C major, all thirteenThe scale
12-Inch Steel Tongue Drum, 13 Notes in C Major — Full Kit
Scarlet
Sale price
$199.90
Regular price $265.90
Save $66
Skip to product information
The 12-inch Steel Tongue Drum
Twice the diameter, thirteen notes, and the full pack. The size most people should buy.
Sale price
$199.90
Regular price $265.90
Save $66
Free US shippingDelivered in 2–3 weeks
30-day returnsWith the packaging still sealed
3-year warrantyFrom the day it arrives
Nothing else to buyThe full pack is in the box
Choose your color:
Scarlet
Size guide
Is the 12-inch right for you? Thirteen notes, deeper voice, long sustain — the living-room size. For the lowest notes and two more, the 14-inch Master is $100 more.
See it played
1 / 5
Description
Twice the diameter of the 6-inch, and you hear it straight away.
Longer tongues mean lower notes, and a twelve-inch shell holds them longer. Thirteen notes give you room for full melodies rather than short phrases — and C major sits comfortably under a guitar, a piano or a voice, so this is the drum that plays with other people.
Carbon steel. The notes are engraved on the tongues, and stickers are included if you prefer larger markings.
Mallets, their stand, a padded bag and a songbook are in the box.
Care
Wipe the shell with a dry cloth after playing, and store the drum in its bag when you are not using it. Keep it out of damp rooms and away from direct sun, which is what dulls a painted finish over time.
A steel tongue drum keeps its tuning: a cut tongue does not drift with playing, travel or temperature. There is nothing to adjust and nothing to retune.
Shipping and returns
Free shipping anywhere in the US.
Leaves the workshop in 1–3 business days, shipped by air.
Delivery time: 2–3 weeks within the continental United States.
More information here.
You have 30 days from delivery to request a return, with the packaging still sealed, for a full refund.
More information here.
Played at any age.
No lessons, no reading music
Old enough already
Touch it and it sounds good
No wrong note
Screen-free, willingly
Less screen time. More music.
Nothing to read
Never too late to start
Playing on the very first evening
No lessons needed
Three ways to play it.
With malletsBright
With fingertipsWarm
The 12-inch, next to the ordinary $130 drum.
The 12-inch$199.90
A typical $130 drum$130 and under
Diameter
12 in · 30 cm
8 in · 20 cm
Notes
13
8
Tuning
By hand · ±5 cents
Often off-pitch
Shell
Carbon steel
Galvanized sheet
In the box
Bag, mallets, stand, songbook
Drum only
Warranty
3 years
None
Returns
30 days, sealed
Case by case
Category comparison · no seller named
Every specification, and the box.
- Diameter
- 12 in · 30 cm
- Notes
- 13
- Scale
- C major
- Pitch
- 440 Hz
- Tuning
- By hand · ±5 cents
- Shell
- Carbon steel, painted
- Note names
- Engraved on every tongue
- Delivery
- 2–3 weeks · free US shipping
- Returns
- 30 days, sealed
Tongue drum questions
What people ask before they pick a drum.
The questions we get asked most about this instrument.
Depth and range. Thirteen notes instead of eight, a wider shell and a lower fundamental — the notes carry longer and fill a room rather than a desk. It is the size most people settle on: complete enough to play on its own, small enough to carry in one hand.
Easier, if anything. It rests on a lap, a cushion or a table, and the extra width means the tongues sit further apart, so each one is simpler to strike cleanly. The only real difference is weight, which is why it travels in a padded bag.
No. Every tongue belongs to the same scale, so any order you strike them in stays in key. Children work it out in minutes, and most adults are playing something that sounds finished within the first evening.
Both, and they give you two instruments. Mallets are brighter, louder and more precise — the way most demonstrations are played. Fingers and thumbs give a softer, closer sound that suits quiet playing. Unlike a handpan, a tongue drum takes mallets with no risk to the tuning.
No. The tongues are cut into a single thick shell, so the pitch is a property of the steel itself rather than something hammered into the surface. It holds indefinitely — which is why a tongue drum survives travel, children and years of use where a handpan would need attention.
Wipe it dry after playing and keep it in its bag when you are not. It needs no oiling and no special storage, but it will mark if you drag it across a rough surface or leave it damp. This is the low-maintenance instrument of the two.
Yes. This drum is covered for three years, counted from the day it arrives. Across the range, the 6-inch carries one year and the 12-inch and 14-inch three. It covers the drum itself in normal use: if something isn't right, send us a photo or a short recording and we will sort it out with you.