Gong Types
• Symphonic
• Tuned
• Sound Creation
• Planet
Paiste Products
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• 2002
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• Gongs
Paiste Gongs
Gongs were among the first musical instruments to be made and played by humans. Paiste has taken pride in that historical tradition since first developing and producing gongs in the 1930's. Over the decades our gong program has blossomed with creativity and diversity. Today, Paiste's interpretations of ancient gong designs as well as our own exclusive designs represent the instrument's highest possible standards.
Creating gongs requires a dedication to the instrument's deeper meanings, both in the structured vibrations which reveal themselves in the gong's sound and in the response of the human playing the instrument. Paiste gongs have found applications beyond music, including such diverse areas as therapy, recreation, performance art, religion and meditation. Paiste creates each gong with precise and specific sound intentions. Our gong makers begin the process with a round disk of specially formulated Nickel-Silver alloy, a material with wide-ranging sound potency. Working with fire, steel, wood, hammer and anvil, our gong artisans have an intuitive conception of the sounds they seek to achieve in creating an instrument. Entirely by hand.
Deco Gongs are produced by hand hammering, as are all our gongs. Essentially, the Deco is a miniature Symphonic Gong. The instrument produces a fascinating and wonderfully exotic sound. True gongs with complex harmonics, they make a unique and decorative addition to your personal or musical environment.
Symphonic Gongs
- Symphonic Gongs (20", 22", 24", 26", 28", 30", 32", 34", 36" 38", 40", 50", 60", 60" SGM, 80")
- Our oldest version of the instrument, Paiste Symphonic Gongs have a slightly raised surface with a harmonic and universal sound structure. The fundamental note of the gong is balanced with the instrument's complex overtones. A good starting point for a gong collection, the Symphonic contains even proportions of various gong characteristics, which can be brought forth using different mallets and striking points. Symphonic Gongs feature some of our largest examples of the instrument, like the 60" SGM and the extraordinary 80", the world's largest gong.
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Tuned Gongs
- Tuned Gongs (C2/C - F6/f" or 6" - 36")
- Tuned Gongs feature a boss to produce a specific note cushioned softly by complimentary gong harmonics. Paiste is the only percussion instrument manufacturer to offer a full 4 1/2 octave range of gongs tuned electronically to a Middle A of 442 Hz (other Middle A Hz tunings can be custom produced). These instruments are perfect for classical and modern scores which call for tuned gongs. They can also be used as excellent substitutes when other, small or large, tuned idiophones are called for.
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Sound Creation Gongs
- Sound Creation Gongs (various sizes 20" - 60')
- Each Sound Creation Gong has its own extraordinary and particular sound character. Their impressive, charismatic sound embodies a wealth of archetypal emotional sensations and truths.
Due to their varied sound colors and voices, these instruments also offer a wide range of harmonics and frequencies, from diffused crash-like timbres to defined and steady bell-like tones.
- No. 1 - SUN / Morning-Beginning (22")
- Sound: Warm, radiating bell-like tone. Character: Opening, warming, hopeful, rising.
- No.2 - FIRE /Rest-Aggression (20")
- Sound: Warm, with dark to piercing highs. Character: Warm, soothing to aggressive, destructive.
- No. 3 - EARTH / Continuity (26", 32", 38", 60")
- Sound: Unfathomable and dark, with swelling highs. Character: Mysterious, knowing, kind, unfathomable.
- No. 4 - WATER / Energy (24")
- Sound: Soft-dark to streaming-dark with frothy highs. Character: Soothing, infinite to sweeping, cleansing.
- No. 5 - PEACE / Tolerance (22")
- Sound: Soft lows, layered highs. Character: Balancing, harmonizing, supportive.
- No. 6 - MOON / Evening-ending (24")
- Sound: Deep, dark bell-like tone with bright nucleus. Character: Gathering, shielding, forgiving, declining.
- No. 7 - FIGHT / Confrontation (22")
- Sound: Threateningly dark, bright and towering. Character: Challenging, threatening discomforting.
- No. 8 - CHAKRA / Head-Chest-Abdomen (11", 14", 16")
- Sound: Bundled, sustained bell-like tone. Character: Influencing, penetrating, harmonic, lasting.
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Planet Gongs
- Planet Gongs (24" - 38")
- Paiste Planet Gongs resemble Symphonic Gongs in character, but feature a strong fundamental note tuned to represent a natural harmonic series based on the orbital properties of the Sun, the Earth, the Moon and the other planets as calculated by Hans Cousto. Planet Gongs resonate harmonically with the cycles of the cosmos, communicating to us what has been known since antiquity as the "music of the spheres". Mysterious in sound color, Planet Gongs convey an unusual atmosphere.
The Planet Gongs are: Earth (38"), Sun (38"), Pluto (36"), Mercury (32"), Mars (32), Saturn (32"), Platonic Year (32"), Jupiter (28"), Sidereal Day (28"), Venus (24"), Uranus (24"), Neptune (24"), Synodic Moon (24"), Sidereal Moon (24").
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Some Paiste Gongs are available by special order only. Please contact your authorized Paiste retailer or distributor for delivery time quotes on your specific gong needs.