FAQ

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I’d start by listening to how each note feels and sounds. You can play from sheet music, but what I love about the Nest Drum is how intuitively you can explore it. Follow the sound, be creative and try moving the tuning magnets.

If you prefer a more structured approach, this video may help.

I mostly play with my hands. It feels more connected and gives me more control, though it takes practice to get a clear note. You’ll hear a little more of the initial tap than with mallets; the drum’s damping system helps soften the metallic overtones.

Yes—that’s how I prefer to play. It takes a little practice, but feels closely connected to your body’s rhythm.

Try resting one hand on the tongues you aren’t playing while striking a note with the other. This dampens unwanted resonance and gives a cleaner, shorter sound. You’ll find more tips in the instrument manual.

The colours come from an oxide layer beneath a protective powder-coated lacquer. They should last well as long as that coating stays intact. One of my oldest drums was still brightly coloured after seven years.

The magnets don’t normally wear out. Avoid hard knocks, which can chip or break them.

I normally tune my drums to 440 Hz, but I can tune yours to 432 Hz at no extra cost or waiting time. Just leave a note with your order.

Turn the drum on its side and reach through the opening underneath. Slide the tuning magnets along the tongues to change their pitch. The opening can feel snug, but keeping it small helps preserve the drum’s resonance. Once you’ve tried it, retuning usually takes just a few minutes.

Yes. The tuning magnets let you lower the pitch by small amounts, so you can experiment with microtones and quarter tones.

I use split tongues on the larger 30 cm drum. They add notes tuned to resonant frequencies, giving the sound more depth and a longer sustain.

Yes. Place the string loops around your fingers, gently bring your fingers to your ears and lean forward so the gong hangs freely. Tap it gently against a nearby object or wall.

The spinning is intentional. It adds variation and a little unpredictability to the sound. If you prefer it to stay still, you can add a second suspension hole and hang it from two points instead of one.

Not quite. Each batch sounds a little different because I’m still exploring the sound I want: deep, full of harmonics and with a feeling that takes me back to childhood.

For the iron version, I reuse steel left over from making Nest Drums. Bigger gongs can be louder, but I find that too intense for this way of listening.

It’s tricky—the sound is meant to travel through the strings, directly to the listener. I first tried piezo pickups with custom preamps, but they picked up too much low end. I later tried condenser microphones close to the gong.

For live amplification, a piezo pickup may be the most practical starting point. I’m still experimenting, so if you find a setup that works well, I’d love to hear about it.