The E-Pan: More Than 35 Years of Innovation, 20 Years of Commercial Sales, and Lessons for the Steelpan Community
After careful consideration, I am announcing that NAPE Inc. has discontinued the manufacturing and sale of the E-Pan. Effective immediately, we are no longer accepting E-Pan orders through our website.
This decision brings an important chapter of my life’s work to a close. The E-Pan represents more than 35 years of research, experimentation, development, and innovation, alongside 20 years of commercial sales. What began as a vision to expand the possibilities of the steelpan evolved into an electronic instrument that I developed, refined, manufactured, and brought to market through NAPE Inc.
Over the years, I introduced three versions of the E-Pan, with configurations that included Tenor, Double Seconds, Double Tenor, Double Guitar, and Six Bass. Each stage represented continued work to advance the instrument and explore new possibilities for steelpan performance, music education, and digital music technology.
The E-Pan was a labour of love. However, passion and commitment alone cannot sustain a business indefinitely. After carrying the financial, technical, manufacturing, and commercial responsibilities of this project for so many years, I have concluded that continuing E-Pan production is no longer sustainable.
Although this chapter is closing, there are important lessons from this journey that I believe are worth sharing with the steelpan community, educators, musicians, young people, and anyone interested in innovation and entrepreneurship.
A Thank You to Those Who Supported the E-Pan
To every individual, musician, educator, institution, and customer who purchased an E-Pan, I extend my sincere gratitude.
You deserve to take a bow.
You understood that supporting an innovation requires more than expressing admiration for the idea. It requires a practical commitment to the product and the person who invested the time, knowledge, resources, and determination to bring it into existence.
Your purchases helped make it possible for the E-Pan to reach musicians and users over the years. I appreciate that support, and I will always value the people who chose to invest in this instrument.
This announcement is not intended to criticize those who did not purchase an E-Pan. Everyone has different financial circumstances, priorities, and needs. However, the experience has reinforced an important lesson about what it takes to sustain homegrown innovation.
A Lesson for the Steelpan Community: Support Must Be Practical
We often speak proudly about the steelpan, its cultural significance, its international recognition, and the achievements of our musicians. We celebrate innovation and encourage our young people to become entrepreneurs, inventors, and creators.
But we must also ask ourselves a difficult question: Are we prepared to support our own innovations in practical ways?
Consider a Trinbagonian who opens a doubles stand, a meat shop, or a grocery. The community may praise the owner, admire the initiative, and express pride in the business. But if people consistently choose not to purchase from that business, it will eventually struggle to survive.
The same principle applies to inventions, technology, and creative enterprises. An inventor may spend decades developing a product, but if the market does not provide enough support to sustain production, the business cannot continue indefinitely.
A community cannot expect its own businesses, inventors, and entrepreneurs to thrive if it is unwilling or unable to support them through meaningful purchases.
Pride in our culture is important. Encouragement is valuable. Recognition matters. But none of these can replace the economic support required to sustain a business.
This is not unique to steelpan, nor is it a criticism of any one individual or organization. It is a lesson in economics, entrepreneurship, and community development. If we want our own innovations to thrive, support must be reflected not only in what we say, but also in what we do.
My Experience with the University of the West Indies
During the E-Pan’s early development, when it was still a prototype, I presented the instrument to the head of the Engineering Department at the University of the West Indies (UWI). Following my presentation, the department head invited several of the university’s top students to attend and see the instrument.
I welcomed the opportunity to demonstrate what I had been developing. However, I received no assistance from UWI in developing, manufacturing, or commercializing the E-Pan.
Following that presentation, a separate effort emerged at UWI to develop an alternative electronic instrument. The concept I presented was subsequently used as the basis for an attempt to develop and commercialize a competing product. I regarded this as a serious concern, particularly given the intellectual property and years of independent work behind my invention.
The UWI project was reportedly supported by a substantial investment of public funds, which I understand to have exceeded TT$65 million. Despite that investment, their product did not reach the commercial market.
There was also a fundamental technical distinction between the two approaches. The E-Pan was designed as a standalone electronic steelpan with its own internal sound-generating and processing capabilities. The UWI instrument was a MIDI controller, which relied on external sound-generating equipment or software to produce sound. These are different approaches to electronic musical instruments.
I share this experience as my account of what happened during that period. It raises important questions about how we recognize independent inventors, protect intellectual property, evaluate competing innovations, and use public resources to advance technological development.
Universities have an important role to play in supporting innovation. They can provide expertise, research facilities, mentorship, and opportunities for collaboration. When an independent inventor approaches an institution with a working innovation, there should be a genuine effort to explore whether collaboration is possible and how the inventor’s intellectual property can be respected.
Innovation should encourage collaboration and fair competition, not leave independent inventors feeling that their ideas have been used without meaningful recognition or support.
When Personal Preference Limits Educational Opportunity
I also recall an experience involving a highly reputable university that approached me for a quotation to purchase a set of E-Pans. The intention was to give students an opportunity to learn about steelpan innovation and digital music technology.
I was encouraged by the prospect. It seemed like a meaningful opportunity to introduce students to a different way of experiencing the steelpan and to explore the relationship between traditional musical instruments and modern technology.
A few weeks later, I was informed that the purchase would not proceed because the professor responsible for steelpan music did not support the idea.
I will not identify the institution or the professor. My purpose in sharing this experience is not to embarrass anyone, but to highlight a broader educational lesson.
An educator does not have to personally prefer every instrument, musical style, or technological development. However, personal preference should not automatically determine whether students are given the opportunity to experience and evaluate something new.
The E-Pan was never intended to erase the acoustic steelpan or diminish its cultural importance. It was an additional tool that could have introduced students to electronic instrumentation, digital sound, MIDI technology, and new possibilities for musical learning.
A healthy mindset does not require you to accept every new idea. It requires you to remain open enough to evaluate it fairly.
When educational decisions are made, the central question should be whether an opportunity has learning value for students, not simply whether the decision-maker personally embraces the idea.
A Missed Educational Opportunity for Steelbands
During the E-Pan’s commercial life, I hoped that steelbands would consider acquiring the instrument as an educational resource.
I recognize that E-Pans were not permitted for use in Panorama competitions under the applicable competition rules. I also understand that steelbands operate with different budgets and financial responsibilities. The E-Pan was not a replacement for the acoustic steelpan, nor was it intended to be.
However, outside the competitive setting, the E-Pan offered an opportunity for young musicians to explore digital music technology while remaining connected to the instrument and musical tradition they already knew.
No steelband purchased an E-Pan during its 20-year commercial period.
I consider this a missed educational opportunity. Steelbands are important centres of musical learning, cultural preservation, mentorship, and youth development. Introducing young musicians to electronic instruments and digital music could have complemented their acoustic steelpan education and helped them explore the expanding world of music technology.
The broader lesson is that we should not limit the development of young musicians to the tools and methods with which we are already familiar. We should give them opportunities to understand both the traditions we have inherited and the technologies that may shape the future of music.
The Real Cost of Innovation
An invention is often judged by the finished product that people see. What is less visible is the work required to bring that product into existence.
Behind the E-Pan were decades of research and development, experimentation, design, prototyping, manufacturing challenges, technical refinement, intellectual property considerations, marketing, customer service, and financial risk.
These responsibilities required a sustained personal and professional commitment. Developing an invention is one challenge. Turning it into a reliable product, manufacturing it, finding customers, and maintaining a viable business are entirely different challenges.
The E-Pan journey taught me that innovation requires more than technical ability. It requires perseverance, financial resources, a viable market, practical support, and an environment in which independent creators can develop their ideas and bring them to the people who may benefit from them.
For young people who dream of becoming inventors, entrepreneurs, musicians, or technology developers, I encourage you to pursue your ideas and learn as much as you can. But also learn the business side of innovation. Understand your costs, protect your intellectual property, study your market, seek constructive partnerships, and build a realistic plan for sustaining your work.
Most importantly, do not measure the value of your contribution solely by whether a business ultimately survives. There is knowledge gained, experience acquired, technology developed, and a legacy created through the process.
Continuing the Journey Through Steelpan App Pro V2
Although NAPE Inc. has discontinued E-Pan manufacturing and sales, our commitment to steelpan education and technology continues.
We invite the steelpan community to support our Steelpan App Pro V2, available on Apple’s iOS platform. The app brings steelpan resources into the hands of musicians, students, educators, and enthusiasts, with nine steelpan instrument configurations ranging from Tenor to Seven Bass, tuning functionality, and educational resources.
The app is another way to explore the steelpan through technology, whether you are learning, practising, teaching, or deepening your understanding of the instrument.
NAPE Inc. intends to continue maintaining the app for as long as there is sufficient support from the steelpan community to make that possible.
If you value the work we are doing, I encourage you to subscribe to Steelpan App Pro V2 and share it with fellow musicians, steelbands, teachers, students, and anyone interested in steelpan education.
Supporting this app is a practical way to help ensure that our work in steelpan technology and education continues.
Preserving the E-Pan’s History
While E-Pan manufacturing and sales have ended, the NAPE Inc. website, www.NAPEinc.com, will remain online as a historical and educational resource documenting the E-Pan and its development.
The website will continue to preserve information about the instrument, its versions, its configurations, and the work that went into bringing it to market.
I hope that students, researchers, musicians, inventors, and future generations will find value in this record. The story of the E-Pan is part of the wider story of steelpan innovation and the efforts of individuals who have worked to expand the instrument’s possibilities.
I remain proud of the work I undertook and the technology I developed. Discontinuing commercial production does not erase the years of research, the technical accomplishments, or the experience gained along the way.
Final Reflections
The E-Pan journey has been one of vision, perseverance, innovation, challenges, and valuable lessons. After more than 35 years of research and development, alongside 20 years of commercial sales, I have made the decision to bring this manufacturing chapter to a close.
I am grateful to everyone who purchased an E-Pan, followed its development, shared in the journey, or encouraged the work along the way.
To the young people who may read this announcement in the years ahead, I offer this advice: pursue your ideas, develop your skills, respect the work of others, and remain open to learning. Do not be afraid to create something new. At the same time, understand that innovation needs more than applause. It needs knowledge, opportunity, fair treatment, and practical support.
And to the wider steelpan community, I hope we continue to create an environment where homegrown inventors and entrepreneurs can find the support they need to turn ideas into sustainable realities.
The E-Pan manufacturing journey may have come to an end, but the journey of steelpan innovation continues.
Thank you for being part of this chapter.
