Know what makes Zenko the "Porsche" of Tongue-Drums?
Zenko!
Zenko Drums are extremely high quality metal tongue drums made by Metal Sounds in the South of France. They're an intuitive instrument consisting of two stainless steel shells welded together, with tones created by precision laser cuts into the metal that create "tongues" tuned to different pitches. The Zenko is played with hands or mallets which are included with each purchase. Its dome-shape is similar to a handpan - but Zenkos are much smaller and more lightweight. This makes the Zenko an ideal traveling companion as it comes with a perfectly fitted padded bag to keep your drum protected for easy transport. With a cross-body strap that has a special holding pocket for the mallets, the Zenko is easy to take to your next picnic!
Tongue drums have become immensely popular recently and there are now a large variety of different brands out there offering their own version of these portable and robust metal instruments. You can find inexpensive ones in music stores that are usually mass produced. So what makes Zenkos so special out of all the tongue drums that are out there?
This has all to do with the quality of steel utilized to make Zenkos and the exquisite hand-craftsmanship of the Metal Sounds workshop which produces everything in-house. In comparing them to handpans (which have a similar sonic quality to gongs producing many splashing overtones), the mellifluous sounds of the Zenko are floating, pure, and uplifting bell-like tones.
With meticulous pitch-perfect tuning, the ZenkoDrum allows you to discover bewitching and meditative harmonics that will level-up your sound meditation and music therapy offerings for live sessions. It's a professional grade instrument that can also be mounted on a adapted cymbal stand (there's a bolt-hole on the bottom! and we have adapters) to add accents as part of your drum kit or percussion setup.
Basically, the Zenko is the "Porsche" (the beautiful European sports-car) of the tongue drum: sleek, elegant, and of the highest quality. In comparison, other mass-produced and sometimes colorful tongue drums on the market at lower price points can be great for parties, playing with kids, basic music instruction, getting all sandy at the beach or simple musical fun!
f you're a professional musician or sound practitioner, however, your audience and clients will deeply benefit from the superior sound quality of the Zenko.
Best of all... Zenkos come in a wide variety of different tunings! Options range from a basic chromatic instrument, to well-known musical modes, to more obscure scales for the adventurous musician that you'll find only on the Zenko.
We put together an informative short video giving you a quick "tour" of all the different tunings you can choose from for your Zenko. Here, acclaimed percussionist Conny Sommar plays musical melodies on each of the different ZenkoDrum tunings that we've cut together in rapid succession so you can hear them all back to back. Interspersed are images of the making of ZenkoDrums from the Metal Sounds Workshop in Toulouse, France.
Here's how to listen to this 4-and-a-half-minute video:
Click play and watch it through once to see the drum in action
Hit 'replay' and this time close your eyes. Feel into the different tunings with your feelings and body, and ask: "which one is matching me now?"
I purchased a Zaphir chime a few years ago and it pairs perfectly with my Zenko. I saw the Koshis on sale and decided to take a leap a buy several. Huge disappointment for me when I compare them to the Zahpir. The Koshi feels hollow and lifeless to me compared to the Zaphir. Because it's lightweight, it can be easier to travel with, but that's also its downside for me. The cord, outer shell all feel more like a 'toy' than a durable, lasting, resonance holder. I may try to add some type of weight to help ground these chimes, not sure, but if I'd know how different this feels compared to a Zaphir I wouldn't have made this purchase. I don't think it's a 'bad' product, I think it's just not aligning with what I've experienced in another brand.
I’m sorry to hear that you’re not entirely happy with the Koshi chimes and that you prefer the Zaphir chimes instead. I want to make sure you’re satisfied with your purchase.
If you’d like, I’d be happy to exchange the set of 3 Koshi chimes you bought for a set of 3 Zaphir chimes so you can complete your Zaphir collection. Please let me know if this works for you, and we can arrange the exchange right away.
I recently purchased a D Monolina. Meditative and meditative; a full immersion sound experience that simply wraps you in a beautiful feeling and sound. What an incredible instrument this is! I highly recommend purchasing one, or more, for meditation, relaxation, or sound baths.
