looking for small scrap pieces of hare, lenke, etc.

[e2c]

Does anyone have suggestions on potential sources?

I need nice, clean, straight-grained pieces of heartwood (although patterns and/or spalting would likely be OK). Am wanting to either make my own pairs of rhythm bones with them, and/or (for the time being) have someone else do some work for me. am more than willing to take the time needed to let green wood cure.

See this page for a pic of what I'd like the finished product to resemble:
http://www.bonedrymusic.com/Shooting-St ... 117-17.htm

(The photos there don't do justice to this particular wood, which is S. American and looks an awful lot like hare. Could easily be used for bala key replacements, I think, although it's quite pricey.)

[Dugafola]

DSD sells hardwood sticks...mostly lenke but i've seen hare too.

they are fairly good size too.

[e2c]

That's an idea! Thanks, Duga.

[Rhythm House Drums]

Lenke is dense, but brittle also.. it can't take too much of a wood on wood whack... I'd think rosewood (like a traditional clave') or the article mentioned cocobolo which should be easier to find. Other really dense wood with a bright tone is padauk (used a lot on marimbas). I've got a source for Padouk, and cocobolo and rosewood (bolivian). I'd be happy to get some to you if you can't find a closer source.

[e2c]

Hey there - I've got sources for all of the woods you mentioned, RHD - and finished pairs of bones, too. But I'll definitely keep this in mind; many thanks for the offer!

I really do want to try lenke - the "whacking" comes from the bones' tendency to rebound against each other rather from force used by the player. There's a lot of subtle wrist/arm movement required to get that to happen, but I can guarantee you that it's not the same as hitting a krin (for example) with a stick. If it were, I think many of the woods that are used for this stuff might break or dent or whatever... (I've got a lovely pair of *pine* bones that haven't got a scratch or dent on them, let alone "creases" from a fingernail or thumbnail.)

The thing is, all woods produce different tonalities (duh!), so... I want to try some of the djembe woods and see what they sound like in this context. (I love the sound of cocobolo, but am - so far - most partial to the wood used in the pair of bones in the link above - much lower and "darker"-sounding.) Am also playing around with using small, lightweight pieces of leather to "mute" the overtones and the loudness - allows for more possibilities.

But hey - some W. African goat rib bones (cleaned up and dried) would be nice, too!

[bops]

You could probably make some out of balafon keys. Now, where to get spare balafon keys, is another question...

[michi]

But hey - some W. African goat rib bones (cleaned up and dried) would be nice, too!

And what about horse rib bones?

Cheers

Michi.

[e2c]

You could probably make some out of balafon keys. Now, where to get spare balafon keys, is another question...

I think I'd rather just have the bala intact...

michi, see this, under "authentic Irish goat bones": http://www.world-beats.com/store/index.htm
I personally think his asking price is ridiculous, but I have a DVD with him playing 2 pairs, and they sound pretty amazing - and they're much lighter than natural ox rib or shin bones. They'd also work better for my hands, which are on the smallish side compared to a lot of men's.

[michi]

michi, see this, under "authentic Irish goat bones": http://www.world-beats.com/store/index.htm

Wow, I had no idea--that's pretty amazing.

OK, so it's got to be goat or sheep after all

Cheers,

Michi.

[e2c]

I do feel badly - in some ways - that I play natural skins on all my drums (not just djembes and duns). OTOH, I know that those W. African goats whose skins I'm playing were ... well, let's just say that I couldn't and don't begrudge anyone there for eating the goats.

And if their skins are good for drumming, I'm sure their rib bones would work for other kinds of percussion.