Bass Djembe

[michi]

The utility knife should work fine if you use a fresh blade.

Somehow even after discussing all these, I have noticed that once I start working on the drum, and something does not go as plan, all the wisdom seems to go away and I behave like a blacksmith and start hammering here and there to make it right.

I believe the technical term for this is "tinkering"

Cheers,

Michi.

[Dugafola]

I soaked it for 3 hours, it was soft but I could feel it was not soaked yet fully. The thin portion was more soft than the thicker area. Next time I will soak it more. Last time I did for my solo djembe it was 2 hours and it was fine, probably cos it was thiner.

depends on the skin. if it's one of the american kip rounds - 45 min to 1 hr tops.
african cow round - i'd soak it for at least 4 hrs. probably longer.

[Trog]

I have used a couple of Shorty's, Pakistan cow rounds and have found that 4-5 hrs is a good soak time for medium or thicker skins.

[Djembe-nerd]

I have used a couple of Shorty's, Pakistan cow rounds and have found that 4-5 hrs is a good soak time for medium or thicker skins.

I have used one african cow for solo djembe from Shorty, soaked it for 2 hours and worked out great.

I have also used one very thin Pakistan/South America cow/kip skin, soaked it for 2 hours and it teared apart when I was wigling it. It was an experiment for thin skin, Shorty was successful though in mounting similar thin skin.

[Djembe-nerd]

Has anyone tried super glue to glue the skin to prevent slippage.

[Djembe-nerd]

I pulled the bass djembe to the point that the tones are not resonating the bass, but I am not sure and have no reference what it should sound like. Can somebody point to some you tube where a bass djembe is solo, or post a sound bite of your recordings.

Also, After pulling and putting 1 round of weave and another 4-5 knots, the head is quite tight on the top, is tha normal. (BTW I pulled it really tight when wet and when it dried and shrunk it was already tight)

I will try and record something and post to have an idea of what it sounds like.

[Dugafola]

I pulled the bass djembe to the point that the tones are not resonating the bass, but I am not sure and have no reference what it should sound like. Can somebody point to some you tube where a bass djembe is solo, or post a sound bite of your recordings.

Also, After pulling and putting 1 round of weave and another 4-5 knots, the head is quite tight on the top, is tha normal. (BTW I pulled it really tight when wet and when it dried and shrunk it was already tight)

I will try and record something and post to have an idea of what it sounds like.

a bass djembe for ensemble playing should be tuned to be lower than the kenkeni you normally use.

[Djembe-nerd]

a bass djembe for ensemble playing should be tuned to be lower than the kenkeni you normally use.

Thanks, just to be more clear, the tones should be tuned lower than the kenkeni, right.

[Dugafola]

a bass djembe for ensemble playing should be tuned to be lower than the kenkeni you normally use.

Thanks, just to be more clear, the tones should be tuned lower than the kenkeni, right.

you got it!

[Djembe-nerd]

Thanks again.

How do you break in a djembe other than playing. I am thinking of wraping a cloth on a rubber hammer and start beating the bass to break it in. do you think thi swill work or just tighten it too much and then loosen it

[Dugafola]

i'll i've ever done is play it.

you can try adding a bit of karite as well.

[Djembe-nerd]

I put a little karite on the head, the tones are almost the same but the Bass went down quite a bit.

[michi]

I put a little karite on the head, the tones are almost the same but the Bass went down quite a bit.

According to the experiments I posted about here, that would appear to be impossible?

Cheers,

Michi.

[Djembe-nerd]

According to the experiments I posted about here, that would appear to be impossible?

I didn;t explain clear, it went down in sustain/ringing, not in pitch.

The sustain was more without karite, after the karite, the sustain or ringing came down quite a bit.

[michi]

The sustain was more without karite, after the karite, the sustain or ringing came down quite a bit.

That makes sense. The shea butter softens the skin, which increases internal dampening, reducing the ring.

Cheers,

Michi.