Need help to find a Djembe

[Christian93]

Hello

I have been drumming for several years now and it is starting to get on my nerves that i can not bring my instrument with me when backpacking - that is why i am considering to learn how to play the djembe.

Obviously i need a djembe to play, but i have no idea which kind of djembe to get. Since the main purpose is to play it at the camp fire when hiking it is quite important that it will not break or get out of tune if exposed to water.

Since my main instrument is still the drums my budget is 200 euros (give and take) and that must cover shipping to Denmark

Hope that some of you pros can give me a piece of advice - I know nothing about djembes

Best regards
Christian!

[Waraba]

With a natural skin you will always have problems if the skin gets exposed to water. I don't know about synthetic skins. Have you considered a doumbek? Goblet shaped like a djembe, but very light and small. Different technique involved (of which I know nothing)...

Otherwise, for portability, you should consider a Wassolo djembe (they are half-sized). You should be able to get a lightweight djembe without much difficulty for the euros in your budget. Try Wula--they have plenty of smaller, lightweight djembes with fine workmanship and well within your price range. They won't be on the website but if you initiate email contact they can snap photos and send those to you.

Best,

Matt

[Christian93]

Thank you very much for you answer!

The problem is that Wula drums is in USA, and shipping to Europe is rather expensive. I have been looking at Meinl, Remo and Toca Percussion - are they any good? I get a feeling that you djembe players don't like mass produced djembes

[freefeet]

I like my Remo 10 inch key tuned for camping and general roughing it... http://www.remo.com/portal/products/6/28/175/dj_kt.html

The larger ones sound absolutely ghastly to my ears, but the 10 inch isn't too bad. Still a bit ringy, but for camping and throwing on the back of my bike it certainly does the job.

It's great for all weathers and conditions. It's nothing like a good wood djembe, but i wouldn't take a good wood djembe anywhere i'd take the Remo.

[michi]

Personally, I would stay clear of fibreglass djembes. They sound too awful...

For travel, a small-headed (11-12") djembe would probably be best because it saves on weight and size. I'd still go with a carved shell made out of one of the traditional woods, if you can. It will sound much better, even though it will be heavier.

I don't like synthetic skins because the sound is never quite the same as that of goat. Usually quite metallic and shrill. But, for a travel djembe, a synthetic skin is probably the right thing. You won't have problems with changes in temperature and humidity, and a synthetic skin will last longer and be more resistant to knocks than a goat skin. I don't have first-hand experience with it, but Remo NuSkyn has a good reputation.

Cheers,

Michi.

[Christian93]

Hello!

Thank you for these great answers! I have been look at ALOT of djembes now, and it is really hard to decide but i think that one of these djembes will be the one to buy:
- Afroton Masterclass
- Meinl Earth Rhythm
- Meinl Wood Djembe
- Toca Black Mamba Djembe

So my question is: which one of these djembes do you guys think is the best?

Best regards

Christian

[michi]

it is really hard to decide but i think that one of these djembes will be the one to buy:
- Afroton Masterclass
- Meinl Earth Rhythm
- Meinl Wood Djembe
- Toca Black Mamba Djembe

I have no first-hand experience with any of these. But, generally, drums from these makers don't enjoy a good reputation. So, before you settle on a drum, I would recommend to at least ask Drumskull and Wula for something of similar size. They probably will be able to fit it with a synthetic skin for you too. Chances are that you will get a much better drum that way.

If you really want to buy one of these branded djembes, I would recommend to find music stores that stock them so can hear what they sound like. However, doing this makes sense only if the store is willing to tune the drum up to playing pitch. Unfortunately, most of the drums I come across in stores are nowhere near proper tension, which makes it impossible to judge what they actually sound like.

Cheers,

Michi.

[Waraba]

Christian 93--where do you live?

[Trog]

A Doumbek would work well for camping. Check them out on u-tube.

[Christian93]

Christian 93--where do you live?

I live in Denmark - that is why i doubt that Wula or Drumskull is the right way to go even though their djembes look nice. The shipping cost is simply going to be too expensive

[freefeet]

Perhaps this is better....

http://www.djembemoves.com/10-1-Preisklasse-I.html

[Waraba]

Have you asked those guys about shipping costs to Denmark? When I went on djembemoves.com the shipping prices seemed pretty steep too, if you live outside Germany. Nevertheless, the quality looked pretty good on the site. I assume you've already looked around Denmark for a source?

[freefeet]

http://www.djembemoves.com/6-1-Postage.html

29 Euro insured or 11.60 Euro uninsured

Obviously you would want the insured, but i don't think 29 Euro is that expensive if you're paying 300 on a musical instrument.

Other option would be to take the bus to Berlin (approx 67 Euro return) and have a nice weekend visiting the city and buy a drum while you're there. At least then you could try before you buy. I'm presuming they would let you buy in person.

[Erny]

Hi Chris,

I have some (or similar) drums of the ones you mention above.

I recorded a short session with each of them for you to make up your own mind concernig the different sounds.

Recorded with Zoom H2, 192 Kbps and boosted to 0dB with audacity, no other modification!

To my mind you should hear and play the drum you choose if this is possible!

Regards
...Erny



That´s how they are looking:

Mali - Meinl (Moon Rhythm) - Remo (Black Earth) - Toca (Black Mamba)

d3.jpg (213.89 KiB) Viewed 452 times

That´s how they are sounding:

D1 Mali 14inch.mp3

(134.69 KiB) Downloaded 86 times

D2 Meinl 12inch.mp3

(129.79 KiB) Downloaded 89 times

[Erny]

and here are the missing two others:

D3 Remo 14inch.mp3

(120.61 KiB) Downloaded 82 times

D4 Toca 12inch.mp3

(121.22 KiB) Downloaded 83 times

My favorite drum today is the Black Mamba because I like the sound, the easy way to in- and decrease the pitch and it´s weight which makes playing while standing very easy, too for a longer time e.g. 1 hour.

Regards
...Erny