Thomann Wind Gong 60

I am a musician and Sound Therapist and I had toyed with buying one of Thomann’s wind gongs for over a year. Buying a gong unseen and unheard is taking a risk, doubly so if it is to be used with an established set up, and I already owned a number of gongs of various makes and types, from a 9” Burmese to a 28” Chao.

I’m pleased to report that the new addition didn’t disappoint. As with all new instruments it took time to get to know it: how to accentuate the fundamental or produce a shimmering wash, or to find its numerous sweet spots. The beater supplied with it is workmanlike and quite usable but switching to something larger and softer like a pair of Chalklin MS27M allows the full spectrum to develop, from dark dissonances to clearly singing harmonics.

I’ve now spent many hours playing it and I’m very happy with its voice and character and more especially how it sits with my set up. It’s clearly not a Paiste, but I think you’d be hard pushed to do better at the price.