"When an arranger sets out to arrange for steelband, the crucial, inescapable, musical fact is that despite the difference in pitch and range, the similarity of sound from all the different steel pan instruments is in stark and obvious contrast to the wide variety of the types of sounds from the instruments in a symphony orchestra."
Dr Lester CN Simon-Hazlewood
Now I have always found that to be true -- FOR ME!!! But PAN LOVERS on THIS FORUM have vehemently disagreed with that assessment. They constantly refer to the FAMILY OF MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS that could masterfully equate to a SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA and reproduce/play ANY KIND OF MUSIC.
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What's REALLY MISSING is THE TALENT to take THE INSTRUMENT into the STUDIO and POLISH and EMBELLISH and INTEGRATE and INFUSE the NATURAL RESOURCE with the TECHNOLOGY OF THE DAY!!!
The high resonance sound (tone) of rubber on tempered steel, makes the music of the steel orchestra extremely difficult to the unfamiliar ear. Steelband music is UNIQUE.
From a classical music standpoint the correct name should always be a steel band, not steel orchestra. I think I remember someone saying in my early music days that as long as the instruments belong to the same family the term orchestra does not apply. Just my two cents.
Yet they only use the lead pans with conventional instruments.