Making djembe rings.

[Brian Lynch]

can anyone please tell what would be the best measurement to get djembe rings made, by that i mean how much space should be between the shell and ring. i know it should a tidy tight fit but after measuring the djembe how much do i give and take to get the correct fit.

[rachelnguyen]

Honestly, I think it is somewhat a matter of taste... and also what you are using for skin and rope. A thicker rope and cowskin will need a lot more clearance than a thinner rope and goat.

For me, a little looser is better because it is easier to pull. I don't like it so loose that it pulls too low, though. I just reheaded a cowskin djembe and the rings were slightly too big. (about 1/2 inch bigger than the diameter of the drum. I'd say 1/4 to 3/8 would have been better.

For goat skin, maybe closer to a 1/4 inch or less.

The other variable, of course, is that the edge of a drum is usually shaped, which means that the ring may fit at the top of the drum, but too small as you move down the side of the drum. You have to take that into account, too.

I am interested in seeing what others think.

Rachel

[michi]

For a djembe, I like tight rings. Ideally, once you have the loops on the crown ring, you should be able to push the crown ring down over the bearing edge (without skin) with moderate pressure, maybe assisted by a few moderate taps with a mallet. In practice, that works out to around a 4mm (1/6") gap between the side wall and the inside of the ring.

If the ring gets down to a 3mm gap, the knots on the crown ring tend to dig into the wood and make grooves as the ring is pulled down. That's too tight; you risk tearing the skin where it gets squeezed between the knots and the shell.

Up to a 6mm (1/5") gap is fine. I don't like rings larger than this because that increases the likelihood of skin slip and also starts to look poor.

For cow skin, add 1-2mm to the gap, to accommodate the thicker skin.

If you have rings that are on the large side, use thicker (5mm or 5.5mm) rope for the loops; for tight rings, go with thinner rope (3.5mm or 4mm). Don't go below 3.5mm because that tends to put too much wear on the verticals.

With thin rope for the crown ring, consider using double-strand loops as shown in the second image in this post. This will be stronger and reduce the wear on both the rope for the crown ring and on the verticals as you tune the drum.

Cheers,

Michi.

[Trog]

If the ring is a little large, you can make the diameter tighter by putting a wrap or two of tape on it. I use electrical tape for this. (the tape is the black stretchy plastic stuff).