秋 (Qiū) — 40 Inch Ohm Chau Gong Handcrafted in China

This is a 40-inch Chau gong handcrafted in China, made to Ohm Store specifications from a B20 bronze alloy, approximately 78% copper and 22% tin. This is the special and traditional alloy for this gong-style, the gong of the orchestra. 

The plate is formed through repeated cycles of heating, hammering, and cooling. A lathe then cuts the bright gold playing surface at center, and the dark oxidized patina at the rim is left exactly as the casting heat made it.

Special Note -- This Gong is making it's way to us now, this is a pre-order. Your gong will be delivered to you in the first week of June. Because of your special pre-order, we are happy to extend you 20% off to reserve your gong now. 

Sound

A 40-inch Chau gong is a large format gong, as a result you'll experience a deep fundamental anchored in the low-mid range, a sub-bass presence, and a dense cluster of overlapping modal frequencies that operate simultaneously. The character is full and complex rather than tonally simple, because the plate is producing a great number of distinct resonant frequencies at once. A wall of sound. 

The dynamic range of this instrument spans from a barely audible low hum at the softest touch to a full, room-filling crash at maximum force, with every gradation between accessible and usable.

The sustain on a gong this size in this alloy is significant. A single full strike will hold for well over a minute. The energy stored in 40 inches of B20 bronze simply has nowhere to go quickly, and the result is a decay curve that extends far beyond what most people expect from a struck instrument. At softer dynamics the individual frequency layers remain perceptible and distinct, which is what makes this size practical for close therapeutic work and not only large performance spaces. You do not need to drive the instrument hard to access its complexity.

New instruments like these benefit from being "played in." Over the first several weeks of regular use, the plate's internal structure will settle and the gong will open further.

The Character 秋

The character stamped above center is 秋 — Qiū, meaning Autumn. Its origins are in oracle bone script, where early forms depicted a cricket, the insect whose chirping signals the season's arrival. The character later evolved to combine 禾 (grain) with 火 (fire), a reference to the agricultural practice of burning fields after harvest to clear the land and return nutrients to the soil. It holds abundance and conclusion in a single image. In Chinese literary tradition it carries a specific emotional register called 悲秋 — autumn sorrow — the particular quality of awareness that comes at peak fullness, when the harvest is in and the light is beginning to go.

For a gong, it is an accurate mark. This instrument opens fully, sustains for an extraordinary duration, and then fades. That arc is what the character describes.

Specifications

Diameter: 40 inches (100cm). Alloy: B20 bronze (~78% copper, 22% tin). Weight is approximately 42 pounds. 

 Handcrafted in China, exclusively for Ohm Store. 

INCLUDED: Comes with Starter Gong Stand, Starter Gong Mallet and Gong Cover with Ohm Logo. 

Check out the 36 inch version of this gong here, or our current gong selection here.