About us - Celestial Sound

About Celestial Sound

We are passionate about making the Handpan (or Pantam) more accessible to the Australian and New Zealand communities. Since 2014, we’ve immersed ourselves in the global handpan community, and played some of the finest instruments around the world. This has gifted us a clear understanding of the qualities we value in our instruments and the needs of the local handpan community. Therefore, we make no compromise when crafting our custom instruments tailored to musicians’ unique styles, and go to great lengths to make some of the finest entry-level instruments accessible for aspiring players.

Who are we?

We are a small artisan handpan maker operating off-grid out of a private backyard workshop in the heart of the Otways Rainforest in Victoria, Australia. As a small family who live and breathe all things handpan, we dedicate ourselves to the craftsmanship and development of these wonderful instruments, as well as focus on the growth of the local handpan community. Through hosting events, offering educational programs, and providing services for repairs and retunes, we aim to nurture a harmonious musical community where every instrument and musician alike, can thrive.

Our goal is quite simple, we want to provide everything “handpan” that we’ve felt was missing in our corner of the world for so many years. We are not a shop front and have no intention to become another high yielding factory. Our purpose is to offer the nicest instruments we can possibly create in collaboration with the environment and to care for and support our customers that support us to keep doing what we do.

Timbre

The sound of water drops on a ceramic plate. The timbre is intended to be more ceramic than metallic, with a very rich texture to each tone and overtone.

Ease

Love me and I will play for you. Our instruments are made with the intention that each and everyone will find value in playing them. From beginners finding it easy to excite the notes to the more advance finding there to be a well thought out and ergonomic flow.

Balance

So fine it is palpable. Each tone, each frequency, the volume, sustain, and the overall ease of playability is very delicately massaged to ensure that there are no overbearing qualities but rather, it is all working together in unison, evenly, and with a sense of guidance.

Aesthetic

Like a sculpture uniquely crafted in time by the elements. Each instrument is treated with the utmost respect to facilitate its birth into life, with particular efforts to enhance each shells’ natural beauties. Celestial Sounds are easily identifiable from afar!

Dynamic Range

From thunder to lightning. Dynamics are an important thing when using music as a language to express. From the responsiveness within each note to the isolated dead areas in between, there is plenty to explore on each instrument.

Sustain

An expressive and clean resonance. The sustain is intended to be just right, not too little so that the notes topple over, but also not too much so that the notes don’t drown each other and turn to mush.

Our Philosophy

Life, to us, is a cosmic dance of harmonious equilibrium between craftsmanship, community, and sustainability. As every steel handpan was once a collection of particles in a dying star, we are but conduits for which the universe may conceive new ways to invent and express itself. As dedicated and humble servants of universal expression, our role extends beyond hand crafting handpans; we see ourselves as facilitators of resonance, embodying the principles of yin and yang through the lessons this very instrument has taught us. Just as every note requires balance to create beautiful melodies, we strive to realise balance in our commitment to craftsmanship with accessibility and sacred environmental responsibility. We set out to become one of the only completely off-grid handpan workshops in the world, nature itself is woven into the fabric of our instruments and the energy we harvest from our environment is the energy we put right back into the community.

Learn how to select a Scale here.

Learn how to select a material here.

Celestial Sound Devotion and warranty.

At Celestial Sound we are committed to keeping our instruments sounding at their best for as long as they resonate. This means we offer warranties and VIP servicing on our instruments.