[djembefeeling]

You're right, we've had this discussion. Even though djembes are not the main reason, they for sure add to the problem...

[michi]

Yes, we had that discussion:

social-f1/deforesation-issue-indonesia- ... tml#p22738

Djembe's are a problem in the sense that they locally deplete the traditional species. (There are probably still plenty of lenke trees left in areas where people don't make djembes.) And I suspect that, if someone wants firewood, they don't really care whether the tree they chop down is a species that's used for djembes or not. All the other uses for wood, particularly as firewood and building materials would still be the larger problem.

Michi.

[drtom]

Sorry to jump in so late. I feel like an intruder, but I've been away, and as I was catching up came across your discussion.

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.

I disagree with some of this. Many hands other than the carver's must touch that shell before it's taken off the shelf of one of the world's top djembe makers.

As someone who's visited Matt's DSD shop dozens of times, I know the time and attention spent on the drums crafted there. I know the expertise and dedication invested in those drums, so I can vouch for these $800 djembes.

I cannot vouch for other $800 djembes nor for the $1500 djembes. $1500 seems over the top to me as well, but I don't know what goes into making them.

[drtom]

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'd say these drums come with a good recommendation.

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.

Definitely a better investment than stamps.

[drtom]

You're right, we've had this discussion. Even though djembes are not the main reason, they for sure add to the problem...

Deforestation is happening. Last year the UN issued new protections for rosewood trees, the hardwood favored for the making of tabla shells. As with the djeme, the tabla is not the main culprit in the wood's demise - as I understand it, the demand for fine furniture is.

[korman]

Mamady speaks about the signature series

I'm a bit puzzled, because he said that "When I play a slap, I want to hear the bass with the slap. When I play a tone, I want to hear the bass with the tone."

For one, I don't hear the bass he's talking about (maybe because I'm watching this with headphones).
And secondly, I don't want to hear the bass:) I want pure sound, and that's what I always thought Mamady and other great djembefolas had.

[djembefeeling]

Hi Korman, when you only put everything after the equality sign into the youtube braket, we can actually see the video here.
I did listen to MKs playing over my stereo and can also not hear the bass in his slaps and tones. I guess what he means is that they resonate well. So many djembes are cranked nowadays to a point where the sounds are clear but screaming like they want to tear ever moment. They don't speak anymore. But that djembe Mamady plays resonates well.

I like the same quality in djembe sounds. I always tell my students that a sound has to have this "plop" quality, a mix of a little attack and resonance in the room. Such a quality you cannot produce with force. A skin hit with brute force will sound brutal. But you want to excavate it's own sound, it's free voice, a sound where the skin swings in accordance with itself. I think you can cut all that talk short by saying that you like a bass with the slap and tone, because the bass is always stimulated a bit on a skin that is not cranked too hard to swing freely. On a brutally cranked skin the bass is dead.

I think you can see the same quality in someone singing. A cranked djembe is like a person singing with the head voice only. You do not get any personal information from such a voice, you cannot express your inner feelings properly and thus cannot communicate those feelings to others. But when a singer uses all the resonating space he or she has and doesn't force the vocal chords, pure beauty and uniqueness can emerge.

[korman]

Hi Korman, when you only put everything after the equality sign into the youtube braket, we can actually see the video here.

Thanks, now I'll remember!

I did listen to MKs playing over my stereo and can also not hear the bass in his slaps and tones. I guess what he means is that they resonate well. So many djembes are cranked nowadays to a point where the sounds are clear but screaming like they want to tear ever moment. They don't speak anymore. But that djembe Mamady plays resonates well.

I see what you mean! I guess it's just a language problem here ...

[Dugafola]

Hi Korman, when you only put everything after the equality sign into the youtube braket, we can actually see the video here.
I did listen to MKs playing over my stereo and can also not hear the bass in his slaps and tones. I guess what he means is that they resonate well. So many djembes are cranked nowadays to a point where the sounds are clear but screaming like they want to tear ever moment. They don't speak anymore. But that djembe Mamady plays resonates well.

I like the same quality in djembe sounds. I always tell my students that a sound has to have this "plop" quality, a mix of a little attack and resonance in the room. Such a quality you cannot produce with force. A skin hit with brute force will sound brutal. But you want to excavate it's own sound, it's free voice, a sound where the skin swings in accordance with itself. I think you can cut all that talk short by saying that you like a bass with the slap and tone, because the bass is always stimulated a bit on a skin that is not cranked too hard to swing freely. On a brutally cranked skin the bass is dead.

I think you can see the same quality in someone singing. A cranked djembe is like a person singing with the head voice only. You do not get any personal information from such a voice, you cannot express your inner feelings properly and thus cannot communicate those feelings to others. But when a singer uses all the resonating space he or she has and doesn't force the vocal chords, pure beauty and uniqueness can emerge.

nice post

[the kid]

Such a quality you cannot produce with force. A skin hit with brute force will sound brutal

Depends on the hand that strikes it i reckon. We don't hear some one like Harouna dembele hitting brutal sounds yet he beats the djembe with a lot of force. I find his sound sweet. Lets compare a plop to a Njang. Gimme njang or zang any day over plop. Plops are for the toilet bowl, no offence. lol.

"A dead goat screams louder than a live one". I'm quoting this because we all know djembes are known to scream loud.

The saying doesn't say the dead goat talks louder than a live one.

Mamady may be using 'bass' as an expression of soul of the drum or the character of the drum, or simply resonance.

I'd like to see some djembe kans demonstrating each drum like Drumskulls considering the price lets hear the drums. First example sounds sweet.

[djembefeeling]

I find his sound sweet. Lets compare a plop to a Njang. Gimme njang or zang any day over plop. Plops are for the toilet bowl, no offence. lol.

Well, I try to ungrow 35 years to share laughter...still... Plops for the toilet bowl, right, you got, in a constructive fashion, exactly what I tried to describe....

I remember people taking a workshop in Berlin with Soungalo Coulibaly quoting him: "Don't believe people saying hitting the drum should't hurt - it should, otherwise you are not really hitting the drum!" One cannot really claim that Soungalo didn't sound good on a djembe, nor that Harouna doesn't. But this ballet like harder, faster, louder is not mine. It sounds brutal. Ibro Konaté wanted to impress me with playing a super loud slap when he came by my workshop place in Conakry. I did hear that slap even two days later as a ringy sound in my ear. Believe me, it sounds brutal, not beautiful in real life. Neither videosounds on youtube nor audio on cd can nearly capture that.

A dead goat screams louder than a live one

Never heard a living goat screaming, but prefer girls anyway (hey, the time travel to my teens worked with some delay)

Mamady may be using 'bass' as an expression of soul of the drum or the character of the drum, or simply resonance.

Right. Or any other thing like it's price or origin. Wait, resonance is what I said as well...might be just that.

It is interesting to listen to what Mamady has to say about Famoudou's sounds in the djembefola movie.

[the kid]

I did hear that slap even two days later as a ringy sound in my ear. Believe me, it sounds brutal, not beautiful in real life.

Your just listening to djembe in the wrong enviroment.

To achieve authentic sound you must be in bush lying on a hammock drinking green tea.

[boromir76]

I'm a bit puzzled, because he said that "When I play a slap, I want to hear the bass with the slap. When I play a tone, I want to hear the bass with the tone."

For one, I don't hear the bass he's talking about (maybe because I'm watching this with headphones).
And secondly, I don't want to hear the bass:) I want pure sound, and that's what I always thought Mamady and other great djembefolas had.

You are taking this aproach to literally. It is not about playing tons and slaps unclear mixed with basses. It is about playing them very clear, but adding also a litlle tonal depth with subtle bass resonance underneath. I doubt this ambient video recording could reproduce that but can understand why MK wants to have a litlle bit of bass with tons and slaps. It gives sounds more tonal range, more "body", depth and drive. It is basically like mongolian throat singing or someone who would play guitar and bass at the same time. In my experince this can be achieved in priciples only with djembes which are not to tight. The other thing that possibly also contributes to this added sound would be positioning of palms and fingers They should be as far towards the center as possible, not sacrificing the qualitty of tons and slaps and ergonomics of playing.

[the kid]

The other thing that possibly also contributes to this added sound would be positioning of palms and fingers

The thing is though, Mamady is playing with so many techniques in this clip. He's basically all over this djembe.

It is special to hear the intricacy of his playing when there is a proper sound recording.

The djembe is tweaked to near perfection. But it is highly tuned. Very tight skin, probably pretty thick too. But it could be higher but then it would have that class chunky sound.

[djembefeeling]

A guy here in Hamburg now bought a MK series djembe for 1500,- $. I had the priviledge of playing the instrument yesterday. It's a good djembe, but I played better djembes already. The overtones where not so much in harmoniy with the basic tone and I found it harder to place my hand right when the skin is put over the knots of the ring. That is in general a development I don't like that much, since hand placement is getting more awkward then. But anyway, the guy who bought the djembe doesn't have any decent technique yet so it doesn't matter that much.

edited to add that the first djembe that was sent to him had much splinter so that he demanded and got a new one. his second has absolutely no bass in the tone or slap, which Mamady stressed to like on a djembe...