An unique tone based percussion instrument, which is almost impossible to come by
The Alien Drum (aka Hang Drum – trademarked by Pan Art) is a unique tone based percussion instrument, which is almost impossible to come by, since there is only one maker in the world and less than 1000 drums in circulation. The instrument has a soft, sorrowful, melancholic tone to it and is a perfect companion for emotional or ambient type of scores. The Tonehammer Alien Drum is unique in the sense it was recorded at an average of 15 velocity layers and with 10 round-robin repetitions pr. layer/note, so you will never experience any repetition in the articulation. We used custom microphone set-ups to capture the delicate resonance both inside and outside the drum, since the resonance defines the true sound of the drum. Additionally we sampled multiple playing techniques with fingers, palm, slaps, hand brushing and the back-side of the drum, which has the similar properties to the Udu. Multiple versions of all multis allow for a variety of ways to switch or fade between articulations while playing.
This is a unique tone based percussion instrument. At almost 2 feet in diameter and shaped like a UFO, this uniquely formed hollow brass hand drum has the most unique properties of just about any tuned percussion instrument we've come across. It's almost impossible to come by, as there is only one maker in the world and less than 1000 drums in circulation. It's hand-made in Switzerland by a company called PANArt. Though it is in fact distantly related to the steel drum, the instrument has a soft, sorrowful, melancholic tone to it and is a perfect companion for emotional or ambient scores. The Tonehammer Hangdrum is an especially unique library in that we recorded it with an average of 15 velocity layers and with 10 round-robin repetitions pr. layer/note, in four different articulations (finger slap, finger strike, finger mute and palm slap), as well as brushing and sound-hole resonances.
Our library is arranged in individually tuned and note-tracked .nki files to allow access to the full scale for each articulation, as well as a master nki featuring all articulations completely untuned and limited only to the natural, physical notes of our hang. There are also several multiinstrument patches that are arranged to allow continuous controller switching or fading between the various articulations to allow for fluid and organic playing styles. This instrument was recorded in wide 120-degree stereo, using a high quality pair of large diaphragm microphones placed within 1” of the drum surface. We captured it in dry studio environment. It took several man-weeks to record, edit and program this instrument. We hope you enjoy it.
