I am not a gong expert. I have very little experience with similar gongs of other brands.
This small gong has an awsome sound with a long sustain for its size. Amazing how attacking the centre or the edges sounds different in such a tiny gong. Do not expect too much, but the Olli Hess e-Gong rubber mallet still produces sound on it. It fits well to a range of small gongs, bells, chimes and singing bowls. It is beautiful. The bright bronze and the rough natural materials used for the cord and the mallet makes it really pleasing. Mine weighs 155 g. The weigh of 1250 g on the Thomann page is a typo, you can check their estimates on larger gongs of the same type that weigh less. I have a 40 cm unbranded wind gong that weighs 1380 g and a 30 cm weighing 735 g. As others have already noted, the rims of the holes for suspension had to be smoothed with a fine file to prevent rope abrasion (fine sandpaper would also do; it takes couple of minutes).
With medium hardness the mallet sounds pleasant, but softer and harder mallets are also worth experiment with to have a wider range of how the gong sounds. The raw hardwood handle is sturdy, with a good balance. It is roughly made and comfortably thick, thus the hand does not slip and has a stable grip when using; a huge advantage over many of its super-polished high-brow competitors. Its size well suits the gong. Dimensions [mm]: Head diameter ~34 mm, Height ~26; Total length ~232; Handle length ~218, diameter ~11. Weighs 30 g.
The packaging was perfect. The Thomann Team was very helpful and responsive when selecting this gong online.
If you need a small, lightweight instrument that sounds beautiful, this one will do. It suits well with a range of other instruments and can also be used as a gentle way to call students into class.
