New Djembe - Totally awesome !

[Bataboom]

I have played all sorts of drums from Toca, to ghana, to Ivory coast. When I got this one I went :O WOW !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not just the looks although it looks awesome as well this thing has the sound thats outa this world. I got it from mother rhythm web site.



I can put this thing against my 300.00 Ivory coast drum and it blows it away at half the cost.

[el_frenko]

wow nice djembe! the carvings actually look tasteful and authentic, unlike many djembes i've seen. pretty good site as well. on the subject of djembes, are kambala bassam djembes better than bucarra ones?

thanks,

steve

[Bataboom]

I would say the kambala bassam djembes look to be the Ivory Coast style quallity which is a high mark for that type very authenticlly traditional hand carved from Ivory Coast.

As for the Bucara djembes they look like they are simular to the ghana made djembes which isnt bad for a all around drum but if your shooting for a higher mark I would say the kambala bassam because I find that style of drum is like the ultimate style of hand carved drum.

This drum I posted up above isnt made in any of the gustapa african places, but its made in Indonesia the reason I say its not hand carved is the inside is machine cut with a lathe and not hacked on with a homemade hatchet, now maybe the outer carvings are hand done be either way a drum doesnt neccessarily have to come from Ivory Coast to be a great drum, however they are and they are the djembe originals but I have proven to myself that thier are other countries in the world that have taken this trade and mastered it as well.

The bottom line is if you want a traditional "the best" hand carved authentic african djembe go with the Ivory Coast drum / kambala bassam etc. If you want a cheaper authentic drum thats still a great drum and authenticlly hand carved in africa go with the Ghana carved ones / Bucara etc.

Or you can do like me and venture into others such as this great playing tribal face drum made in Indonesia which by the way this same company that made the tribal face drum makes drums for toca and others as well. They use prime clean top notch skin and mahogony shells which is pretty light yet very responsive and has a great tone.

[bongoron]

That is one sweet looking drum! My daughter got a Hand carved Ghana djembe...on the inside and out via machete'...no ornamental stuff. It sonded fantastice, even with the three spots where the head was shaved through to the shell....then we returned it, and the replacement was smaller in every dimension...lathe turned, but very similar tone. Go figure :rock: ...I really like theat new one. Congratulations! Cool when you stumble onto a good deal.

God bless!

-Ron

[steady freddy]

Hi Drum bros,
The best djembe are always hand carved and the #1 shells come from Guinea, West Africa or Mali (lingue, hare, djalla, bois rouge and bouba wood). Good #2 spot are ivory coast (iroko wood) and shells from the south of Senegal (dimba wood). Anyway this what most djembe players think.
Happy drumming,
Steady Freddy
my new guinean djembe

Attachment: http://mycongaplace.com/forum/eng/uploa ... djembe.jpg

[bongoron]

Beauty! Iwas wrong, the first drum was from indonesia, not sure about the smaller, second drum. It still is a very good sounding djembe, after it's properly tuned...very rich bass tones, and very high crisp slaps. The open tones are metallic...is that how they should sound...experts respond please. This smaller one looks like rosewood...is that a common wood to use? She carved on it and the color is the natural dark red, not a stained finish.

God bless!

-Ron



Edited By bongoron on 1146149855

[steady freddy]

Hey Bongoron,
metallic tones can be 2 things. Either your is skin is slightly to thin or your rings are not sitting tight on the drum. At least that's what I have heard about metallic open tones.
Hope it makes sense.
Happy Drumming,
Steady Freddy

[bongoron]

I guess I should say "slightly metallic." I think it may be poor techinque by me since I play mostly congas and bongos...my daughter doesn't seem to have the problem. I may be hitting it too hard in the wrong spot or something..considering the thin skin compared to a conga.

Hey, Randy...great site! I just bought a rainstick. I'll let you know how it is.

Thanks for the info Freddy! I'll check it out.

God bless!

-Ron



Edited By bongoron on 1146151340

Attachment: http://mycongaplace.com/forum/eng/uploa ... djembe.JPG

[Bataboom]

Hi freddy I hear what your saying the best traditional hand carved drums are from the west african countries like Ivory coast, mali, guinea senegal etc. here is a pic of my Ivory Coast drum, I do love this drums tone as a authentic west african carved drum. I was just commenting on this new drum as to say that other places in the world do make great drums as well, not totally hand carved authentics but none the less still great drums.

[Bataboom]

an update to this post, I have sold the tribal face drum reason being, when I played it at home it sounded great, but when I got together with my drum group I was standing out in sound some wierd like. The drum sounded great alone but when I got with others it was wayyyy louder waaaayyy more over tones etc and it sounded different then all the rest of the drums and my goal is to blend with the rest of my students so I had to part with it, perhaps this drum in a smaller size would be the perfect sound and perfect looking drum but I really dont want to buy another just to try I have way too many as it is. After all this was 15 head and that may have contributed to its loud over toney sound possiblly his 13.5 inch drum would be the man!