Once upon the RAV Vast. The history of RAV Vast - the legendary tongue drum

Unrivaled sound quality, shining shell, beautiful voice, and endless opportunities for creation – this is the RAV Vast we all know today. But how was it born? Here’s the history of the RAV Vast evolution told by the RAV’s creator – Andrey Remyannikov

I was always fond of constructing things that would work, and this where I think I belong. Although I wasn’t sure what it would be, I always knew I was dedicated to creating something big. In my dreams, it was something I would be able to create easily, but in reality, it was much harder, of course. I was expecting to create something big in my life, something that many people will need. And if it is a useful invention, I would be able to create a company.

As for the RAV Vast, it actually started in 2013. I was watching the handpan videos on YouTube. I was captivated by the instrument's sound, and just like many other enthusiasts, I was infatuated with the idea of having a handpan. Those times the handpans were extremely hard to obtain. The price was over $2000 and the waiting period was more than two years. I wasn’t ready to wait this long. I am an engineer and had already been constructing various items, including remote-control gadgets, so I decided I was skilled enough to craft a handpan by myself.

The method of tuning the handpans was a secret, so I tried to find my own way. I crafted two tank drum prototypes hammering propane tanks for hours (and that was really hard I should say!), but in the end I could only make 2 notes sound good. When I decided enough was enough, I got an idea to involve my engineering background. I decided to create a tongue drum that would sound like a handpan. I started designing the future shape of the RAV Vast drum on my computer and modeled all the elements' attitude. The first three frequencies were tuned the way they are tuned in the handpan. The sound of the first instruments was still far from the clear handpan sound. However, the notes were tuned well, and I thought this was the thing I can work with.

How did you end up with the first prototype?

The fact that I could design the unique shape of the RAV’s tongue that would look nice and produce the required sound was from one side thanks to my intuition and knowledge and from another – an absolute fortune, just like any invention. I got an idea to make a slot with the “V” shape today and patented the tongue shape with four harmonious overtones tuned to it. While working, I found that by changing the tongue's shape, it will be possible to tune up the 5th, 6th, and 7th overtones.  The people in the handpan community didn’t believe it was possible to tune even 4 overtones, and I was happy to know I overpassed their expectations.

It took me a year to create three different configurations of the RAV’s prototype. They were still far from today’s perfectly tuned RAV drum, but I worked to improve them. Some prototypes had a veneer resonator (just like the guitar). There were options with the holes along the sides. But then I came up with the idea to create a hermetic shape. It provided much more volume to the instrument. I sold a few RAVs in a year and kept on working on the sound quality. Consistency is always the key. Every day after work and each time I saw the instrument I couldn’t stop myself from playing.

How did you start the RAV company?

When I finally created a high-tech instrument that rivaled the handpan sound quality and was still much more affordable, I thought I could do a business out of it. From selling a few drums in a year, I switched to selling 7 drums in a month. And I should say it was a great challenge to create and sell so many of them in such a short time. It was forced and desired development. Different people worldwide started asking to add them to a waiting list to get the RAV drum one by one. The team was growing with 2, 3, 4, and more members, and we created a company.

How did the RAV Vast get its name?

The name of the instrument was actually created by the people who were chatting in the handpan forum. In the beginning, there was no name for the instrument. RAV was actually my nickname. But the forum visitors thought that “RAV” was the instrument name and started calling it “the RAV drum”.

How do you feel as the RAV Vast inventor?

I don’t feel like a great inventor, to be honest. If there was no precedent, I would not be able to create the RAV. I just tried to do something good that people would need and would love.

I am a little bit confused when I get enthusiastic letters from customers. Because to me creating RAV does not seem like something really incredible. I didn’t spend decades to create it. People always think if you made something great, then you are some kind of a superman. There’s always some part of mystification about the inventor. But to be true, inventors are ordinary people. You simply need to feel the passion, excitement, and have some basic skills in the field. And it’s more than enough to create something that gets better than competitors.

And it concerns anything, especially the greatest inventions. Let’s take Apple. There was passion, managing skills and knowledge in the field.  Of course, there was a plan, but it was mainly about passion and a belief that they could create something outstanding. A belief that you will find a non-compromising solution is a point to start working on outstanding inventions.

Are you looking for the legendary RAV Vast? Check the variety of drums available for sale in our online store. The RAV Virtual Player will help you to choose and buy the one which is the best for you to start playing enchanting tongue drum music.