Ivory Coast Djembe?

[ilikebananafudge]

Hey everyone!

First let me introduce myself. My name is Adam and I live near Boston, Massachusetts. I'm 19 years old, and I just finished my freshman year at college. My 'rhythmic' background is limited; I've only played drum-set for about a year now.

I'm new to the world of djembe drums, and I was looking for advice on buying one. I have spent the past week doing some light research and I've realized that my initial budget of $150 is way too low if I want a decent drum. My goal is to get a nice drum that I can bring to my dorm room and learn to play with, and hopefully not have to replace.

I've read shorty and Kana's threads about buying drums, and I found the information useful but not entirely applicable to my situation.

The first websites I looked at were:
http://www.x8drums.com/
http://www.djembedirect.com/
http://www.wwdrums.com/
http://www.motherrhythm.com/

I thought that I was ready to buy from one of those websites, Mother Rhythm Drums, when I realized that their drums were lathe-turned. So I did some research beacause that seemed like cheating. That's when I found this place!

From what I understand, you should only buy djembes from 3 countries: Mali, Guinea, and Ivory Coast. Also, hard wood is preferable. Hand carved is a must. Goat skin, rope tuned, 12" head or larger, etc.

This lead me to these websites:
http://wuladrum.com/
http://www.drumskulldrums.com/
http://www.goatskins.com/
http://www.rhythmhousedrums.com/
http://djembemandrums.com/

However, all of these drums were a lot more expensive. I decided to change my budget to around $300 US. This has lead me to look at the Iroko wood Ivory Coast drums more closely, because they fit my budget and my impressions are that they are respectable drums. The ones I've been looking at are available from goatskins.com and rhythmhousedrums.com. I've also considered a WULA drum made of Melina, but all they have right now are artist models available, which are out of my price range.

Are Ivory Coast drums made of Iroko wood generally decent drums? Also, how does a Melina WULA drum compare to the Ivory Coast drums? Any other suggestions are more than welcome of course.

Unfortunately I'm not exactly sure what my preference for sound is, considering I have hardly ever played a djembe (my cousin has one). I'll probably just end up liking whatever I get because I don't have expectations.

Please let me know what you think! And sorry for the long post.

Thanks,
Adam

[Rhythm House Drums]

I've got a huge sale on my Ivory Coast Djembes right now... 295. It'll last through the end of the month. They're great drums. I've also got some large 13.75 - 14" shells (Iroko from Ivory Coast) that I haven't headed yet and can use your color pref. on rope, as well as skin pref. These customized will run 325... still a great deal for the Ivory Coast drums.


Let me know if you're interested!

In my opinion, the Ivory Coast drums are great. Tuned properly they have a tight cracking slap and melodic tones. They aren't quite as bright sounding as harder wood djembes like Lenke and Khadi. Only people who have been playing a while on different drums or have an excellent ear can really hear the differences in wood. I know this discussion (wood type to sound) has trampled this forum a lot. Iroko wood is light, they are usually the most inexpensive drums in the USA... (doesn't mean they are low quality at all). Great for a beginner or pro. My personal drums are a Mali Khadi djembe (monster) and an Iroko djembe with cow hide.

Hope this helps.

[ilikebananafudge]

Hey, thanks for the advice!

I read somewhere in this forum earlier today that your drum shells are from drumskulldrums.com. Was that a thing of the past, or do you still get your shells from them? I know that they have a good reputation around here.

Thanks,
Adam

[Rhythm House Drums]

I do get most of my Mali, Senegal, and Guinea shells from DrumSkull Drums which I can't say enough good things about. I am currently in talks with another very reputable company which imports high quality drums from Guinea and will use them as well as Drum Skull.

My Ivory Coast shells come from a different source. Unfortunately the quality is closer to a A or A- where I'd rate my other shells a A+. The sound is excellent, and I haven't headed one yet that I didn't like, but the carvings aren't as tight and there might be some more blemishes and I usually have to do some magic on the bearing edge. Sound wise, they're great.

I've got a few other shells for sale that I can head for you if you are interested (from Guinea and 1 from Mali). These are def. A+ shells but might be a bit out of your range. If you want to talk further on specifics, contact me through my website and we'll communicate there.

[bubudi]

hey, fudgeman

iroko drums range from great to poor. there are a lot of factors that go into it, such as the thickness and consistency of the shell, whether the drum was cut from heartwood or sapwood, the bearing edge, the skin that's on it, the quality and tightness of the rings, the quality of the rope and the way it's tuned. also make sure that the diameter of the drum's playing surface is 13" or more.

if you're going to take lessons and intend on visiting west africa at some point to learn the djembe more deeply, invest in a higher end drum. if you're just going to chill with some grooves in your room, save some money for text books or whatever

there are also some great drums coming out of burkina faso and senegal that are available in the states and elsewhere. check out a company called baragnouma (they also sell on ebay) for some burk djembes. drumskull is your safest bet for senegalese drums as they have good quality standards. they are usually made from a wood called dimba which is also known as dugura. it's one of the densest woods around.

[rachelnguyen]

I hate to bombard you with sales pitches, but I do want to let you know that my teacher has a nice bunch of Malian djembes for $350 and we are in Providence, about an hour south of you. You could actually come down and have a peak and play a few to see which one works for you. Feel free to PM me if you want more information.

Some samples are on his site:

www.sidymaiga.com

OK. Commercial message over.

Love,
Rachel

[ilikebananafudge]

Hey all,

Thanks to Rhythm House Drums, bubudi and rachelnguyen for your advice and ideas! I'm going to get in contact with the folks at WULA, and think about how much I'm likely to use the djembe. I'm still open to more suggestions as I have not made up my mind at all, whether I'm going to go for a nicer drum or a cheap one just to see how much I like playing the djembe.

I'm interested in hearing a master play the djembe, to see what the instrument is capable of. Any names I should look up online or in the Boston area that you know of? I'll definitely keep in mind Sidy Maïga.

Again, Thanks for the prompt and thoughtful responses,
Adam

[bubudi]

check out issa coulibaly. actually, he just released a cd. issa teaches at brown university on sundays, that's another trip to providence, but well worth it. otherwise, moussa traore teaches in cambridge and concord in the middle of the week.

[Carl]

I must second the Moussa Traore recommendation. I do not know of anyone better in the Boston area. (on a side note, I'll have to check out Issa Coulibaly when I get the chance. I've heard good things.)

If you have trouble getting in touch with Moussa, PM me. His website is not updated all that often.

Speaking of which, it's been over a year since I've seen him... time to budget a trip to Boston...


C

[rachelnguyen]

I have to second both Issa and Moussa. They are both fantastic players. Issa's new cd is lovely.

I am going to cross post this over in the events section, but on September 26th, there is going to be a HUGE African party in Providence that will feature Issa, Moussa and Sidy playing together, along with sabar drummers from Senegal, a group from Cape Verde, and djs from West Africa. It is going to be a big bash and tons of fun.... so put it on your calendar and come down!

Also, Sidy plays in Boston on Saturdays. I will find out where and post it here so you can go check it out and see what a djembe sounds like in the hands of a great player. It is awesome!

[rachelnguyen]

Ok,

Sidy is playing this saturday at All Asia in Cambridge.

Here's the link:

http://www.allasiabar.com/

If you go, introduce yourself to him and tell him I sent you!

Love,
Rachel

[ilikebananafudge]

Hey everyone!

Many thanks to Rachelnguyen for all your help! I will try to make it to the all asia bar on Saturday, I might be sailing that day, though. If I can't see Sidy play I'll definitely get in touch with Moussa or Issa or both.

As for my djembe buying predicament, I've decided that I will buy a cheap(er) djembe for now to see how much I like playing it, and to see how much time I'm actually able to devote to it. I have a lot to do this school year (frisbee, capoeira, schoolwork, and regular drum set) while also trying to maintain a social life, haha.

Anyways, I was thinking of buying a small WULA drum made of Melina wood, which would have a 10" head and 21" length. I figured this would be fun to jam on, sound great, and not break the bank. I'm not sure how uncomfortable it would be to play though. Are small drums, such as that, really only meant for children? I'm not very tall, but that is a bit smaller than a regular size djembe. Let me know what you think about that.

Also, is Sidy playing as/with Uhuru Africa? Because that's what I see on Saturday July 18, 2009 at 8:00.

Again, many thanks for your hospitality!
Adam

[rachelnguyen]

Hi Adam,

Yes, Sidy is playing with Uhuru....

About the drum: I am going to recommend that you buy a full size head. At least 12 or 13 inches. Using a small head makes it hard to learn decent form and I have seen students struggle to unlearn their bad form when they move to a full size drum.

Those little guys really are just for kids... and even then, Sidy has his young (6 year old) students playing on student drums with 12 inch heads.

Student sized drums should be less expensive. (Sidy has some for $200. I am sure they are available elsewhere, too.)

I totally understand not wanting to lay down a ton of scratch on something you aren't sure you are going to love, but you don't want something that is going to make it too hard to learn, either.

[Dugafola]

Hey everyone!

As for my djembe buying predicament, I've decided that I will buy a cheap(er) djembe for now to see how much I like playing it, and to see how much time I'm actually able to devote to it. I have a lot to do this school year (frisbee, capoeira, schoolwork, and regular drum set) while also trying to maintain a social life, haha.

you play ultimate?

ivory coast drums are really really nice as long as you check them out before you purchase. a lot of times, the shells get cut when the wood is still really wet/green.

here are pics of my latest ivory coast shell. i recently sold it because it was a tad on the small side for big paws. if it were a quarter to half inch bigger on the inner diameter, i would have kept it no doubt.

[e2c]

That's a beautiful drum, Duga! I'd love to get my comparatively small paws on one like that...