Drum gum

[dleufer]

A friend of mine who plays banjo recently recommended this Drum Gum to me when I was complaining about djembes ringing/having excessive overtones.
http://www.dcmusicstore.com/Pro-Mark-Drum-Gum-PMDG
The package claims that it eliminates ringing but doesn't dampen the sound. I didn't find this to be quite this case. It gives the tones and slap a slighty "closed" sound when a small amount is used and completely closes the sound if a full strip is used. I found that it ruined the sound of my lead djembe as the overtones (when not excessive) are an integral part of the high slap sound. I did find that it worked really well on lower tuned drums with serious overtone problems. It turned them into decent sounding bass djembes although with a slight "closed" feeling to the notes, but that's a lot better than a 5 second ring every time you tap the drum.
Anyone else tried it or any similar products?

[Rhythm House Drums]

I threw some foam tape on the bottom of a 16" remo. Didn't do a whole lot but did take care of excessive overtones. I personally like a really tight (choked) slap and tone. Another thing to try, is to put the foam tape on the inside of the shell about .5" from the head. This will absorb some of the overtones while not choking the sound too much. You just have to play around with how much to use. I'd start with a 2" long strip on each side opposite the spine (since this is the thinner section of the goat skin, it tends to vibrate more with cause overtones)

As far as a good fix.... there's been lots of discussion on ringing djembes already on this forum. In my opinion it can be fixed with properly shaped bearing edge, consistent skin, and proper tuning.

It's 90% tuning. tap around the head of the drum, if there is a place that is lower pitched than other places, throw some diamonds directly under to tighten it up. You want consistent sound all around the head. Also, a lot of "ringing" drums are directly caused by not being tuned high enough, which is the same principal as above. Tightening up the head stretches the skin good and creates a more consistent thickness, which kills overtones by eliminating the more lose skin from vibrating longer. I think I've just confused myself... haha..

Hope this helps or at least plants a seed for you.

[e2c]

Well, in addition to other thoughts already posted, the product you're talking about is meant to address specific problems with the kinds of drums used in drumset (or maybe concert) playing... They're drums, yes, but very, very different from hardwood djembes with natural skin heads and rope tuning.

I wouldn't necessarily want to use a product like that on any kind of natural skin head - and there are other ways to cut down on excess ringing.