10' Inch Vs. 6' Inch Steel Tongue Drum Comparison/Demo

Hopefully this helps someone when deciding which size steel tongue drum to buy from Amazon or anywhere else. The pros of the smaller one are its portability but the big one is still light and just gives more of that deep ethereal tone that I wanted in the drum in the first place.

Which one do you guys like more? The 6" inch 8 tone drum or the 10" inch 11 tone drum?

These drums are from Aliexpress. You can order them from amazon as well.

#Steeltonguedrum #Handpan #Tankdrum

[MrSwain]

They both sound great, I’d keep them both.

[MoCaineal]

The 6 inch sounds like handbells. Would be great for Christmas music. I like it.

[songbird]

this video is super helpful; i was wondering what the difference in sound would be like, and this direct comparison provided just that info!
i agree with you, the smaller one sounds lovely, but the larger one has those deep, hypnotic tones that just make the drum sound that much more soothing~

[keriboehm]

As a musician, I think the 6-inch is nice for beginners on tongue drum, it allows them to get use to the set up and kind of gives them a basic and simple layout. It sounds good. However, the 10-inch has a deeper sound and resonation, which makes sense, it's bigger.

I think the small one is ideal for people like me, who have never played a percussion instrument and therefore we just need something simple to practice and play on until we are ready for the bigger ones. And some people like the small one simply for meditative simplistic purposes. Both drums have nice sound and can be used for different things, I just think the smaller one is ideal for true beginners. :)

[nadialaurin]

I definitely would keep they both since they sound completely different. I like the higher sound waves from the little one, but also the smoothness of the bigger one. They both serve different purposes.

[FuturesPast]

I actually like the sounds on the smaller one. It is louder sounding and prettier. I like the bell like music box sounds coming from it.

[boniw]

Wonderful sounding. I love the small one.

[lonely_ghost]

I have a 10" one and it's really nice tbh. I'm looking at more on Amazon just to play around with different ones whenever i feel like it. Been a drummer for 5-6 years and this is one of the best instruments I've ever bought
Good for meditation to take ur mind off of things and fun to just mess with wherever you go

[captainsplash]

I think they could complement each other when played together!

[guru]

I think you can play both at the same time as they seem to have a completely different tone. Anyway the small one is great for just taking to the beach or park

[thecognitivedissonant]

Definitely would keep both myself, as they are complementary and unique

[fzlk]

I think they are both pretty, but if I had to pick, I'd go for the sound of the bigger one as well.

[sherizuech]

I just bought the 10 inch. Arrives in a few days. Thanks for showing us this. I've never played one before but glad I bought the bigger one to learn with, I like the sound much better on the bigger drum.

[keysmash]

perfect video. I have been looking for a side-by-side comparison

[thirdeyesurvivor]

I just purchased a 14” one and I’m curious about the 8 inch ones.

[joshuamorris]

I'm looking at these for my kids right now - my daughter is 10 and has been playing piano for 4 or 5 years now, and she is very musically inclined. My Son is 11, and feels a bit left out in the music aspect. He's got so many things going on interest-wise, but doesn't want to go through all of the work that his sister has done. I thought that this might be a fun thing for him to jump into to kind of break the musical seal of sorts (plus, it's a sound that is always pleasant and soothing no matter how you play it, lol!) I agree with the other commenters - both the big and small have their own charm, and sound very complementary to other instruments. Thanks for the review!

[bluesness]

The smaller one os just an octave of the same scale at the bigger one...tats why its sounds more tinkerbell like than the big one...so I would take both. :)

[synthiamiller]

I think they both sound amazing. That may just be me though.
I ordered the 6 inch Tongue drum from Idiopan and will be ordering the other sizes in the future. I am doing this because of the range of notes that each drum can cover ( in addition to that Idiopan drums can be hooked up to an amplifier if you have the one with the pick up on it. They are also tuneable with neodymium magnets - see Molly khan’s YouTube videos on magnetic tongue drum tuning)(Yours May be tuneable as well- if magnets can stick to them then yes) Ability to tune will greatly broaden the note range on the drum.
I am interested in playing songs that are a bit more complex than the little simple improvised ones that people normally do, so I need a broader range of notes that more than one drum can offer. I guess that’s why I’m partial to both your 6 inch and 10 inch drums.

[TingleTom]

Especially on the big one I think the high tones don't sound as clean and clear as they do on expensive tongue drums but I would still prefer the bigger deeper one for its mellower sound. Both sound pleasant in a different way though.

[nabilinho]

I’d combine both cause together you get a broader range.