I am not a gong expert. I have very little experience with similar gongs of other brands. I have been having this gong for more than half a year.
This tam tam is sensitive and powerful at the same time, when played slowly, barely touching it with a soft mallet is soothing, while hard mallets and fast repeated attacks make it thunderous.
Given their fundamental physical differences, it is not very surprising that a tam tam sounds and behaves differently from a similar-size wind gong, but knowing and experiencing are very different things. Playing it together a Thomann Wind Gong 90, listening to the confluence of the two different soundscapes is a real joy. Looks gorgeous, I love the contrast of the shiny bronze and the matt black. Mine weighs 18.05 kg. As others have already noted, the edges of the holes for suspension had to be smoothed with a fine file to prevent rope abrasion (fine sandpaper would also do; it takes just a few minutes.
The raw hardwood handle of the mallet 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. The white fabric cover of the head makes a tough coarse sound when hitting the gong, especially when hit gently. It looks beautiful with the raw wood handle. The handle cord would look better without the laced-in black and red pattern. It also a good mallet for large singing bowls. Dimensions [mm]: Head diameter ~90, Height ~65; Total length ~495; Handle length ~420, diameter 27--29. Weighs 365 g.
The packaging was perfect. When I ordered, it was out of stock, but I received an email once available, and thereon it arrived soon and safe, as I accustomed to when ordering from Thomann.
Overall, this gong worth its price, I am really happy with it.
