and yet rarely what I was looking for.

Too often the sound was too harsh, too metallic, too fluttery, lacking heart in tone, and lacking in tranquility in the room.

Even with big names.

I wanted a sound with soul.

Warm, clear, deep — without harshness, without chaos, with a supportive center.

So I kept searching. Listened to, played, compared, discarded. For a long time. Patiently.

Until I found my partner:

a sound maker in Hong Kong who is taking the same path — away from mass production, towards dedication, research and presence.

With their small team, our instruments are created there. Not quickly. Not in series. But in silence, perseverance, and a genuine love for sound.

This is how our sound is created: from encounter, selection, trust and the will to only pass on what truly touches the heart.

Our exclusive partner studio

We deliberately chose this exclusive partner studio because it shares our vision of quality, development and collaboration.

There, a small, well-coordinated team works, dedicated exclusively to handpans with great passion – with a clear focus on precision, sound quality and the constant search for even better results.

Together we define and refine the moods, layouts, material thicknesses and the sonic character of our instruments.

Through this continuous research and development process, we can control exactly what really matters to players: reliable responsiveness, musical depth, balanced dynamics, and a high degree of consistency in quality from instrument to instrument.

This workshop builds our instruments exclusively according to our specifications – enabling us to offer only handpans in our handpan shop that we stand behind 100%, both musically and personally.

Europe vs. Asia - An honest word

In the handpan world, you surprisingly often hear phrases like: "I don't want anything from Asia." – as if an entire continent were automatically inferior.

The problem is : Continents don't build instruments. People do.

People with names, families, experience, craftsmanship – and often with significantly more hours spent on hammers, molds, and in the tuning room than many here in Europe have ever accumulated.

Anyone who rejects a handpan simply because it was made in Asia is saying nothing about the instrument itself, but primarily about their own attitude.

It's convenient to dismiss everything that's "not from around here." But that's neither fair nor respectful to the people who work on these instruments every day with care, skill, and dedication.

A good handpan is not recognized by its geography, but by:

• their timbre and overtones
• their address and dynamics
• their emotional stability
• the feeling it evokes in you when you play
  

We chose our exclusive partner studio in Hong Kong because this is exactly the quality that is possible there – with a small team that focuses on handpans every day, and where the framework conditions are also right : fair pay, respectful cooperation and a long-term perspective for the team on site.

Anyone who dismisses it outright simply because it's "made in Asia" is not only missing out on great instruments, but also the chance to honestly question their own prejudices.

Tuning & Retuning

Real mood disturbances usually only occur when strong external influences come into play – such as falls or hard blows.

Nevertheless, it's perfectly normal for the sound to change slightly depending on temperature, room climate, and weather changes – steel expands when heated and contracts when cold, and you can subtly hear these fluctuations in the sound. These are generally not true "out-of-tune" issues, but rather natural reactions of the material.

In the event that retuning is ever necessary, we work with a small, trusted group of external tuners here in Germany who can handle the tuning for our customers if required. Establishing our own tuning center in Germany is not currently realistic – but it is definitely on our list of goals for the coming years.

Arden Steel

Arden Steel is our own stainless steel, developed in collaboration with our workshop. Its sound evokes a quiet forest: warm, clear tones that linger in the room like light among the trees. Named after the Forest of Arden , a place of retreat from the noisy world, instruments made of Arden Steel possess a quiet inner fire that resonates long after the last note.

Depending on the series, each instrument is crafted from either fine or robust Arden steel . The different thicknesses shape the character of the sound: finer versions resonate with particular openness and sensitivity, while thicker versions lend the tone more foundation, stability, and carrying power. In both cases, the sound remains warm, sustained, and deeply rooted.

Shaping this steel takes time and dedication . Arden Steel reacts gently and slowly – like wood that first gains trust before it resonates. An instrument isn't created quickly, but in many moments, strung together like breaths. Beat by beat, until the metal begins to tell its story.

The sound of Arden Steel always remains soft at its core . Even when played powerfully, it never becomes harsh, sharp, or shrill. In the high frequencies lies a delicate, almost ceramic sheen – clear, subtle, and translucent, like dust in the morning light.

Where some sounds break off abruptly, Arden flows on – round, warm, and sustained. The tones open in wide arcs, float and linger, as if they were gently expanding the space.

Arden Steel – in summary:
Gentle and round at its core.
Heights with a fine, light shimmer.
Depth with tranquility and carrying capacity.
A sound that carries and breathes.

Ardent — the inner glow

The name Arden carries within it the sound of "ardent "—a word for the quiet, constant burning that doesn't flicker or flare up, but glows deep within. It describes that warmth that remains in the heart when the world grows still, that soundless glow that shines in the depths where no haste, no pressure can reach.

Ardent is not heat, but devotion . A fire that sustains, not demands. A radiance that arises from stillness and continues to resonate within it.

This is how we understand Arden: as a sound that shines from within, that doesn't need to prove itself, but grows quietly and remains close. A radiance that doesn't call out—but invites .

The Forest of Arden — a forest for return

And then there is the Forest of Arden , a place from ancient stories where people retreated to hear their hearts again.

A forest where time softens, where sunspots dance on the ground and the rustling of leaves becomes a language that no one speaks in haste.

There, one forgets the direction, but finds peace. There, silence begins not with emptiness, but with a sigh of relief .

For us, the name Arden embodies this forest – a space of light and shadow, breathing and listening, lingering and returning home. A place where sound demands no movement, but bestows presence . A place that remains, even long after we have moved on – a gentle reminder of what stillness feels like when it takes root.