Djembe - I need the best

[Grateful1]

Hey folks.

SO I am upgrading my djembe and I figured some of you play it as well as congas. I am prety much set on the Mienl Flotune 12 3/4" rubber wood djembe ($349). I was wanting to know if there was any better drum out there for the money. They also offer this drum in wood, fiberglass, or rubber wood. What will the differeences in these be? Also they sell 12 in or 12 3/4 of an inch. what will the extra 3/4 of an inch do for me?

[Amber]

Hi,

I play djembe also and therefore have some experience with that instrument. I must admit that I would never buy an non traditional djembe because I learned it to play in a west african context. (we Europeans are nearer to Africa and therefore are blessed with probably more traditional teachers coming from Guinea, Mali, Senegal.) If you can ,buy a good instrument from Guinea or Mali, because these are the best. But in the end it depends on what kind of sound YOU like and what you want to play.
Just my two cents,

:p Amber

[zwar]

ho grateful1

totaly with amber, never would consider buying factory-djembe.

zwar

[deadhead]

I agree with the above comments, get a rope tuned djembe from west africa. The price you're looking to pay will get a you a very nice one. There are no factory djembes out there that will sound even close to the real thing. Tho they might be well made and sound decent, they are no match for the real deal. Look for an Ivory Coast drum, or a drum made from african hardwood with natural goat skin. Even high dollar drums like the LP Giovanni sound nothing like a real djembe.

[Grateful1]

wow thats a real bummer.....lol.....I have been playing on a toca african djembe for some time but I am getting tired of its hefty, bulky wieght and the constant tuning and re-stringing. I live in Illinois where the Humidity is REDICULOUS, therefore I am constantly tuning my drum and they dont make tuning ropes long enough to keep up...lol....Are the mechanical tuning drums good for stage or studio???? or do I really have to stick with rope tuning???? Thanks for the input I reeally do appreciate your advice.

[deadhead]

There is a huge difference between the toca rope tuned drums and a real african djembe. The rope is better and tighter, and the skins are nicer quality. The tuning process isn't that bad, maybe once a month, and I garuntee the humidty where I live is worse than Illinois. If you stick your djembe out in the sun the head will tighten up without having to pull the ropes at all, but don't leave it out too long, it might possibly pop on you. If you are set on a mechanically tuned djembe thats cool, but I really can't recomend any, all the ones I have owned or played at guitar center have not sounded good in my opinion.

[akdom]

I can only agree...

I've been playing the djembe for 15 years now.

I was tempted once by a key tuned djembe, but I changed my mind.

If you are not in a rush, wait until someone goes to Africa...


I bought my djembe around 20 dollars 15 years ago..... In Africa.

The music market in the US and Europe is stealing blind Africa when it comes to instruments.. Do not support that !

B

[korman]

I also play the djembe, and I can say I tried the Meinl's floatune model in the music shop, and felt it was not worth the money they asked for it (about 320USD), mainly because of the skin. It may have been too thin or what, but I could not tune it the way I like. However, if you can change it (a fiberskin maybe?), that instrument could be a workable solution to tuning hassles.

That said, have you tried re-roping your djembe? I bought a real nice looking static rope in a adventure sports store and restrung my previous drum, and I had to re-tune it considerably less often.

I now have a good djembe from Gambia, and it sounds good the way it came, it was cheaper than factory produced ones and is authentic. I agree that it is best to buy african instrument, because that way people whose culture invented this instrument will also get something

[pavloconga]

When you look at buying an African djembe, turn it upside down and have a look inside at how it has been carved. Some of them are very rough and obviously produced in a hurry. The very best djembes IMHO will have been carved with much care and the carving marks inside the mouth are neat and smooth, sometimes even in a spiral pattern.

Also, look out for djembes that are made from very light weight wood (often from Ghana) in my experience they don't reproduce a very good bass tone and open tones sound too thin. That kind of light weight wood is fine for other Ghanaian drums (e.g. kpanlogo, Ewe type drums, Frontom From) but not good for djembe.

Like others have said, the best djembes are often from Ivory Coast, Mali, Guinea, Senegal etc.
cheers
Pavlo

[Bachikaze]

The best djembe is a conga

I'm mostly against djembes because they are so fashionable. But the worst problem is that the wood to produce them is often rare and endangered. To get the right sound in a drum is not a sufficient reason to wipe out hardwood forests, which their popularity is doing.

That said, the most important factor in a djembe is the head. The quality is important, but getting it super tight does wonders for the sound. Most people don't tighten them enough.

I'd go for a really nice one-piece walnut djembe if I were to buy one now. Walnut makes a great sounding djembe and it is not endangered. It's beautiful as well.

[Garvin]

I disagree with a lot of what has been said in regard to djembes in this thread, but if you want to buy a good guinea or mali style djembe of high quality check out the drums at africanrhythmtraders.com or motherland, or drumskull drums. All of these folks carry professional quality drums with the highest quality of consistent craftsmanship that you are going to find without spending $2000 to go to Africa in order to buy a drum for $20. Just make sure you are willing to spend in to the $300 or so range in order to get what you want.

[zaragenca]

Well I been playing and teaching Djembe for several years,(including african percussionists),..If I play in an african ensemble,yes I would prefer the original drum,but when I'm playing with my ensemble,we are covering a large range of genre from African to Afrocuban and I need to tune my drum sometimes to different pitches for differents genre of music within the presentation,so I have to use the rod tuning system,also if there are humidity(playing out side),I rather play with tthe Remo/Djembe.Dr. Zaragemca

[pavloconga]

I disagree with a lot of what has been said in regard to djembes in this thread, but if you want to buy a good guinea or mali style djembe of high quality check out the drums at africanrhythmtraders.com or motherland, or drumskull drums. All of these folks carry professional quality drums with the highest quality of consistent craftsmanship that you are going to find without spending $2000 to go to Africa in order to buy a drum for $20. Just make sure you are willing to spend in to the $300 or so range in order to get what you want.

Hi Garvin,
Welcome to the forum.

Would be interested to know what you disagree with as far as what was said about djembe in this thread. As for people going to Africa to buy a drum for $20, well, buying an inexpensive drum there is just the 'icing on the cake'. Going to Africa is really about learning and experiencing the mind blowing rhythms played by incredible ensembles and dancers. Out of this world!

anyway, peace and regards
Pavlo

Attachment: http://mycongaplace.com/forum/eng/uploa ... cedrum.jpg

[Garvin]

Hello, I'm very thankful to have found this forum. I was only responding to the comment about someone purchasing a drum for $20 earlier in the thread. I know all about going to Africa. I guess I have just never found any factory djembes to remotely resemble the sound of the real thing. I am glad to have found a community like this though, and will be more careful about those statements.

Peace

[Bachikaze]

In the past 10 years, I've been around djembes and played them. I had a hot djembe made by a djembefola from Bamako out of dogura wood. I've heard all kinds of djembes with all kinds of wood and heads.

African djembes come from Ivory Coast, Senegal, Mali, and Burkina Faso, among other nations in the Sahel/Niger River Basin area. They are made from a wide variety of hardwood trees. They also come in a wide variety of shapes: wide and shallow, tall and narrow, long pipe, short pipe, big heads, small heads. They come with antelope, and male and female goat skins.

So, there is no one wood or shape or head material that is magical. A wood doesn't have to be from an African (or Brazilian for that matter) rainforest to sound good. I have heard hot djembes made of common hardwoods. The drum doesn't know if the wood is African or Canadian. Maple, ash, walnut, and some oaks have excellent sound quality, each with their own character, just as African woods each have their own character.

My point is: a cheap djembe from Africa sounds bad because it's cheaply made for mass consumption, with an uneven bearing edge and a skin from an under-nourished elderly goat. A well-made drum made of North American hardwood and a choice skin will sound every bit as good as the best from Africa.

I think drummers romanticize African drums. I think it's part of a false mythology that surrounds them. But, from what I've heard, the traditional drum was an undecorated, crummy-looking piece of log with a warped, asymetrical shape. It was burned at the end of the year and a new one made to replace it. These polished, intricately-carved models are for Westerners.

It's the drummer (and a good, tight head) that makes the difference.



Edited By Bachikaze on 1177392486