Hanging a gong on the wall

jeffpas

Junior Member
I have a second question about gongs- have looked all over the web and surprisingly can't seem to find any answer anywhere.

I'm making my own wall mount for a 26" Chau out of wood. I'm trying to determine how far away from the wall a gong should be hung. Is there some kind of equation used based on its size or weight?
I'd like to be as close as reasonably possible for space considerations.
What is the recommendation, does anybody know? Thanks!

Unfortunately I won't have the gong for a few weeks so I can't really test myself, just wantd to know what the recommended distance is.
Here's a gong that seems to be standing pretty close to the wall behind it:

http://makingmulticulturalmusic.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/real-gong-from-darias-home-studio1.jpg

? ? ?
 

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Will you be playing it or is it just for show? The closest you can get away with to the wall is what I'd do.
 
I would simply mount some kind of L-arm, or, two of them, one to each stud in the wall. That would be too much weight for the drywall. If you're not going to hit it so hard that it bangs into the wall then you can go as close as you can.
 
I thought you ordered the Cowboy gong.

Depends on where you strike it. A strike in the center will not necessarily move it very much. The lower you strike the more swing it will cause. Strike it above center and it will hardly move. Depends on how hard you strike it, obviously. If you walloped it in the center, 8" out should be okay.

Just make sure you find your stud. A 26" gong should hang okay on a decorative hook with a 8-12" reach. Don't use the screws that come with the hook, though. Make sure they're at least 2" long. That leaves 1.5" into the stud. If you live in an apartment and they used double drywall for sound proofing make that 2.5" screws.
 
BTW, I know you won't be laying into it all the time, but every once in a while take a look at the cord. It will begin to shred. Wuhan gongs are just drilled and they don't take much care to smooth any rough edges. You might take some emery cloth to the holes to smooth them out. You might even need a rat tail file. Or you could slightly touch it with a reamer bit if you have one. Of course, if you do, you'll already know that.
 
OK, I give up. I've searched and can't find out what a cowboy gong is. Someone please enlighten me.
 
Looks, like they put it in front of window, probably so people outside could here it, when the window is open. I would treat it kind of like a speaker cabinet, and try to tune it to the room/building. I would expect there are some seriously nice low tones that you wouldn't want to choke, depending on the size and shape of the room. I had a small bass amp years ago, that in my dorm room depending on the location could create standing waves in the room on certain notes that would shake the whole building. Is there a corner available, that might work too.
 
OK sorry I'm back.... yes I ordered the "Sacred Cowboy" as its called, Gongs Unlimited.
I thought it wasn't coming in till mid January but somehow they got the order in early and I got it before I finished the wall mount.

I have no idea why its called that and frankly the lady in ordering didn't either.
Anyway, I think its just awesome. To answer my question, about 5 1/2" from the wall worked ideal for a 26" gong. But I'm not out to shake the house with it.

The thing that impressed me about gongs, that I've never seen with any other instrument.
With just about anything else music wise, the more money you put down, the more expensive the materials and often the bigger it is, the better. So you figure out how much you possibly can handle spending, and then end up spending a little bit more :p
And then of course there's the best ones out there everyone wants that nobody can afford.

This is NOT the case with a gong, at least with me. The 22 and 26" sounded better to me than the 36", which cost twice as much. I almost liked the 22 more than the 26.
And I like the Chau better than a Paiste or a Symphonic.

It made it confusing as hell buying because you felt like you were doing the wrong thing, but thankfully they had recordings, so there it is. There are also many different ways of making gongs that sound almost completely unlike each other.
Definitely listen to them, thats all I can say. But I just wanted one, not for a band or professional use, and not several.
Just my thoughts- Not saying they're right, take them as-is. Thanks for all the feedback!
 
Memphis drum shop ordered one. $26k as I recall. I go by Memphis a lot and always think of stopping in just to wallop that thing. In all the vids of it no one strikes it with any impact. They seem afraid of it. The MDS vids, people just tap it and it shakes their whole being standing in front of it.
 
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