[Gumbe_2013]

https://www.djembe-awa.com

Here you can order some new Mamady Keita Series Djembes.
But 1500$ is a overblown price , isnt it !?

[korman]

Well, if you ask that question, you are not the target audience:)

It's like asking: "why buy Leica when Samsung takes pictures too?", or "why buy a Bentley if Opel/Chevvy gets you to work too?"

[Djembe04]

You only pay for the name.
You should have heard the opinion of Famoudou, when he didn't know it were drums of MK series. Good drums, but certainly not worth the money for me.

[the kid]

If people are big fans of Mamady and have that cash to spare then i can see why they'd want to buy it. To some that is not a lot of money. And it is a rare drum no matter what as they control the output. I reckon the guys making this drum were like what is the point unless they make a substantial profit. In reality the drum is similar wood, dimensions, materials to many way cheaper drums, so if it is for pure play-ability it is overpriced. If you live in Europe you could fly down to Guinea and get a very similar drum made and have a holiday for the same price.

[nkolisnyk]

I tried to find some info on there website, but couldn't - what makes these drums Mamady Keita drums? Did MK play these drums himself and select these drums out of a batch of drums?

In my 'other' music world, I play a Yamaha Bobby Shew 8310z trumpet. They are trumpets designed by a jazz trumpet master, but people tend to pay a premium price for one of the 8310z trumpets specially selected out of the batch by Bobby Shew himself.

FWIW, they are very nice looking drums.

[the kid]

I reckon Mamady designed the proportions.

Jeramy found the carver and was using him for years before these special pieces.

I reckon they are just charging that price because they can, there are people who want something personally from Mamady, and are happy to pay an exaggerated price. What would be the point of a signed djembe if the price didn't go up.

It is hard to see why djembes are so dear any ways considering the real price of wood and carvers in West Africa.

People seem to accept a special piece should be 800 dollars but are then shocked at 1500?

I think both prices are over the top for a good djembe which is esentially, specially selected wood and well carved bowl.

[boromir76]

Would not go into the price but to bad there is not more info on making of this MK series. I would be interested to know some more information on what the Mamadi's involvment was with this partcular series. Is only his signature that links him with the drum, or there are also other specifics: specific dimensions of the drum, customization, handpicked materials,...

[michi]

I own #3 of 40 of the original 2010 Signature Series. From what I know, Jeremy sourced the shells from Mamady's preferred carver, built the drums, and then had Mamady play a whole bunch of them. Mamady picked the ones he liked best and was happy to put his name to.

I agree that the Signature Series drums are overpriced. I bought mine partly because it is a superb drum, and partly out of loyalty to Mamady. I've never regretted the purchase.

Michi.

[Dugafola]

it comes with the 7 secrets of the jembe!!!

[djembefeeling]

The first secret of which is: "how could I end up paying so much for a djembe".

Though it is really a lot of money, in a way that is the price a drum really should cost. If you would pay for such a lot of quality hardwood in shops in our region of the world and have it processed by an expert craftsman, it would cost at least as much. And the sad thing is, from what I have heard, in a couple of years we cannot buy such djembes from Africa any more. The situation looks grim. Trees of that magnitude and quality are already hard to find and will be gone soon, it seems...

[michi]

it comes with the 7 secrets of the jembe!!!

Well, not sure about seven. But it definitely comes with one of them…

Q: "How do I get good at playing djembe?"

A: "Loads of hard work and practice."

Michi

[korman]

And the sad thing is, from what I have heard, in a couple of years we cannot buy such djembes from Africa any more. The situation looks grim. Trees of that magnitude and quality are already hard to find and will be gone soon, it seems...

Really? From where do you have such info? Hmm, maybe I should invest in quality lenke drum before it's too late ...

Maybe that explains why some manufacturers start to tell you that melina wood can sound just as good and is easier on your shoulders:)

[michi]

There is a shortage of mature trees around all the major djembe carving centres. Several years ago, you had to move nearly 100 km out of Bamako and Conakry to reach an area where mature specimens of the traditional species were still available. I image that the situation has not improved since then.

There doesn't seem to be much room for sustainability in these places. People chop down without re-planting. I don't think it's inconceivable that a lenke or gueni djembe might be worth double its current price a few years from now.

Michi.

[djembefeeling]

Really? From where do you have such info? Hmm, maybe I should invest in quality lenke drum before it's too late ...

A friend of mine just came back from Mali, where he was able to get his hands on a series of finely carved djembes with hardwood of a marvelous texture. He says he has never seen such a good work before.And he also says that everyone working in the business is sure that stuff like that will be gone within very few years. He also mentioned investing in that stuff is reasonable since prices will in all likelihood go up a lot then. But I think it is also crazy to feed the beast and trigger the vanishing of hardwood from Africa even further. It's a dilemma...

...melina djembes can be the real thing, BTW. I had three people at my place wanting to buy a djembe, and two of them ended up with melina, even though I had them sitting there with closed eyes and constantly choosing one out of two djembes that I battle-played until the last one was the one they liked the most.

[Dugafola]

wasn't there a discussion here years ago about de-forestation in africa? i seem to recall being that coal/firewood/furniture was/is the main culprit of all the logging going on. not jembes. although there are manufacturers out there who had made those claims.