WULA Drums

[jedge76]

I've been looking over the djembes from WULA. I noticed they use lenque as the wood used for some of their drums. This in another way of saying "lenke", right? Probably a dumb question.
Another quickie I'll throw in here, but anoy of you feel there is a major difference in the quality of WULA Drum's Artist series vs. their "Classic" series? I noticed they use a different type of rope and I think a drum base protector. Any other major differences that any of you may know of? Thanks much to all! --Joseph

[e2c]

Hi,

I'm thinking that Wula's introduction of different "levels" of instruments is a very new thing. Up til now, they've carried the pro drums and occasional "special pieces." I have a Wula djembe, bought almost 2 years ago (made of lenke) and love it. It's got fairly simple, understated carving on the base, which I prefer to the elaborately-carved drums. But that's secondary for me - I bought it for the sound, and for the feel of the shell. It feels very "balanced" (kind of hard to explain in words), and the proportions are really good for me.

I doubt you can go wrong with one of their drums.

Hope this is helpful!

[jedge76]

Yes, very helpful e2c. Thanks for sharing your firsthand knowledge. I've heard a lot of good things about Wula's drums and the customer service. Looks like a good bet to me as I have nowhere else to look around where I live. Thanks again!

[Beerfola]

All of the Wula drums I've seen and heard have been very high quality. I'm sure you could just ask them what the differences are and they'd be glad to tell you. It looks like they may use a slightly less expensive set of materials to assemble the drum. 5mm rope instead of 6mm. Perhaps a thinner skin. If the higher quality is completely out of your budget I'm sure it would still be a great drum.
The guys at drumskull drums (http://www.drumskulldrums.com) make a good point about quality.
<<<During your search for the perfect djembe, you may notice that there is not a huge difference in price from the low end to the high end price range. Generally speaking this price range may be an average difference of $200-$300 for the worst to the best quality. Compare this to the guitar market where a custom built professional guitar can easily cost as much as $5000 more than a novice version. The reason that this is so important is that though the price range of djembes is not large, the quality difference is.>>>
Another source for WULA drums on the west coast is http://djembemandrums.com
Who knows, you might save enough in shipping to go for the higher quality drum.
Have you looked into teachers or workshops in your area to help you get started?

Best of luck

[jedge76]

Thanks for more great info, Beerfola. I have looked into a teacher, but have found it difficult to find. I did get one contact. I've forgotten his name, but I am going to contact him soon to see if he or someone he may know teaches djembe. I sure hope so. I played guitar, mandolin and banjo for many years and found books/CD's/DVD's to be less than adequate. We'll see. Thanks again!

[Garvin]

I cannot say enough good things about Wula. I recently bought one of their drums, and had a great experience. I've been pushing these drums on my students as well and now have 3 beautiful Wula shells to look at in my classes.

Currently they have several on sale (in the 300-400 range) which is an insane bargain for such high quality drums

They are great about emailing or calling. They send photos at your request and really help educate you in order to help you make your own decision. Great folks, great company, amazing drums... Yay Wula!

Oh, in terms of your original question, I'd say this. The difference between the Artist and Classics as far as I've been told is essentially the amount, and detail of the carvings. The shells themselves are all shaped the same way and this is really what makes the difference in the overall sound. The shape of the bowl is in my mind the most defining quality of these drums. That and the cool rubber bottoms.

[jedge76]

Thanks, Garvin, for the good info on the differences in the Wula drums. I have heard good things about this company as well as a couple others. Thanks again! Does anyone know if Wula Drum's use of "lengue" wood is the same as "lenke"? --Joseph

[Beerfola]

Lenke and lengue are the same. Many of the hardwoods used for drum making have different names for the same wood and at least as many different spellings.

[jedge76]

That's what I figured. Thanks for clearing that up for me, beerfola.

[kana]

Aloha Jedge76!

I haven't been on the site for a while. Wish I'd seen your posting earlier. I did alot of research, and asked alot of questions not too long ago. Ended up buying a beautiful drum from WULA in January. They sent me pictures of all their existing inventory, before they posted on their site, which was really nice. They were wonderful with email and phone communication, and gave me a good price. It's my first professional drum (artist model), and so far I am really happy with it! It traveled from NY to Maui, and arrived in great shape.

Kana

[kana]

Another West Coast connection for WULA drums is http://www.earthtribepercussion.com/

[kana]

Check out a picture of my new WULA under "Advice Purchasing First Professional Djembe"

Kana

[jedge76]

Thanks, Kana! I talked to them on the phone about 2 weeks ago. I talked with Michael and he was super helpful. I ended up putting a down payment on one of the drums they're having shipped at the end of the month or the 1st week in march. They're doing just like you said--sending me pictures of the drums that are just being finished in Guinea. They'll be sending all the sizes of each specific drum as well. I can't say enough about how willing they were to help out and spend some time on the phone giving me a run down on the specifics. Great guys for sure! Thanks for your input. I'll post a pic once my djembe arrives. Thanks again for your welcome information. --Joseph

[bops]

I talked with Michael and he was super helpful. ...Great guys for sure!

Michael (Markus) is a great teacher. I mean a really, really great teacher. Always fun to see him.

[Dugafola]

anyone else think wula drums are a little over the top? i'm all for a little decorative carving towards the end of the leg, but some of their 'special' pieces are a little much for me.

my .02