ABOUT US
Our journey began in December 2013, at a time when traditional acoustic handpans were exceedingly rare to find in South Africa.
After hearing the enchanting sounds of an original handpan for the first time, our founder wanted to purchase the instrument for himself but soon discovered that even when one eventually became available, it was typically priced between USD $2,000 and $10,000.
Further investigation revealed just how complex, precise, and time-consuming the manufacture of an acoustic handpan would be, the process of which is truly an art form in itself.
And so the idea for an alternative was sparked; to make handpans available to more people, and to keep up with the growing demand for the handpan sound.
Fuelled by this deep appreciation for the handpan and driven by passion, our team embarked on a mission to create something truly extraordinary; the world’s first electro-acoustic handpan.
THE LUMEN HANDPAN STORY
In 2016, we launched a groundbreaking crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo. The response from our community was overwhelming, and we are sincerely grateful for the support and trust that we received. While the campaign was a resounding success, the completion and delivery of the Lumen Handpan was a complex process that required more time and resources than anyone could have anticipated.
We set out to build the best instrument that we could, making sure that:
PLAYS LIKE A HANDPAN:
The Lumen Handpan has an onboard speaker and batteries that provide you with playtime of up to 6 hours. The instrument performs and feels like an acoustic percussion instrument, but is adaptable and modifiable through its Touch User Interface and electronics. The instrument is meticulously crafted from spun aluminium, giving you a sturdy and solid instrument that can be played as a handpan and percussion instrument.
HAS DIGITAL FUNCTIONALITY:
You can change instruments, keys, scales, and volume on the fly to suit your playing style. You can connect to MIDI for use as a controller in combination with your favourite Digital Audio Workstation. Lightning-fast audio processing across a wide array of sound libraries makes all of this possible.
SOUNDS LIKE A HANDPAN:
Our sound partner, Soniccouture, has provided us with professionally sampled handpan and percussion instruments that ensure your audio quality is world-class on all instruments, samples, and sounds. Each pad on the Lumen Handpan is pressure-sensitive with playing zones for harmonics, dampening, and overtones. You can connect to headphones or external speaker systems with direct stereo audio output.
While the task was enormous, we focussed on all the positive support we received and the dedication to achieving our goal of making the Lumen Handpan a reality.
This same approach kept us going through 2016, global chip shortages, Covid19, and into 2023.
At the beginning of 2023, we reached out to all our backers with the good news that their Lumen Handpan had been manufactured, and was ready to ship. Our backers are very much part of our story, and we are delighted to confirm that we have shipped orders to all backers who have confirmed their details with us.
What started as a DIY project on the back of a salad bowl in a kitchen, has evolved into an electro-acoustic handpan and percussion music instrument with global partners and customers.
Lumen Handpan is now officially available for sale on our website, and with shipping available to most major territories around the world you can (finally) Drum Your Own Way.