When shopping for a chime there are some things that are good to consider. First of all, do you prefer a loud chime or one that is a bit quieter? Generally, the larger the chime is the louder the chime will be when the wind blows. Also, some high quality wind chimes will use chime tubes that are thicker than the standard chime thickness. Music of the Spheres is a good example of thick walled chimes. For any given size chime, these thick walled wind chimes will ring longer and produce a louder volume. Typically, this would be considered a good thing by most people, but you will have to decide if the loud volume is what you prefer.

Tone:

The next consideration should be the quality of the tone. Not all chimes are created equal and tone is what separates the men from the boys in the chime world. If the tone is not pleasing, your ear will soon become traumatized and this will produce an uneasiness in oneself, at least at the subconscious level.

Quality tone is the hallmark of quality wind chimes. For the chime to produce good tone each chime tube needs to be perfectly tuned and all tubes on a chime must be tuned to each other. When the wind blows and the chime starts producing it's sound, each tube will produce it's own unique tone. The combination of the individual tones will blend together and produce the fundamental frequency for each tube and a series of harmonic tones that are a result of the combined fundamental tones. If the tubes are correctly tuned they will produce pleasing harmonics that are mathematical overlays of all other harmonics. As an example, if you play two guitars that are in perfect tune with each other, the resulting sound will be pleasing to the ear. On the other hand, if one of the guitars is out of tune, then the resulting combined sound of the two guitars will not sound good to the listener. This is exactly the same effect you will get from a wind chime that does not have perfectly tuned chime tubes. It will sound "out of tune".

Quality:

Quality wind chimes will be made from quality materials and the manufacturer will have taken the steps necessary to make sure the tuning process is done correctly. Sometimes it is difficult to tell whether the materials are high quality just by looking at the chime. The things to look for are string quality, tone, tuning, craftsmanship and packaging.

Quality strings will be thick enough to support the tubes over extended times, even when the wind blows hard. Some strings look thick enough but will deteriorate over time because they do not have stabilizers impregnated in the string to make them resistant to ultraviolet light. Generally, strings will be black in color if they have the UV protection.

Listen to the chime. Does it sound good to you? If there are other chimes in the vicinity, play several chimes at the same time. If the tuning and tone are correct all chime will sound good when played together. Low quality chimes might look pretty, but when played together they will create a dissonance that is unpleasing to the ear.

Look to see if there are metal burrs on the chime tubes and check the tube finish. High quality chimes will not have any metal burrs and the finish will be perfect on all chime parts. All support strings will be of equal length on a quality chime and the tube support holes will be smooth so they don't cut the string.

Look at the packaging and make sure the manufacturer packaged the chime so that the parts can't get scratched in transit. The packaging should be stout and literature should accompany each chime.

Conclusion:

To be satisfied with your chime purchase the key elements to be concerned with are volume, tone, and quality. All chimes will sound different, but if these three features are inherent in the chimes you select, they will always sound good, whether played alone or with other quality chimes.