[1] It is a collection of small gongs (sometimes called "kettles" or "pots") placed horizontally onto strings in a wooden frame (rancak), either one or two rows wide.

All of the kettles have a central boss, but around it the lower-pitched ones have a flattened head, while the higher ones have an arched one.

Bonang may be made of forged bronze, welded and cold-hammered iron, or a combination of metals.

The kolenang, a bonang whose single row of kettles is laid out in a V or U shape, is a leading melodic instrument in the Sundanese Gamelan degung.

[2] The bonang is similar to the Balinese reong and the single-row kulintang of the southern Philippines and Borneo.