Pimping my non traditional remo djembe

[e2c]

Unfortunately, I think the material used to cast the bodies of Remo djembes is ... pretty plastic-sounding.

[Trog]

I was wondering if using Conga hand techniques would help with the ringing?

[michi]

I was wondering if using Conga hand techniques would help with the ringing?

No. For one, that's simply incorrect technique for a djembe, and you'd likely ingrain bad habits that way.

And I'm afraid it's going to sound bad no matter how you hit it…

Michi.

[rachelnguyen]

I've been reading this reviews on the Remo djembes for quite a while; last week I finally got to purchase the Black Earth 12"; I've been trying all the methods you suggest and quite frankly I'm not pleased at all with the result, my djembe would be a great derbake (doumbek) but I simply can't play it as an african instrument.

What reviews? Remos are pretty much universally panned on this forum. It really does go to show that if you are looking at reviews, it helps to know who is doing the reviewing. I am sure the reviews on Amazon.com or X8 are glowing but if you ask actual drummers, you get a different story.

Having said that, my only advice is to sell the thing before you do so much damage you can't sell it. A real goatskin on a plastic shell is not going to improve the sound. (Toca has tried that. They sell a rope tuned goatskin on a PVC shell and it sounds even worse than the remo, if you can imagine.)

Take the loss. Get a nice drum. Life is too short to play bad drums, LOL.

[e2c]

I was wondering if using Conga hand techniques would help with the ringing?

No. For one, that's simply incorrect technique for a djembe, and you'd likely ingrain bad habits that way.

And I'm afraid it's going to sound bad no matter how you hit it…

Michi.

There are a fair number of musicians in Brazil (not djembefolas) who play Remos using conga-like techniques, and they get them to sound pretty good. (Mikeleza, who's spent a fair amount of time down there, has also posted about this in the past.) It may well be that these folks are dampening the ring, etc. as well - since the drums are lightweight, they're ideal for parading (during Carnaval) and for use in stage shows. A lot of these percussionists also like the fact that the drums don't go "flat," as with natural skins. (But keep in mind that most drum shells used for parading are made of aluminum; wooden samba drums with natural skins are a constant in recordings, though...)

So as long as you don't want a traditional djembe sound, they can be workable.

[michi]

So as long as you don't want a traditional djembe sound, they can be workable.

This is somewhat paradoxical. It's a djembe that can be workable, as long as you don't expect it to sound like one…

Michi.

[e2c]

I know - Remo has a ready-made market with people who want just that.