Exquisite 5 Inch Tibetan Singing Bowl Made in Nepal with Wooden Striker, Sati...

I bought a 6" Singing Bowl, same design, same color pillow, same striker, etc a week ago. AND, it rang with incredible ease and purity, with a long period of resonance. So, I wanted a "BROTHER BOWL" for singing harmonics. I made sure I ordered from the same company, and the same type of bowl, etc. SO, I pulled out the 5" bowl, but what a disappointment! It rings, but it also makes a terrible scratching noise from the striker on the bronze. If you do a side by side comparison between the two bowls, here are the biggest differences.1. FINISH---The five inch bowl as a very course, rough finish, not shiney, with the paint reaching high up-- near to the lip of the bowl. My 6" bowl is polished, shiney and smooth. Because the 5" bowl is rough, it makes a rasping sound, as the striker moves around the outer lip of the bowl for singing. I get none of that, with the 6" bowl.2. CRAFTSMANSHIP---I think this is why my 5" bowl only resonates half as long, as the 6" bowl. The inner bottom of the 6 inch bowl is smooth, with no indication where the lathe attached to the inside of the bowl. The 5 inch bowl has many ridges from where the lathe knife passed over, with a torus shaped bump too. Because of the lack of a smooth finish, and a well lathed bowl, you dont get a good quality resonance. The rim is rough on the 5 inch, whereas its worked smooth on the 6 inch bowl.3. PAINT---The 5 inch bowl has a thicker, darker paint, than the 6 inch bowl. Also, its painted all the way up to 3/4 of an inch from the rim. (the 6 inch bowl is painted only up to 1 1/2 inch from the rim.) And because of that, cirulating the striker on the 5" bowl hits the paint, producing rasping, like a hiss. You need to drag the striker over unpainted bronze, to get the right ringing. There are different designs on both bowls, but since they are the same manufactorer, the craftsmanship is comparable.I dont know if I just got a 5" bowl made by a new student, or if the bowls manufactored 5 inches or smaller, simplely dont have the level of craftsmanship, and quality control you find on the larger, more expensive bowls. Even tho I gave this 5" bowl 3 stars, believe me, its only because I'm compairing it to the 6 inch bowl. (otherwise, I'd say 4 stars.)MY RECOMMENDATION---if you have the money, get the 6 inch bowl. The 6 inch bowl rings at "A", and the 5 inch rings at "C", if that helps anyone. I'm not saying my 5" bowl doesnt resound. Lets say my 5" bowl sounds like Dylan with a bad cold, and the 6" bowl sounds like a young Pavarotti. SHANTI

The bowl I received appears to be a little taller than the one depicted, plus it is much darker, more bronze colored than what is shown, with the mantras just barely visable. However, it is not distasteful in any way. The pillow is blue & red, whereas the picture shows green & red...but other than that it is as depicted, quite nice really. The cloth things, or flags, or what ever they are called could/should be left out of the package. They are cheap, ugly, and smelled like they had been in somebodies attic since old uncle Lou died...very much wished they were not there, really musty smelling. I purchased the leather striker with this and am glad I did. I read how hard these can be to get used to...NOT true if you use a leather striker. I gave a light tap on the rim with the leather striker and started rubbing it around the bowl. Within 2 revolutions...NO CRAP HERE...within 2 revolutions it started singing and within 5-6 revolutions was at maximum volume, room filling really. I can have it singing within 5-6 seconds everytime I pick it up...WITH THE LEATHER STRIKER. The wood striker is useless! It is very difficult to use, "chatters" all the time, and singing quality is very poor with the wood striker. I bought the leather striker for something like $7 and it is worth 3 times that price considering the sounds it brings out of the bowl, rich, full, and room filling for such a small 5" bowl. EVERY bowl should come with a leather striker. Am I happy with my purchase...without a doubt. Was it a bargin, even including the extra $7 for a leather striker...without a doubt. Would I make this investment again,...YES. I would have given it 5 stars if it had come with the leather striker instead of the wood.

I love this thing. I became interested in Tibetan singing bowls after hearing one in a YouTube video a while back, and experiencing one in person is a drastically different experience. This is not to say that listening to a recording of one is "bad" or in any way undesirable, but when you play one you can feel its energy coursing through you and that aspect of the bowl simply doesn't get captured by a microphone. The sound of the bowl is extremely pleasing and feeling its ringing resonate through your body is great for relaxation and meditation. The striker included is wood and I ended up picking up a leather-wrapped striker as well for two reasons. The first due to personal preference in that, while the scratching of it as you play the bowl is not unpleasant, I prefer the "purer" sound of the leather ones. Secondly, the included one feels small and is harder for me to handle at about 5", whereas the leather-wrapped striker I picked up afterwards is about 7" (for reference, I'm a guy with fairly "normal" hands, possibly a little on the smaller side but not by much... a smidgen longer than the leather striker from the heel of the palm to the tip of my middle finger).

When I ordered this singing bowl, of course I expected what was pictured. A bronzy, golden bowl with the mallet. However, when I opened up my box I had a dark gray/black bowl, with green inscriptions and designs. At first, because I have never really played a singing bowl before and had only seen one once, I thought I had been given some sort of novelty because I could not get it to sing.If you haven't played with one like I hadn't, give it an hour or two, and you'll get it. Now I can make the bowl sing every time with ease. I just have to give it a tap, and then I can make it last for as long as I want, and it's a great sound. Also, I actually really love the design I've gotten. The green color is great, and the mallet has felt on it which is necessary for those low hums. I'm exceptionally pleased with this, and I've gotta say it's worth the money.This is only my first one so I know I'm uneducated with these, but it is terrific.