Wind chimes are bought from silent photographs and judged by ear for the next decade. These four checks close the gap.

Ask for the chord by name

A tuned chime has a named chord — pentatonic, a major key, a gentle minor. If the listing says ‘soothing tones’, the tubes were cut to lengths, not to notes.

Ours is on the quote, and for memorial pieces we will send a recording before you commit.

Check where the tubes are drilled

The hang hole belongs at the node — a fifth of the way down — where the tube’s vibration stands still. Drilled at the top edge, the cord damps every ring into a knock.

It is the easiest spec to check on a chime you own, and the most commonly botched one in the category.

Look at the striker

One striker serves every tube, so it must hang centred and weighted at the tubes’ sweet spot. Off-centre strikers play two tubes and carry four passengers.

Shot from below, a good chime looks like a clock face with the striker at dead centre. That photo is on our product pages.

Put the words where they belong

Engraving a tuned tube shifts its note — so names, dates and logos go on the sail and clapper, where they read better and cost the sound nothing.

A supplier happy to engrave your tubes is telling you the tubes were never really tuned.

Then choose the voice

Aluminum rings; bamboo knocks. One is a chord, the other is weather-music, and the right answer depends on the porch, not the price list.

We sell both and will say plainly which your use case wants.