Djembe from Mali vs Djembes from Guinea

[peterpessoa]

I have looked thru a lot of online djembe dealears, and unfortunatelly none seem to care enough to offer sound samples/demos. I wonder how are we suppose to make a decision without actually playing the instrument or listening to it ;(

I have narrowed my choice to guinea and mali, I have notice they have very subtle but clear shape/form differences. Altho the wood will be probably coming from the same pool of trees, I have read that the Mali's bass is lower pitch than guineas because of the smaller sound hole passage:

Malian drums tend to have wider sound holes than Guinean drums.

http://djembefola.com/articles/guide-to-buying-a-djembe.php

Anyhow, need good advice from the veterans... this my first djembe.

thank!
peter

[michi]

I wouldn't worry too much about the bass. The difference in the basses of a Mali and Guinea shell will be more subtle than the difference in tones and slaps. In general, the Guinea shape results in drums that sound brighter and have more projection; the Mail shape makes for djembes that sound a bit warmer and have more body in their tones. However, the differences in sound among a bunch of Mali shells can be far greater than the difference between a Mali and Guinea shell made of the same wood and roughly the same size. The type of skin, amount of tension, and playing technique play a very large role.

For a first drum, I wouldn't be too concerned about whether the drum is from Mali or Guinea. Pick the style that appeals to you more

I would suggest to look for a drum from a reputable dealer, such as Drumskull or Wula Drums. You can be pretty sure that, no matter what you buy there, it will be good quality and well built.

Cheers,

Michi.

[Trog]

This place has sound samples for there drums and the prices are good.
http://rhythmic-intentions.com/
Another place to look at is Wooden Roots. I purchased a intermediate Mali drum there and Marcus gave me a better price due to how much the shipping was going to be. He also sent a ton of pictures so I could see the drum up close.
http://www.woodenroots.com/index.html

[Tom]

I have looked thru a lot of online djembe dealears, and unfortunatelly none seem to care enough to offer sound samples/demos. I wonder how are we suppose to make a decision without actually playing the instrument or listening to it ;(

That is a very valid point, and the same question I posed to my partners in Wula Drum just a couple of weeks ago. We discussed the idea, then made the decision to provide sound samples of each of our separate drum models. I am also looking the feasibility of providing a sound sample for each and every drum offered for sale on our website. If it works out, we will have sound samples for the drums coming in our April shipment. I believe that, eventually, every retailer of high end djembes will offer individual sound samples.

[bubudi]

that's great to hear. i honestly don't know why it isn't a market standard yet to offer sound samples for each drum sold. i guess it's time consuming to get someone to play and record a short sample with each piece, but actually not that time consuming if you record a whole heap of drums in one sitting.

[Waraba]

that's great to hear. i honestly don't know why it isn't a market standard yet to offer sound samples for each drum sold. i guess it's time consuming to get someone to play and record a short sample with each piece, but actually not that time consuming if you record a whole heap of drums in one sitting.

Sounds like fun, too.

[Michel]

But it gives me the question: don't you want to play on a djembe before buying it? I would never trust a soundsample alone. I would like to touch, feel, taste and experience my new drum before deciding to buy it!

[bubudi]

of course, actually playing it is the best way! but for those who don't live anywhere near a shop or person who sells djembes, sound samples and good photos are the next best thing and although that's not ideal, it's still much better than relying on what the seller writes about the instrument!

[Tom]

Probably the biggest factor is the reputation for quality of the dealer's instruments, and secondly the information (written, photos, sound samples) they provide. Either way you still take some risk of ending up with a drum you don't really like or want to keep. Although we have not yet publicized it, we offer a gaurantee not only on the phyical properties of the instrument, but also on the customer's satisfaction with the drum; which includes the sound. Nobody wants to get stuck with a drum that they are not happy with.

[bubudi]

i agree, there's always risk buying online as no matter how much you find out about the drum, it's still largely an unknown until it arrives. fair play to you for offering a satisfaction guarantee. how long do you give people to decide whether they like the drum or not?

[Tom]

i agree, there's always risk buying online as no matter how much you find out about the drum, it's still largely an unknown until it arrives. fair play to you for offering a satisfaction guarantee. how long do you give people to decide whether they like the drum or not?
i agree, there's always risk buying online as no matter how much you find out about the drum, it's still largely an unknown until it arrives. fair play to you for offering a satisfaction guarantee. how long do you give people to decide whether they like the drum or not?

Seven days to provide notice that you may want to return the drum. Seven more days to make the decision and to return ship, if you so choose.

[Trog]

A option I would like to see is being able to get Wula drums without the tire bottom nailed on. Or if the tire needs to be nailed on,leave it to the buyer to decide if they what it installed.
I would like to know abit about the difference between the select and the artist series.

[bubudi]

hey trog, there is a thread here dedicated to wula drums. it could use some more discussion on specific things like what you asked.

[Tom]

A option I would like to see is being able to get Wula drums without the tire bottom nailed on. Or if the tire needs to be nailed on,leave it to the buyer to decide if they what it installed.
I would like to know abit about the difference between the select and the artist series.

For advance orders we can leave the tire protector off, but doing so voids the gaurantee against cracks developing in the stem; unless we can determine that the probelem is not related to the lack of a protective rubber bottom.

I will be happy to describe the difference between our Select and Artist series, but as Bubudi mentioned, it would be best if the question was posed and answered in a Wula Drum related thread.

[Djembe-nerd]

The only problem I have with tire bottom as of now, is that they make a 11.5" base dia to 12.5" dia, and there are no bags in US market that accomodate that.

It requires to special order a bag for the djembe. So a Wula djembe is then fitted well in a custom DSD bag