Current KaribPAN Innovations in the Development of the Handpan

In taking a break from highlighting all of the trolling detractors who have been pitifully crying for attention in the comment sections of our recent blog posts, I would like to highlight one of our current innovations in the development of the handpan, and our quest at KaribPAN to push the envelope, so to speak. 

Pictured below are pictures of a handpan we are currently developing which is chromatic and has 15 notes. 

As I have stated on previous occasions. the handpan is still a version of the steelpan that in its current incarnation still has loads of innovation and development to undergo before it is all said and done. At this early stage of the reincarnated handpan craze, it is important that traditional steelpan makers from T&T and the wider Caribbean like KaribPAN become increasingly involved in this innovation and development because as the true ORIGINATORS of the instrument, without us, the handpan will continue to develop in a highly limited manner and will not reach its full potential as far as becoming the best possible instrument it can be! 

As the originators of the pan, traditional pan makers like KaribPAN have VERY valuable input, expertise and ingenuity to offer to the handpan industry on EVERY level from, tuning techniques, to price.

It is without question that when more and more traditional pan makers like us begin to allocate more and more of our resources into handpan crafting, development and production, the more and more the consumer and listener will gain for the following reason;

Trinidad & Tobago has undoubtedly the biggest ratio of qualitfied, experienced makers/tuners and pan infrastructure present per overall population concentrated in one immediate, physically confined space.  As opposed to globally, where makers and tuners  and pan infrastructure are much fewer and far in between. with considerably less expertise as far as pan tuning goes being available on the foreign markets. 

Knowing this, it is reasonable to predict that once T&T makers and tuners fully mobilize and gear their operations to handpan production on an increasing level, customers will have a wider array of high quality, value for money options, which will undoubtedly result in the drastic drop in prices on the general global handpan market.

Increased supply means lower prices for the consumers, as well as an incentive for ALL makers to increase the quality of their products in order to maintain competitiveness in an increasingly crowded maker's market, Once supply outstrips demand in the handpan industry, which is yet to occur due in large part to market manipulations on nearly every level by the HandPan Mafia, it is precisely then that the power to determine the price of the instrument will be in the hands of the buyer!

It is happening as I write currently as every year, the number of handpan makers increases steadily and average prices on the general market begin to fall. This will eventually affect even the high end of the HandPan Mafia controlled spectrum of the market, where even though they attempt to limit supply of their overpriced, overhyped handpans, they will slowly lose their customers on their waiting lists who will opt for higher quality, CHEAPER options with little to no wait time!