Berlin Kettle-Timpani!

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At the end of the 1950‘s, the Berlin timpani constructed by master-craftsmen like Guenter Ringer had nearly reached perfection. The instruments handcrafted by these artisans quickly became famous worldwide and are still prized today for their remarkable sound and quality.

Sadly, as demand grew, industrialization became necessary. Hand-hammered copper kettles were substituted by machine-made bowls in order to decrease production expense. Unfortunately, the original unique sound was lost, as it was no longer possible to produce fine kettles with an homogeneous thickness, using these new techniques.

Today, those original handcrafted Berlin timpani are still in great demand. After years of extensive investigation and development, we have reached our goal. With pride we can now offer you Berliner timpani, which not only deliver the same high quality, but surpass the legendary drums crafted by the masters of the 1950‘s.

The "heart" of our timpani is the copper kettle. We have found a family of copper smiths, which, in their fourth generation, still practices this rare artistic craft and has been doing so for over 100 years. Even for the most experienced coppersmiths, the creation of precise, hand-raised timpani bowl presents a difficult challenge, which calls on skills learned long ago, then mastered over generations. Our kettles begin as flat copper sheets, and through countless hammer strikes slowly take on the characteristic Berlin kettle shape. Special tools and time-honoured techniques help the master-craftsman in the manufacturing process. Each kettle is a hand-made original, hammered to an evenly thin surface. A final polish gives the instrument a warm and shining glow. The end result is an a copper kettle with a warm, rich timbre, typical of the classic Berlin timpani sound.

 Furthermore, our frame and pedal mechanism are made with the same refinement and precession are our bowls. For instance, we have updated the classic Berliner ratchet-pedal-system by adding 30% more teeth, thus allowing for easier, more precise tuning, while preserving the time-proven, maintenance-free design. The other mechanical parts are built and finished with the same exacting detail, then assembled with absolute precision by our craftsmen.

The frame base, struts, and star are cast in a special aluminum-silica-alloy, then polished and varnished by hand. Each frame is built in such a way that the frame and kettle become a perfectly matched pair. The care with which the bowl is matched to the support ring allows for maximal resonance to be transmitted from the bowl to the frame, then directly to the concert podium. The end result is a kettledrum with the optimal sound imaginable.

As words can hardly describe the quality of our timpani, we invite you to hear the sound.

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The easy perceptibility of the tuning-gauge on a level with the tension-ring, showing white letters on black ground, is appreciated specially in opera-orchestras

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The maintenance - free ratchet-segment of the old Berlin timpani has been refined  by 30 %  and makes tuning more easy. The complete pedal construction is designed to give the timpanist a maximum of  touch for the head tension - and consequently the pitch.

DORFLER Orchestra Pedal Timpani are available in  10 different sizes:

Kettlesize cm / inch

50 / 19,5

54 / 21

58 / 23

60 / 24

64 / 25

66 / 26

72 / 28

74 / 29

78 / 30

80 / 32

- german or international formation

- extreme fine ratchet pedal arrestment

- handhammered copperbowls

- al timpani high 83 cm / 32,5 inch

- tuning gauge

- finetuner

- color redbrown or blueblack

- head protector

- individual kettle sized upon request