Experiment Drum

[Dub Town]

28" tall with a 10" head. Has head/height similar to a quinto conga, but has an insloping shape like an Ashiko.

Previously had a very very thick cow skin with traditional conga lugs with mediocre sound. I pulled the lugs and put ropes on it and reheaded with a goat skin.

Also after reading another post about using rope as bottom rings, I put tried it out here and it actually worked fantastic.

The skin is still drying, I do need to get the top ring down another 1/2 inch or so because that top ring is very uncomfortable on the hands (was the original top ring, about 3/4 of an inch top to bottom). I look forward to hearing how it sounds.

[michi]

Looks like a great effort, good on you!

It will be interesting to hear how it sounds. To be perfectly honest, I haven't hear an Ashiko yet that sounded as nice as a djembe. They seem to lack energy somehow. I suspect that's because of the different shape. The skin resonates differently than it does on a djembe.

Post a sound clip if you can, please!

Cheers,

Michi.

[bkidd]

Michi wrote:
To be perfectly honest, I haven't hear an Ashiko yet that sounded as nice as a djembe. They seem to lack energy somehow.

That seems like a funny comment because I'm not sure that it's the correct comparison. To me this is like saying, I haven't heard a congo/bougarabou/ngoma/[fill in the blank for a skinned hand drum] that sounds as good as a djembe. They are all shaped differently and are supposed to have a different timbre, intensity, etc.

Post a sound clip if you can, please!

I second that. It would be great to hear how your drum sounds.

Best,
-Brian

[michi]

That seems like a funny comment because I'm not sure that it's the correct comparison. To me this is like saying, I haven't heard a congo/bougarabou/ngoma/[fill in the blank for a skinned hand drum] that sounds as good as a djembe. They are all shaped differently and are supposed to have a different timbre, intensity, etc.

I know what you mean, and was having similar thoughts when I replied. I'm not sure how well the analogy holds though. For example, a conga is a completely different drum with different history, playing technique, and sounds. The sound of a conga adds something unique that djembe simply doesn't have. But the ashikos I've heard (not that many so far, maybe a dozen) didn't do that. They sounded more like a djembe that doesn't quite get off the ground, without replacing the bits that have gone missing with something else.

No offense intended but, at this point, I'm not a great fan of ashikos. To me, it seems you might as well play a djembe and take advantage of the more expressive sound. But then, I'm willing to be convinced otherwise!

Come to think of it, a sample size of a dozen is probably too small. If I were to pick a dozen djembes more or less at random out of the djembe playing community here in Australia, I might end up being similarly disappointed. Not all djembes sound great either…

Cheers,

Michi.

[bkidd]

No offense taken.

My experience with ashiko and ngoma drums is that they have been tall (44-48 inches), wide heads (13-16 inch diameter), skinned with cow, and tend to sound more like a bass djembe or conga. Based on these specs and construction, I've always assumed that weren't supposed to sound like a djembe in any way and would find it odd to mix them in an ensemble. People I know who have nice sounding ashiko drums played with Babatunde Olatunji, so they play stuff with more of fusion feel rather than anything else. Plus, these people have a set of three drums that are tuned just like a conga set would be so the drums sound really nice together. The ngoma drums that I've seen/heard have all been used for playing played Congolese music, which differs substantially from West African.

Come to think of it, a sample size of a dozen is probably too small. If I were to pick a dozen djembes more or less at random out of the djembe playing community here in Australia, I might end up being similarly disappointed. Not all djembes sound great either…

There's certainly a wide range of quality and sound for any hand-made instrument. As I've gotten more into djembe drumming, I'm impressed by the range in quality and how much care goes into creating top quality sound (on both sides of the aisle -- instrument and player).

Best,
-Brian

[Rhythm House Drums]

Ashikos have changed in the US. I think for a lot of people it's a starter djembe. The ashiko was never designed to have a thinner goatskin head, it's sound shape gives a much better tone to a lower pitched, thick skin. Everywhere else I've seen ashikos they've been played as a sort of portable conga.

Seems like everyone is after that djembe sound, and ashikos are quick and cheap to make. Throw a goatskin on there and it sounds much more like a djembe. The other issue is that because they are cheap and easy to make, lots of guys are making them without knowing really how to tune, or how the head/length/bottom sizes effect the sound. I see so many nice ashiko shells with a D+ heading job.

You do lose some dynamics with an ashiko. They can have a bright djembe slap, but lose out on the tones, or they can have nice melodic tones and deep bass but lose on the slaps. The djembe wins for dynamics and attack, the ashiko wins for mellow laid-back playing.

Just my opinion... Here is an example of an Ash Ashiko with goatskin head. It's 26" tall with a 11.5 - 12" head I believe.



Keep in mind, this was a 6am recording while waiting to be picked up (my jeep broke down this day) My timing is all over, but it's a good example of what an ashiko can sound like with a goatskin and tuned up decent.

[bkidd]

Hi RhythmHouseDrums,

Given your experience with building ashikos, I was really hoping that you would weigh in. Thanks for the additional information on ashikos and posting the video. May your jeep be back in working order shortly.

Best,
-Brian

[michi]

All the ashikos I've come across in Australia were fitted with goat skin. That's probably contributed a lot to my poor impression. I agree that, with a cow skin, the drum works much better, more like a conga.

Cheers,

Michi.

[e2c]

RHD - thanks!

I've heard and played some very nice-sounding ashikos, but that was before they became ubiquitous.

Agreed on them being "starter djembes" for many people as well - and that with the right goatskin and properly tuned, they can sound lovely.

[Dub Town]

so I learned something on this one...

using a rope as a bottom ring on a slanted ashiko shaped drum was a bad idea...the tighter I pulled, the more the bottom "ring" slid up and its at the point now where I only have like 6" of verticle...even though I thought it was pretty snug and wouldnt move, it actually started just reshaping the wood where the slats were glued together.

tomorrow I think Im going to put the conga lugs back on it and tune it up appropriately.

to weigh in on Ashikos, I own one other ashiko and that one was made by "everyone's drumming" out of Putney, VT. Its actually a great drum, 13" head, 24" tall. Sounded great, but...was never as sharp or diverse as a djembe. So I do agree RHD that you def. lose dynamics, after all, their's a lot less going on "under the hood" of an ashiko than a djembe.