New Guinea shells

[michi]

I just finished these. From the same carver who makes the MK Signature Series. From left to right: Lenke, Gueni, Dugura.

Guinea shells - Lenke, Gueni, Dugura

IMG_0541.JPG (148.59 KiB) Viewed 433 times

Michi.

[rachelnguyen]

Michi, they are beautiful. Great job on the heads! I am interested in where the lower ring sits. It is so different from a Mali drum. Much bigger and higher up!

[michi]

I am interested in where the lower ring sits. It is so different from a Mali drum. Much bigger and higher up!

That's common for Guinea drums with their straight sides. The bottom ring sits in a ledge that's carved around the bottom of the bowl, so it can't move. Makes it easy during re-skinning because the ring cannot shift off-center

Michi.

[Waraba]

How much, man? Spoiler alert: I am spinning your wheels, with no intention to buy. Just drooling. How much?

[Dugafola]

I am interested in where the lower ring sits. It is so different from a Mali drum. Much bigger and higher up!

That's common for Guinea drums with their straight sides. The bottom ring sits in a ledge that's carved around the bottom of the bowl, so it can't move. Makes it easy during re-skinning because the ring cannot shift off-center

Michi.

this actually wasn't common until 2005ish although someone like Tom can probably be more specific.

Ivorienne drums normally come with the ledge.

[Dugafola]

how much are charging for those drums in USD?

[michi]

this actually wasn't common until 2005ish although someone like Tom can probably be more specific.

Come to think of it, that lines up with my experience too. I recently re-headed a 2001 djembe bought in Conakry, and it had a normal floating bottom ring (as well as a timing belt around the foot).

Michi.

[michi]

how much are charging for those drums in USD?

Expensive: $750

But they are second to none. I would bet that these are the finest Guinean shells currently available in Australia. Sound is truly outstanding.

Michi.

[the kid]

They are really sweet drums and a great job on the heads.

I bet Tom in wula will be cringing at the second to none description.

Are you saying there 750 each per shell or what?

Don't know if you got any djalla drums but that wood rocks too.

Keep us drooling man...

[davidognomo]

nice

[michi]

I bet Tom in wula will be cringing at the second to none description.

No, I don't think he will. These are the best djembes in Australia right now, in my opinion. But both these, and the Wula drums, are second to none. They are as good as a djembe gets.

In terms of sound, a Wula drum will sound exactly the same as one of these. Why? Because, once the proportions of the shell are correct, there is no further improvement in sound possible due to the shell. (About 70% of the sound of the drum, assuming a top-notch shell, is due to the individual skin.)

Both these drums and the Wula drums are first rate. What the carvers at Wula are doing, in my opinion, is to create some of the most beautifully decorated djembes in the world right now. Whether you like the ornate style or not, there is no doubt that this is first-rate craftsmanship.

But, in terms of sound, the carving makes no difference. Depending on your taste, you may tend towards the Wula style or the style of the MK signature series. Either make for world-class djembes.

Are you saying there 750 each per shell or what?

$750 for the fully-built drum, ready to play, as you see it in the picture.

Don't know if you got any djalla drums but that wood rocks too.

My Signature Series is Djalla and, yes, it rocks

I can do these in Djalla. If you are seriously interested, drop me a PM.

Cheers,

Michi.

[the kid]

"But both these, and the Wula drums, are second to none. They are as good as a djembe gets"

Fair enough. The DS drums look awsome too. As do others IMO.

I have Jeremy's contact so i'd try to source from him considering hes alot closer to me and i can go and see the drums but thanks for the offer.

Would you ever try recording a sound sample to show the difference in sound from the different woods? I will do it at some stage but my djembes are all kinda different shapes and not carved to that high of a quality.

[rachelnguyen]

I don't think $750 is bad considering what MK charges! And they really are tight.

[michi]

I don't think $750 is bad considering what MK charges! And they really are tight.

Thanks!

I don't think they are too expensive for what they are. They are worth that much. It's just that not many people are obsessive enough to spend this much money on a djembe. (I don't make any more margin on these than I do on a run-of-the-mill djembe because the shells cost a lot more.)

Would you ever try recording a sound sample to show the difference in sound from the different woods?

I have sound recordings of all three. However, all I have is my little Sony PCM M-10. While that's a great recorder, it can't do justice to the sound. When I listened to the recordings, I was sorely disappointed at how much of the energy was missing. (Come to think of it, I have not ever come across any recording that truly captured the sound of a djembe with all its nuances.)

But I don't think the recordings would be suitable to show the differences in the wood. That's because I believe that the wood makes only a minuscule difference compared to the other factors.

All three of these shells are very similar in size (1/2" difference between the smallest and the largest), and they have almost identical proportions. So, in theory, they should be ideal to show the differences among the woods. Not so…

I fitted a thick skin to the Lenke one, a thickish medium skin to the Gueni one, and a thinnish medium skin to the Dugura one. The three drums sound very different, and exactly as I would expect them to sound with that thickness of skin. In other words, what you hear is the character of the skin, not the character of the wood. I'm certain that I could make any of the three sound like any of the other two simply by fitting a different skin.

In general, about 70% of the sound is the skin. That's not to say that the shell is not important. I think it's very important: you will never get top-notch sound without a top-notch shell. And a second-rate shell will never sound good even with the best skin. But a top-notch shell alone won't do the trick; I've had quite a few first-rate shells sound only so-so with a bad skin.

Cheers,

Michi.

[fa_ramiro]

michi, ive sent you a PM!
thanks!