the E-Pan -- am I missing something?

E-pan proponents rope in please.

can anyone share their thoughts on this invention and why it has created such a stir in the pan world? it doesn't seem like anything special to me - synthesized pan sounds have been around forever on electronic keyboards and i have no use for that. it seems the only thing different here is that the instrument itself is in the 'shape' of a pan.

i've been reading about the E-pan for a while now but have reserved judgement until i saw and heard one being played in person, which i just did get to experience in trinidad. And my iniitial opinion remains - what is the point? to me the ENTIRE point of pan is that it's acoustic. there's a zillion electronics out there. To me, what makes pan special and unique, is that this incredible, otherworldy sound can somehow be produced by tuning an old oil barrel.

i'm not tryna be snarky - i genuinely want to know why ppl think that a synthesized pan is considered to be something new and/or creative. cause IMHO it seems to be a step backward, not anything new or forward-thinking. It just joins all the other synthesized pan sounds that have been available for years already. No electronically produced sound can compare or compete with the true sound of a genuine pan, and i'm genuinely curious as to why anyone would want to synthesize the sound, thereby (IMHO of course) negating what is unique about a steel pan in the first place.

i thank you in advance for all opinions anyone cares to share...

I too saw this instrument first hand and came to the conclusion that its primary virtue is as a tool in composition. Say an arranger wants to arrange a song whilst scoring it at the same time, but doesn't play keyboard and/or doesn't want to dedicate the time to manually enter thousands of notes into Finale or Sibelius... enter the ePan... plug it into your computer and use it as a MIDI trigger and you can score in real time as you play/arrange. I advised the inventor that this is probably the best marketing route to take but he and others seem more interested in its value as a performance tool. Which I don't understand because personally, if I am going to go see a panist play, I want to see and hear the real thing, not a synthesizer using the 'steel drums' MIDI instrument. He did say that he is trying to secure rights to sampling tuners' pans (for example, you could specify a Mappo instrument or a Birch instrument, much as one would use a LINE-6 guitar amplifier synthesizer) but again.... I don't see the point. If you want to hear a Mappo pan, well, then use a Mappo pan... it is less expensive and less fuss. The panists who were trying the ePan out kept saying "this is fascinating but I really want to hear the sound of MY pan..." Case closed... the other angle of interest of course, is that one could play any instrument on it. So you could play a pan and hear trumpet. But aside from novelty value, again what's the point... the world certainly isn't short on keyboardists who have been doing that for decades.

I think the ePan is a pretty remarkable development and I'm not knocking it but I think its main value as a tool for composition should be recognized first and foremost because the other aspects are simply novelty value. Regardless props to Mr. Cupid for developing this, I just wish he'd try selling it from that practical angle... there are a number of arrangers who have become very proficient at using scoring programs but for those who haven't and have been accustomed to arranging a certain way for a long time, this could be revolutionary in preserving their work.

Replies

Noah February 28, 2010 at 1:35pm

I too saw this instrument first hand and came to the conclusion that its primary virtue is as a tool in composition. Say an arranger wants to arrange a song whilst scoring it at the same time, but doesn't play keyboard and/or doesn't want to dedicate the time to manually enter thousands of notes into Finale or Sibelius... enter the ePan... plug it into your computer and use it as a MIDI trigger and you can score in real time as you play/arrange. I advised the inventor that this is probably the best marketing route to take but he and others seem more interested in its value as a performance tool. Which I don't understand because personally, if I am going to go see a panist play, I want to see and hear the real thing, not a synthesizer using the 'steel drums' MIDI instrument. He did say that he is trying to secure rights to sampling tuners' pans (for example, you could specify a Mappo instrument or a Birch instrument, much as one would use a LINE-6 guitar amplifier synthesizer) but again.... I don't see the point. If you want to hear a Mappo pan, well, then use a Mappo pan... it is less expensive and less fuss. The panists who were trying the ePan out kept saying "this is fascinating but I really want to hear the sound of MY pan..." Case closed... the other angle of interest of course, is that one could play any instrument on it. So you could play a pan and hear trumpet. But aside from novelty value, again what's the point... the world certainly isn't short on keyboardists who have been doing that for decades.

I think the ePan is a pretty remarkable development and I'm not knocking it but I think its main value as a tool for composition should be recognized first and foremost because the other aspects are simply novelty value. Regardless props to Mr. Cupid for developing this, I just wish he'd try selling it from that practical angle... there are a number of arrangers who have become very proficient at using scoring programs but for those who haven't and have been accustomed to arranging a certain way for a long time, this could be revolutionary in preserving their work.
- Catt > Noah February 28, 2010 at 2:04pm
  
  ah, so, a composition/arranging tool - yes, i agree, great idea Noah -
  
  interestingly and coincidentally, i just got a youtube video via e-mail from a freind of mine who's a pan fan, she does not play and has never been to TnT - but she loves to listen to pan music. she sent me the video with a caption of "WTF???" cause she really wanted to understand what it's purpose is and why it is out there; she also said this:
  "Had a close friend years ago that played pan and taught his young sons. Would sit for hours (time stopped somehow) and listen. I am fascinated not only with the sound but how the pans are made by hand with love and expertise....amazing....thats why I was so offended by the electronic one in the video. The hand pounded steel is part of the magic."
  
  and i could not agree more.
  
  she also commented that the sound of it was like 'clunk clunk clunk' - and this is a person who knows nothing of competition or "tone of pan" - but even she could hear the sound was flat and has no tone -

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