Djembe Troubles

[bill]

Greetings to All from St. Lucia, West Indies.
As a newbie to the world of djembe, I am seeking some advice. A few months ago I purchased a drum from http://www.goldcoastdrums.com in London. The drum is fine (although not the specific drum ordered) with good tone and resounding bass. Last week I took delivery of a second djembe which was kindly and carefully delivered by a friend traveling from England. This one is a complete disaster. The wood appears to have dry rot and crumbles away at the touch of a finger. There are a couple small cracks, just superficial. Wherever the chisel made grooves in the wood, it is crumbling away. On top of that, the skin was loose, pressing a finger on it showed a fairly deep indent. The bass was a dull thud.
So I used all the rope available a did diamonds but the skin did not tighten. I undid it all and tightened the verticals and ended up with about three feet of extra rope after doing that. The skin was still not tight. So I did diamonds and more diamonds, ending up with four rows of them, still no effect on the skin, although the rope itself was tight. On the last pull, there was a loud pop, and the skin burst all around the edges.
The skin is very brittle and can be torn easily. Is this normal? I doubt it. Looking at the rim of the drum it is very rough and looks to be dry rotted. I assume that the rough rim would not allow the skin to slide over it, so it only tightened between the rim and the first ring. So, now I have a dry rotted shell and a busted skin. I wonder what can be done to salvage this drum and if it is even worth the cost of a replacement skin which could rip like the first one.
I wrote to the owner of the company and included photos and now await a response. Five thousand miles away from the supplier means I cannot bring the drum in to be exchanged. The shell is very light and might as well be made of balsa wood! Very disappointed indeed. Is there anything I did wrong that might have contributed to this disaster?
Thanks in advance, Bill

[rachelnguyen]

Looks like you got a dud. Dry rot... or perhaps insects? It isn't unheard of for a skin to pop after traveling, especially going from one climate to another. BUT, the drum shell is another issue. I would hope that Goldcoast will stand by their product and either send you a new drum right away, or just refund your money. Either way it seems a hassle to send back the one you have. It doesn't seem worth it.

[freefeet]

Poor quality tweneboa. Some of it is like balsa.

Never attempt to tune a drum until you've levelled and smoothed the bearing edge.

It's worth paying more money from a better supplier. I've seen a few Goldcoast djembes with cracks and crappy rough unlevel bearing edges.

[Waraba]

Shame on the seller! You've been had. Disengage from them as easily as possible and buy from someone else. I am sorry this happened to you.

[michi]

Looks like this drum is beyond rescue, in the sense that fixing it would cost more than it's worth. (And that's assuming that the wood is actually in a shape where it could be rescued.)

Cheers,

Michi.

[bill]

Thanks to all for replies. To date, no reply from Gold Coast Drums, although I have a "read receipt". So I know they are aware. Avoiding the issue?

[rachelnguyen]

Phone call, man. Let them know that this isn't acceptable. Give them the opportunity to salvage the situation by offering you a full refund.... no return required.

That's about the only acceptable solution I can imagine at this point.

What a bummer.

[Trog]

Keep on them, let them know that you are posting on drumming sites about your experience with them.
If you get a refund, save until you can afford a better made drum. This site has lots of info on what makes a good drum and what to avoid.

[Michel]

The site says about guarantee:

"Our Guarantee

All the goods I sell have a 1 MONTH WARRANTY and I am always available after this warranty to discuss any issue you may have with any of the items you have bought. I will always want to resolve any issue you may have with my products to satisty you the consumer. You have my word on that!

The warranty I offer covers the the quality and craftsmanship of the item and not any damages that have incurred since the delivery of the goods to youself."

When I was the owner of goldcoastdrums, I'd like it that you gave me the chance to solve my mistake! Try it!
Good luck with your drums.

Michiel

[Michel]

Sorry, you mentioned you tried to contact the owner....my reaction was too quick. Excuse for that. By the way I know St Lucia. Not a bad place to live..... good luck!

[Waraba]

It is unethical to knowingly sell a defective product, no matter what the guarantee.

[michi]

We don't know that the seller knew that the drm was defective as yet. Give the seller the benefit of doubt. They might redeem themselves, after all...

Cheers,

Michi.

[Waraba]

We don't know that the seller knew that the drm was defective as yet. Give the seller the benefit of doubt. They might redeem themselves, after all...

Cheers,

Michi.

OK. I will try to calm down.

[bill]

Thank you all. Just heard from Gold Coast Drums. Full refund and apologies, both of which I accepted, no harm done. I have the possibility of someone coming from the US to St. Lucia, who might be able to bring a new drum for me. I saw a couple good places recommended and now can't seem to find it. One in New York that starts with a W. Also, have seen a lot of another company online, X8 Drums, has to offer. Looks fine on the screen, but any recommendations from you all would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[rachelnguyen]

X8 sells a lot of poor quality stuff. I would stay away.

Wula is a much better choice, I think... especially if you are going to buy a drum without actually trying it out. Drumskull in California has some beautiful drums too, although they are a little spendy. One Tree Drums is another place that has some nice drums, although they don't seem to have any in stock at the moment. You might email Nate and ask if he is planning on getting some in.

Finally, for a lower price, check out Shorty at goatskins.com. He has some nice drums from Ivory Coast that are very reasonably priced.

All of these guys are on this forum on a regular basis and would give you great service, I think.