How to record a Pantam (Handpan) - featuring Thomas Ben Tov @ Nagariya Studios

We are excited to share this short documentary that we did with ‪@ThomasBenTov‬ from Nagariya Studios,.
The video shows Thomas' steps to recording the Pantam (Handpan), the microphones he uses, how he positions them, and many more helpful tips.
We are happy to share it with you, hopefully you will find this content interesting and valuable as it is for us.
Recorded, Mixed, and Mastered by Thomas Ben Tov - Nagariya Studios.
/ thomas.bentov
/ nagariyastudios
Video and editing by Anton Koren:
/ antonkorenart
To learn more about Yishama you are welcome to visit them at:
www.yishama.com
/ yishama
/ yishama_pantam

BEST SOUND ENGINEER ON THE PLANET 👑👑👑

[@FabioMoserhandpanmusician]

omg, thank you very much for sharing this video! just had an email conversation with Carlos about his setup at the studio sessions because I just got 2 Oktava MK 012 and really try out some different positions and masterings. Thank you for sharing your information Thomas! Stay healthy, Fabio

[@ThomasBenTov]

With pleasure Fabio! Thank you for the nice words:)

[@MavScientific]

Great advice!

[@YishamaPantam]

Thanks for watching!

[@MiElas]

awesome!

[@paolopiaser_SystemsComposer]

Very nice video, in which I recognise most of the things a teacher in a Conservatoire/music tech institute would say. Great one, for real.

[@ThomasBenTov]

Thanks Paolo!

[@TheHolisticSound]

Finally someone share this secrets. How to do it amateur and from home, any mic you recommend or app???

[@christopherderks]

Amazing :) Thank you for all your wonderful insights and clarity. Very helpful and very appreciative... :)

[@YishamaPantam]

You are so welcome

[@FabianFP]

Really good guideline!! Thank you so much!! Great Job... Hope we will meed sometime, somewhere in the future 👊👏😁

[@nilscaspar0]

Thank you ! For all the information 🙏🏻

[@YishamaPantam]

Glad it was helpful!

[@handromedahandpan]

This is so relevant! as I'm started to record the audio and video of the handpans in a studio too and this was a great question I had and many others I can imagine. Thanks guys for the research and for sharing that! Hugs from Brazil!

[@ThomasBenTov]

With love Thanks for the nice words!

[@handpanphil]

A great video. Super useful. How would you STOP the players breathing being recorded? take it out in EQ in post?

[@justinfeathersong]

Wow, a lot of useful advice. Thank you

[@Melodic_Alchemy]

thank you for posting this - it's extremely helpful to see how people are doing to capture the wonderful sounds of these type of instruments! I clearly have a ton more to learn (I just use one of the zoom/tascam xy recording units and that's it ...)

[@Ca.T.-Pan]

Uuuh! I love your shirt! Where can I get the really cool handpan-balloon-shirt? And nice video for recording!

[@stevenfero7213]

This is amazing. Thank you

[@metalandstuffz6129]

Great video, Cheers!! I recorded some handpan a while back, but some of the players breaths were captured by the mics. How would you deal with that ??

[@JoeTandle]

super useful

[@ShivaOm.DreamStream]

very good video - thanks ! could you tell me more about recording with zoom ? how best to place it at the hang ? Thanks

[@danielelagha6755]

hey thank you so much for the detailed explanation. when you were talking about the Zoom i was wondering if it makes a difference if you plug in the zoom into a computer to get the sound directly into the DAW or if you later take it out from the SD card? AND does it play a role in general if you use the Zoom as a Interface on a computer or maybe on the iPad or even directly on the SMartphone to get the sound there? Does the smartphone reduce the quality of the Zoom Sound?

[@thisall4real]

Nice one . Im just starting out on Handpan and recording. This is great info. Much appreciated. I have a zoom h5 and a pair of Oktava Mk012. Now you have me wondering if I should use both my external mics as well as the zooms X/Y mics?

[@ThomasBenTov]

Hey! Yes, I'd suggest placing the Zoom as a Room Mic, and mix it with the Oktavas later on.

[@thisall4real]

@@ThomasBenTov Thanks man.

[@panlix-music]

Thanks a lot for this detailed information! Do you have some short tips for the (in your experience) best setup when only using a Zoom (angle, distance, recording level)? I have been trying out latley but I think I still havent figured out the best options.

[@ThomasBenTov]

I'd suggest going with the same setup I recommend for the two condensers in the video, and place the zoom in the middle, in front of the instrument. Regarding level, I'd suggest aiming for peaks at -14 :)

[@panlix-music]

@@ThomasBenTov Thanks man, I'm gonna try that out :) Big hugs and keep up that great work!

[@Stepanthecrab]

Wow, this is so great. Im a sound recordist and mixer myself (working in film sound mainly), and this is really great information. I really wanted to ask how the Kabecao's "Astronaut" and other tracks were recorded - and boom! - Ive found this video! Just wanted to tell that "Astronaut" sounded fantastic, the bass was sooo deep, no phase issues at all, good dynamics and beautiful stereo image! Dear Thomas, can you say please, what kind of automation do you use on mixing/editing phase? Do you use multiband compression or active EQ to control dynamics in different frequencies? Is it a lot of EQ or not at all? Also, which of the stereo pairs you are using as a main close pair - ribbon or condenser? Regarding the reverb - are you using only a far mics with a "room" sound or are you adding plugins with a reverb/delay sometimes? How are you dealing with nasty high frequency "finger on metal" sounds if they occur? Are you re-record this parts of the song or are you using iZotope RX to "clean" it after the recording was made? BTW, I wish I could afford on of the handpans one day. Really love the sound of this instrument, it really resonates with my soul a lot... Just need to work harder and earn more so I can afford one of these someday :)

[@ThomasBenTov]

Hey Stephan! Thanks for the nice words! I'm using a lot of automations while mixing indeed. Most of the times I'll approach the different microphones used on the recording as Stereo pairs/ Groups with a specific character, and will play with their place in the mix during the track. Usually I'll use a "Surgical" EQ in order to take down frequencies which bothered me(might be a dynamic EQ as well), compress, and then use an "Artistic" EQ with a certain sound signature in order to give the source a specific color. Stereo pairs choice really depends on the space/ the player/ the vibe of the track. I like Neumann KM84s, KM 184s, AKG 414 B-ULSs and Coles 4038 to name a few. I might use external Reverbs or Delays, plugins and hardware, if the track needs it :) iZotope RX is a great tool. Usually when I record I'll make sure everything sounds good in the recording stage, but I indeed used it on handpans recordings that I've received from time to time in order to fix various problems. Thanks again for writing!

[@hossimani]

While I record handpan the finger touch taps are too bold, is there any way to make them less hearing like your's?

[@poisonedcheeseproductions]

holy shit thats alot of microphones and im poor