Written by Ambre Montespan - Updated on Aug 15, 2026
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Do you live in Australia and want to buy a handpan? Are you curious about the different manufacturers of this percussion instrument in the country? Where exactly are they located? What are the prices, and how long will it take before you can pick up your future handpan?
Having played the handpan for over 10 years now, I’ve also developed a passion for the people who handcraft this sound-making object. As a result, I’ve spent some time researching the professionals based in Australia, and I’ll now share everything I’ve discovered about them.
To my knowledge, there are only three workshops that make handpans in Australia, which is quite a small number. They are Hybrid Percussion, Celestial Sound, and MattOpan.
As you read this article, you’ll learn:
- The history and locations of Australian handpan makers
- The pricing and production timelines offered by these professionals
This way, you’ll quickly be able to decide whether it’s worth visiting one of these workshops to get your own handpan or whether choosing another option would make more sense.
Let’s now take a closer look at the different handpan manufacturers located in the land of wallabies and kangaroos.
Who makes handpans in Australia?
It turns out that only three workshops truly handcraft handpans in Australia. Let’s look at them one by one.
Hybrid Percussion, the pioneer from Lismore
If you trace the history of the Australian handpan, you’ll almost inevitably come across one name: Matt Ledgar. First under the name Sonic Pi Handpans (also known as Pi Sonic Pans) and later as Hybrid Percussion, he began crafting handpans in northern New South Wales as early as 2015, around Lismore and Mullumbimby. He calls his instrument the “Pi.” It is a handpan forged from nitrided steel, with a shell measuring 53 cm (20.9 in) in outer diameter. Matt Ledgar crafts custom scales, handling the entire manufacturing process in-house from start to finish.
One detail that says a lot about Matt Ledgar’s tenacity: his workshop was hit hard by the Lismore floods in late March 2017, when the Wilsons River reached 11.59 m (38.02 ft) on March 31, the highest flood level since 1974, caused by the remnants of Tropical Cyclone Debbie. Despite this tragedy, he continued to craft handpans by restoring his workshop. His prices remain among the most affordable in the country, at around CA$1,770 depending on the number of notes.
Celestial Sound, the handpan maker of the Otways
Celestial Sound is a small artisanal workshop that has been crafting handpans since 2018. What sets this professional workshop apart is that it operates with complete energy self-sufficiency when crafting musical instruments. Naturally located in Australia, Celestial Sound practices its craft in a small garden nestled within the Otways rainforest in the state of Victoria. Educational events are occasionally organized, and a handpan maintenance and repair service is also offered. The motto of Tim Tom, the brand’s owner and organizer of the PanOz festival, is: “If I wouldn’t buy it myself, I wouldn’t sell it!”
Celestial Sound offers custom scales, as well as a series called “Light” for those who prefer the simplicity of letting the maker choose the notes that will be featured on the instrument. Price-wise, expect to pay around CA$2,400. The price varies depending on the number of notes, as well as whether you want a 100% custom model. Lead time is not specified, but expect several months, because when I checked the models on display, none were available, suggesting a long waiting list. Listen to an example of what Celestial Sound produces in the video below:
MattOpan, the tabla, the street, then the hammer
The story of Matt Ostila, known as “Matto” to the community, begins far from the hammering of steel. It all started in 2004, when this young musician played the tabla, an Indian instrument, and the didgeridoo on the streets of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, to earn a little money. After a conversation with a passerby, he heard about the Hang, the instrument from the Swiss company PANArt that gave rise to the handpan. However, since his luggage was already too full to bring anything back to Australia, he didn’t follow through on the idea of buying one. A few years later, a friend finally introduced him to this percussion instrument, and he became instantly obsessed.
It would take Matt Ostila nearly 10 years to transition from player to maker, as he began his career in this field between 2014 and 2015, spurred on by Matt Ledgar, whom I mentioned earlier. However, as Matt Ostila himself acknowledges, it took him several years of practice to achieve a satisfactory result. It wasn’t until 2017 that he founded the MattOpan brand, settling in Murwillumbah, in northern New South Wales, where he works alone in a soundproofed room set up beneath his house. His handpans are crafted from nitrided steel in 11 different, relatively traditional tunings. They measure 50 cm (20 in) in diameter and cost around CA$2,880. It’s hard to say exactly how many leave his workshop each year: he himself admits that business is slow and that his waiting list can be counted on one hand.
Treat yourself to a superb, high-quality handpan available quickly
The Australian handpan isn’t in the same league as the major European houses, nor does it claim to be. What’s being created there is something else entirely: a handful of determined artisans who have chosen to forge locally to overcome their geographic isolation. Thanks to everything you’ve read in this article, you now certainly know much more about the handpan makers based in Australia.
However, most of these manufacturers don’t have any instruments in stock and have production lead times that can exceed several weeks or months. So, if you’re looking to get a high-quality instrument quickly, I recommend the online store Instruments du Monde, which has been firmly established in the handpan world since 2021 and offers nearly 100 different models. Personally, I really like the sound therapy handpan, which is available in 440 or 432 hertz.
Listen to this handpan now by clicking on the image below:
Now that you’ve taken these tips into account, do you know the difference between a Hang drum and a handpan? I invite you to find out in this interesting article that explores the historical roots of this sound-making object.
