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  • I put this question to a fellow member that tune pans and he pointed out to me the MOST pan stores buy pans at a reduced rate so what happens is the builders get rid of the duds or pans that did not come how they expected. The message here is clear, if you want to buy ah pan and don't know too much about it get someone that know to help you.

  • Nope.

    there's a world music store here in my little town that has had a few pans in their window over the years...of course i always check them out.  None of them were good pans; they were in tune or close to it, but poor tone, clanky and clunky, choppy sound, no sustain.   Any experienced panman or woman could tell immediately upon playing them that this was the case.  Of course i wanted to know who made each one, and the store owner could not tell me, for any of them.  Theoretically I would have no problem buying a good pan, no matter who makes it .... if it's good, it's good. But if the seller can't tell me who made it, I'm not buying -

  • I ask a question on a facebook group called steel pan around the world now I ask the same question what is a good pan? as far as the question in this discussion its yes and no, a seasoned pan player can spot a well built pan if it has potential he can weigh it and tell if it was built from a solid drum,and he can get it overhauled by an experienced tuner, however a less seasoned player get help or advice, a non player definetely not from a store unless you want to play around with it get on the internet and learn about it watch videos etc there are a lot , I was told there were pans in a store in Hallandale florida and went to the store to get something and saw the pans get this the guy was selling a pair of double tenors as two single pans should I say more on that, I had someone bring a pan to me it was so rotten if you rolled on the notes pieces of it would have fallen off, I gave him an old buss up pan, at least it was not rotten, so non players be aware, 

  • Pans should only be bought from recognised tuners such as Brown,Birch Kellman, Mapo,Dudley Dickson, Toussaint Clarke and other recognised tuners especially if you want them to last with constant playing.

    • Ah At last someone has reminded me of the tuner closest to me Toussaint Clarke of Rainbow Steel Orchestra in Bath UK now I just need his phone number, My tenor is in desperate need of a good re-tune

      Randi

      .

  • GRJ some tuners put their mark on their pans but the made in Trinidad idea is a good one to add to this so even if it was store bought you would know who tuned it and where it was made . Long and Mcquade music stores here in Toronto sell pans made by local Toronto tuners . It's usually less expensive to buy from the tuners directly but people don't know who they are. I only know of two here. Tommy Chritchlow and Earl ( Pow) Wong.
  • I agree with the other posts. As I found out, there are many intricacies with the instrument, ie how well the are harmonics/octaves tuned, resonance, blah blah blah. I think that the answer depends on what you are going to be using it for. Professionals will most likely know a few tuners that they deal with and purchase directly from them. If it is for a child/beginner, then alot of the little things would not matter yet. For example, choosing to go chrome or not, is there a difference? - most definitely - will a beginner really be able to appreciate that difference - probably not so much because he will be focused on actually learning the pan, plus they can always just chrome the pan later. Walking into any store does not guarantee a quality pan. Do the research on the business and read some reviews. Hope this makes sense :)

  • Pan making technology is now available world wide and we have to accept that. But I still think that Trinidad is missing the boat by not establishing a "Made in Trinidad " label , and making that the internationally accepted standard for a quality pan (like a Stradivarius violin)

    • Absolutely right. This would not only be a hallmark & guarantee quality, but also

      remind customers where pan comes from.

  • Some of the distributors ship all over the planet...
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