Searching for a Pomegranate

[trebcavxx]

Hello
I am a musician, and I am trying to obtain a percussion instrument, called a "Pomegranate".
It's a hand-percussion tuned instrument, made entirely of metal, the shape of two woks placed rim to rim, and about 24 inches in diameter. It's played laying on the knees of the player. On the top surface there are a number of beaten areas, rather like the tuned areas on a West Indian steel drum, or on a mini steel pan drum in the center there is a hole around 2 inches diameter. These tuned patches are slapped with the fingers and palms of the hands. The upper playing surface is convex in shape. It sounds rather like a steel drum, but is higher in pitch. I would estimate there is about an octave range on it.
I saw it on TV music programme around a week ago, being played, on Italian Latin-american jazz television programme, and I believe I heard it referred to as a "Pomegranate".
Is anyone familiar with this instrument, and if so, does anyone know can they be obtained here in the UK ?
Thanks-
Richard Barton

[Chris Stratton]

It sounds like this is a slight varient cousin of a steal drum - enclosed resonator, and convex rather than concave head. Perhaps if you asked steel drum players or builders someone would know something about it? Google returns lots of steel drum hits, included a discussion board.

Here's an acoustics paper on something similar ("Hang")

http://www.speech.kth.se/smac03/abs07_link.html

And here's a website with pictures:

http://www.oddmusic.com/gallery/om16250.html

[Chris Stratton]

This is also an interesting instrument:

http://www.oddmusic.com/gallery/om19600.html

[pygmalion]

Or you may want to give these people a call. Unfortunately, they're in New York, but they may be able to direct you to a UK source. They supply all sorts of unusual musical instruments for sale or rent, according to a recent National Public Radio segment here in the US.


http://www.npr.org/features/feature.php?wfId=1846762

[trebcavxx]

Thanks for all your helpful answers - I've located two suppliers of the Hang - one of them here in the UK. It works out at nearly £ 300 which is a bit steep for an instrument with only around 10 notes.
Richard

[pygmalion]

Cool. I'm glad you found it. And welcome to the forums. 8) :D