Description
Thai Gongs for Hire
A Thai gong has a central raised boss or nipple. They have a clear and resonant tone that is mainly note as opposed to other styles of gongs which are more splashy gongs and indistinct. They are most often tuned to various pitches. Thai gongs are used in the east for worship. For example, in the central Javanese gamelan, the largest gong is called gong ageng, ranges in size up to 1 meter in diameter, has the deepest pitch and is played least often; the next smaller gong is the gong suwukan or siyem, has a slightly higher pitch and replaces the gong ageng in pieces where gong strokes are close together; the kempul is smaller still, has a higher pitch, and is played more frequently. The gong ageng and some gong suwukan have a beat note.Thai Gongs cover a large range from C2 - C6.
There are many variations of gong found throughout the World and generally these instruments come from the Far East. A gong is easy to mistake as a tam tam and hire companies are regularly asked for tam tams when the client means gong and gongs when the client means tam tams. As a general rule, the gong has a specific pitch and more often than not a nipple or raised boss in the centre (but not always) and a tam tam has a more indefinite pitch and is much more splashy and crashy.