Mic Archive

Instrument

Handpan

Two metal half-shells glued together, a central tone field surrounded by at least seven tone fields on the top, and an opening in the bottom (Wikipedia). Played with the fingers and hands, usually in the lap.

Sources
5 (4 independent)

Recommended mics

Mics sources recommend

15 setups from 5 sources, 4 of them independent of any mic maker. Each mic shows how many sources name it for that role, and how many of those are independent. Listed alphabetically: there is no ranking.

Studio

Close

Named, no placement given

Bottom

The 9 setups behind this: placement and quotes
  • Close 2 × Rode NT5 (matched pair)
    pair, setup shown in video only (placement not in text)
    Microphones used in this video: RODE NT5 Matched Pair.1
  • Named, no placement given Oktava MK-012
    distant, can be placed at a distance; studio and home studio, fuller and more natural
    can be placed at a distance from the instrument ... sensitive to feedback on stage (paraphrase).2
  • Close 2 × Oktava MK-012 or Rode NT5 or Shure SM137 or Rode NT2-A
    pair, medium budget
    Small membrane mics (pair) Oktava MK 012 ... Rode NT5 ... SM137 ... Small membrane mics (pair) Oktava MK 012 (339 $) Rode NT5 (318 $) ... Small membrane mics (pair) ... SM137 (453 $) or SM94 ... Large membrane mics (pair) ... Rode NT2A (272 $)3
  • Close 2 × Audio-Technica AT2020
    pair, entry budget
    Large membrane mics (pair) Audio Technica AT2020 (200 $)3
  • Named, no placement given 2 × Neumann KM 184 or DPA 4099 or Shure SM81 or AKG C414
    pair, professional tier
    Small membrane mics (pair) Shure KSM137 or SM81, Neumann KM184, DPA 4099, Sennheiser E914 ... Small membrane mics (pair) ... Neumann KM184 (1,433 $), DPA 4099 (1,184 $) ... Small membrane mics (pair) Shure KSM137 (883 $) or SM81 (770 $) ... Large membrane mics (pair) Shure Beta 27, Neumann TLM102, AKG C414 (1,536 $)3
  • Close ribbon microphone (e.g. Coles 4038, AEA R84, Royer R-121, Beyerdynamic M 160)
    distant, studio recording only
    Use for studio recording. Most ribbon microphones can't withstand a phantom power supply.4
  • Close 2 × Telefunken M60 FET
    pair at the side of the pan
    two M60 FET pencil mics on the side of the pan5
  • Close 2 × Telefunken ELA M 260
    pair above the pan
    two ELA M 260 tube mics with omni capsules above the pan5
  • Bottom Telefunken M82
    under the pan
    an M82 dynamic mic underneath the pan5

On stage

Close

  • Shure Beta 57A1 independent source
  • dynamic microphone, cardioid (e.g. Sennheiser MD 441, MD 421, Shure SM7B, Beyerdynamic M 88 TG, SM57, SM58)1 independent source

Contact

  • AKG C4111 independent source
  • Nadha Brama pickup1 independent source

Bottom

  • contact or dynamic microphone1 independent source
The 5 setups behind this: placement and quotes
  • Close Shure Beta 57A
    close, must be placed very close; stage and street
    must be placed very close to the instrument ... much more appropriate on stage and in the street; in the studio may capture less the subtleties of your playing (paraphrase).2
  • Close dynamic microphone, cardioid (e.g. Sennheiser MD 441, MD 421, Shure SM7B, Beyerdynamic M 88 TG, SM57, SM58)
    close, positioned close to the instrument; for busking and loud or echoey settings
    It will work well when playing in difficult conditions ... it has to be positioned close to the instrument.4
  • Contact Nadha Brama pickup
    contact, attached to the shell with magnets
    omnidirectional static pickups that attach to the instrument with magnets.4
  • Contact AKG C411
    contact, stuck directly onto the instrument; for a group on stage; dampens the tone, needs EQ
    stick directly onto the instrument ... if you are playing on stage in a group and want to be distinctly heard ... will distinctly 'dampen' the tone.4
  • Bottom contact or dynamic microphone
    bottom, dynamic underneath the instrument, for percussive, fist-heavy playing
    A contact microphone or a dynamic microphone positioned underneath the instrument.4

Studio and stage

Close

  • condenser microphone (e.g. Neumann U 87, AKG C414, AT4050, TLM 103, KM 184, Schoeps MK 4, Shure KSM141, SM81, Oktava MK-012, Rode NT5)1 independent source
The 1 setup behind this: placement and quotes
  • Close condenser microphone (e.g. Neumann U 87, AKG C414, AT4050, TLM 103, KM 184, Schoeps MK 4, Shure KSM141, SM81, Oktava MK-012, Rode NT5)
    distant, can be placed further away from the instrument; home, studio or a stage set
    It will work well for sound recording at home or in the studio, as well as for playing a set on stage ... can be placed further away from the instrument.4

Range

from D3 (top not sourced)6,7,8147 Hz

Lowest central (ding) note among the PANArt Hangs measured or listed: Integral Hang D3 (ding 'varied around the tone D3' on the Free Integral). The highest note is not stated in any source opened; the high-voice and low-voice Hangs studied have notes up to at least D5 and C#5. The body's Helmholtz cavity resonance sits lower, at 85 Hz (near F2) in the ASA study; Wikipedia (no footnote) says the Integral can give a sympathetic D2 from it. Handpans from other makers vary by scale.

Tuning: Each instrument is one fixed scale (pentatonic, Ake Bono, etc.). Each note area has three partials tuned 1:2:3 (fundamental, octave, twelfth). The ding is usually an octave below the lowest note of the circle (Physics Today).8,9,6

Where the sound goes

Each tone field vibrates in several modes (fundamental plus second and third harmonics). Striking the central note excites a strong cavity (Helmholtz) resonance in the body, with the bottom hole acting as the neck of the resonator; the pitch can be changed by moving the knees (Wessel, Rossing, Morrison at the ASA 2008; Physics Today). Rossing and Morrison measured the radiation with a two-microphone intensity method in an anechoic room (ASA) but the pattern itself is not in the pages I opened. The hole in the base is the neck of the resonator, so it is a second place the sound leaves (inference).

Recording it

One producer used a mixed array: two M60 FET pencil mics at the side of the pan, two ELA M 260 omni tube mics above, and an M82 dynamic underneath, all Telefunken (so a manufacturer's own press release). The Master the Handpan blog (a handpan seller) lists, by budget, a pair of small-membrane condensers (Oktava MK 012, Rode NT5, SM137; KM 184, DPA 4099, SM81 at the top) or large-membrane ones, for stereo. No source gives a distance.

Problems to watch

Nothing in the pages I opened covers noise, bleed or level.

About the range

Tested Hangs: high-voice, nine notes with a central G3; low-voice, nine notes with a central F3; integral Hang, eight notes with a central D3 (Wessel et al.). Notes are tuned to a pentatonic scale. Most handpans are one scale, so a range depends on the instrument.

Sources

  1. Didge Project (Matt Bazgier, Jun 2020): Handpan Microphone Setup For Optimal Recordingeducational · didgeproject.com
  2. MasterTheHandpan (D. Charrier with Jean-Matthieu Bourgeot): Battle: Oktava MK012 vs Shure Beta 57a (affiliate links)retailer · masterthehandpan.com
  3. Charrier, D. What is the best equipment for recording handpan?, MasterTheHandpan (handpan site; tiered kit lists)retailer · masterthehandpan.com
  4. MasterTheHandpan (D. Charrier with sound engineer Alexandre Chaigne): How to choose a microphone for the handpan? (affiliate links)retailer · masterthehandpan.com
  5. PSW Staff (2024) Producer Leo Z Deploys TELEFUNKEN To Record Handpan Virtuoso David Friello, Pro Sound Web (same release as Mix, 2024)manufacturer · prosoundweb.com
  6. Wessel, D., Morrison, A., Rossing, T. (2008) Sound of the Hang, ASA press releaseacademic · acoustics.org
  7. Wikipedia: Hang (instrument)reference · en.wikipedia.org
  8. Archives of Acoustics 32(3): Modes of vibration and sound radiation from the HANGAndrew Morrison, Thomas Rossing · academic · 2007 · acoustics.ippt.pan.pl
  9. Physics Today: The extraordinary sound of the hang (PDF)Andrew Morrison, Thomas D. Rossing · academic · 2009-03 · aip.brightspotcdn.com