The Complete Handbook of Gongs

I've been restringing and repairing gongs for about eight years and mostly figured this stuff out the hard way. The maintenance chapter alone is worth the price — the crack diagnosis flow is exactly what I needed to explain to clients why a cheap gong can't be saved but a good one can. Only gripe is I wish the photography showed closer detail on the hammering patterns, but the text descriptions are accurate enough.

Solid information, but it reads more like a maintenance manual than a handbook I'd choose to read cover to cover. The chapter on types is genuinely useful for someone confused about the difference between a tam-tam and a tuned gong, and I'd recommend it for that. I just expected a bit more historical context and less technical focus on bolt torque values, which felt like overkill for me as a performing percussionist.

This is the book I've been wishing existed for the past ten years. As a sound therapist, I've relied on vendor descriptions that contradict each other constantly. The chapter on choosing the right gong made me re-evaluate my entire studio setup — I realized I'd been using the wrong mallet material for my room's acoustics. The business chapter is also genuinely practical, not the usual 'start a website and hope' fluff. I've recommended it to every colleague in my training group.

Very thorough on the engineering side of things. The specification comparison table in chapter two helped me finally understand why two 22-inch gongs can cost five times differently — it's the hammering density, not just the brand name. I've docked one star only because I found the troubleshooting chapter a little thin on how to handle gongs that ring with an unwanted overtone after years of heavy use, but overall this is now my go-to recommendation for students.

I run a small rental company and bought this hoping for practical advice on inventory management and repair pricing. The setup and rigging chapter is excellent — it prevented at least two ceiling mounts that would have been unsafe. But the business chapter felt a bit generic on rental pricing models; I had to do my own research on what equipment rental rates to actually charge. Still, a useful reference, and the glossary is handy for my less experienced staff.

Finally — a reference work that treats gongs as precision instruments, not souvenirs. I'm a collector and a builder, and the explanation of how alloy composition and wall thickness interact with the hammering pattern is the clearest I've ever read. The comparison of sand-cast versus rolled and hammered gongs alone is worth the purchase. The future trends chapter is also genuinely informative — I've now had conversations with my supplier about alternative alloys because of it.

It's a decent reference but I can't say it changed my setup much. I've been playing for twenty years and the first three chapters confirmed what I already knew. The maintenance section is where this book earns its keep — the torque spec table for suspension bolts and the buzzing diagnosis section solved an issue I'd been chasing for months on my stage gong. If you're a beginner or a technician, you'll love it; for an established professional it's more of a reference backup.