Bugarabu Thread

[Chupacabra]

I know what you mean about making hard choices re: deciding on keeping the congas vs. bougarabous. That's why my living room is full of percussion instruments!
The heads on my bougs are fairly thick and they are tuned very tight. I don't know how they tune their drums at Drumskulls but all the ones that I have (3 bougs and a djembe plus some other percussion instruments) are amazingly well tuned, I haven't had to pull any knots yet and I've had them for almost a couple of years and they just sound better the more they get played. Some of the other djembes that I've seen around here are actually tune too tight for my liking.
I like the idea of not having metal hardware whenever practical but it sure is easier changing the skins on lug-tuned drums! When I do have to finally change the heads on the instruments that I bought from Drumskulls I'll probably not be able to do as good a job as they do.
That stand that you have seems ideal for holding your bougarabous in place, did you make it yourself? I'm looking at making a stand out of some bamboo that I bought over a year ago and still haven't gotten around to doing anything with yet.

[Bachikaze]

I did make the stand. I'm too cheap to buy such things as jembe stands.

I have made one stand out of bamboo. It was light and strong. But many of the other things I have made out of bamboo have split, mostly due to temperature changes. The image I attached here is of a santake, meaning "three bamboo" in Japanese—it originally had three tubes. I lashed the pieces together with rawhide strips. The main problem with the bamboo stand is that the pieces weren't exactly straight.

Santake with scissor stand

goro-take.jpg (32.14 KiB) Viewed 5307 times

[Bachikaze]

In case anyone is interested in buying a bugarabu, there is one from Ivory Coast with a hairy head on special at Rhythm Traders. Sorry, I think the discount only applies to US residents in the "Lower 48".

http://www.africanrhythmtraders.com/html/deals.html

[stevesdrums]

I finally made my own drums. I made them from Poplar and cut 18 staves that I glued, shaped, sanded and stained.
I built a 12 in Goatskin that sounds like a Djembe and I built a 10 in and 11 in with Cowhide that sound like congas.
My Mali rope weave ain't pretty but the drums sound good. You can see and hear them at http://www.stevesdrums.com

I also just finished a stave Djembe and I plan to make a few more since several people have asked to buy 1.
Stevesdrums

[Mike]

Awesome job, Steve!
You have built some fascinating drums indeed.
Watching your videos, I like the sound of the thick cowhide very much.

I played a bougarabou-like drum on a workshop recently
and I was fascinated by the distinct sound, even if I am
not to sure if it was a "real" bougarabou, because it looked
a bit different than the other ones I see in this thread, namely
taller (about 33") and much slimmer. Unfortunately I do not have a pic.
But anyway, the sound was awesome, I did some mobile recording,
but I cannot post it here.

Enjoy your drums!
All the best,
Mike

[Bachikaze]

I agree, nice drums. I like the simple ashiko-like shells and deep heads in addition to the sound.

If you don't mind me asking, what part of California do you live in?

[CongaTick]

Great job, Steve!!! If I had the room, I would certainly add one of your drums to my small collection.

[Chupacabra]

Those are nice drums there, Steve. I never would have thought of using poplar for making a drum, but there it is and it looks great! I wouldn't get too hung up on the rope work if they're your own drums. I've seen some really good percussionists playing on rope-tuned djembes etc. that had some pretty shabby looking ropework but the part most people don't see is when they spend about a half hour before a show getting their instrument tuned so it sounds just right. To each their own...

[Whopbamboom]

Bachikaze-- who did you order your bugarabus from?

[Bachikaze]

Bachikaze-- who did you order your bugarabus from?

http://www.djembedirect.com/store/bugarabu
I'm happy with them, and they were the lowest prices I saw. There are a few other shops that have drums under $200, but all the same size. At Djembe Direct, I found a full set in three sizes, averaged $180.

Besides, look around the site. The guys there seemed really concerned with social and environmental causes in Ghana. The wood they use is mansonia, which is popular for counter tops, etc.. I don't believe it's an endangered wood.

[Whopbamboom]

Thank you very much!!

[Bachikaze]

I've still been tinkering with the bugarabus. I've done two major things.

I have reheaded all three drums. I was happy with the originals. The African hide is a little softer than North American steer and gives the drums the warm sound bugarabus are famous for. But, I wanted to get crisper overtones, so I put heavier stuff on them. The smallest, Jalapeño, got a hard cowhide I had on another drum. It sounds absolutely awesome. I reheaded the other two with, believe it or not, LP conga water buffalo. The middle drum (Salsa) has a hide that had been stretched a bit. The large (Maíze) has the typical translucent LP head. Maíze, in particular has the right sound. It sounds just like a tumba. When I need it, I can get sharper sounds with the right attack.

The second change is to use a conga stand. I use a single Aspire stand designed for two drums. I put all three together on it. I can position them in a good arrangement to reach the three conveniently. In contrast to the wooden stand I made, the heads are (more or less) horizontal. Note the thin wooden block that levers the bottoms of the drums away from the stand. I may later put extended forks that will support the drums at their waists (narrowist points).

I play them from the left, facing right.

From the audience's perspective.

[Chupacabra]

I like the tinkering around almost as much as the actual playing. It's usually a lot cheaper than going to the bars!

[Bachikaze]

I like the tinkering around almost as much as the actual playing. It's usually a lot cheaper than going to the bars!

And it's a way to enjoy your drums when it's not convenient to play them.

[stevesdrums]

I just finished 2 more drum shells including my first Djembe. I plan to put thin cowhide on both.
I just can't get into that traditional goatskin sound.

My first Stave Djembe 12 inch head x 26 inch high