New Used Djembe
 

After seeing how much fun I had with hand drums at Plastic Forks, I decided to get an inexpensive drum to bang.

I ended up getting a used 17 x 10 1/2 Djembe drum from a used music store near work. He first made me an offer of $40 for it. When I held it up to the light and saw an 1/8 inch tear in the head he came down to $25.

After seeing how heating my bodhran turned a tiny tear into an 18 inch rip, I decided to go with my plan of using plastic packing tape and superglue.

This weekend I am considering removing the head and cleaning the drum. I think that I also intend to replace the worn rainbow cord with black climbing rope or the equivalent and use furniture polish to fix up the wood.

The drum was used by a music troupe, Sister something and something. The shop owner had one of their leaflets.

My biggest issue is that the drum has a musty smell mixed with incense. I think that a strip and clean will take care of that.

Any advice on techniques and materials for refurbishing drums would be appreciated.

I've included a 'before' picture.

i've done a little furniture refinishing. i know nothing about the heads of drums, though..... i googled djembe drum heads, and found a few for around $40.......

there seems to be a good bit of info out there on how to replace the head, too.

looks like a cool drum.. how does it sound?

Pretty good, but it needs to be stretched a bit, so I would probably stand near the fire like Wolf to heat it.

I saw 10" heads on Ebay for $2 apiece. Unfortunately, I would need a 12" piece to refinish the head. The rip is so small that I think a simple repair will fix it.

I took lots of pictures of the rope work since I think that retying the pattern of cords will be the toughest part.

I'm looking foward to a nice weekend project.

Remember, replacing or repairing the drumhead or re-tying the head differently might change the tone of the drum, but it'll still sound good. Congrats and good luck with it.

what's the black horizontal ring around the outside of the head made of?

That's an Ashiko...Djembe have a sort of chalice shape, Ashiko are a conical taper.

Reheading can be a real pain in the ass. Find someone who knows how, or do some research online first. Also, the tensioning cord is tied wrong to begin with. When done correctly, the pattern of the cord should be a series of diamonds (tightening a skin drum head like that is usually referred to as "pulling some diamonds"). The black thing around the head is a fabric-wrapped metal ring, which is half of the means of allowing the tensioning cords to grab the head and stretch it tight. There should be a companion ring around which the head is wrapped. When you pull diamonds and pull the rings down, the head stretches and the pitch of the drum goes up.

Drying damp skin drum heads over a fire is a surefire (pun intended) way to screw it up, especially if it was on a drum like bodhran that has the head tacked in (as many inexpensive designs do). I've seen them literally shred from the expansion and contraction over the course of an evening around the big Pagan fest fires.

I'll check out some reheading/restoration links for you if you want, LJ. You got a good deal on the drum, and restoring it right will make it much more playable and enjoyable for you. I also have a good friend who makes really spiffy drums, and can probably get you in contact with him for instructions.

Patrick -
(speaking as the owner of a set of congas, one frame drum, one 11" Remo Djembe with bulletproof, artificial, can-actually-be-played-in-the-rain Mofo head, a handmade wooden Ashiko, two drum machines and more incidental percussion instruments than you can shake a drumstick at). :blush:

that sounds great, elspode, but rich was the guy that bought the drum :p

That is indeed a very cool drum.

I have a friend who drums with two pro/semi-pro drum ensembles in the Lehigh Valley ... she may know folks who would be able to deal with repairs and so on. Let me know if you end up needing some assistance.

hmmm ... there's a guy I've met at a lot of new age expos ... Conrad Kubiak. His shop is called "Spirit in the Wood." He makes digeridoos as well as a variety of drums. Another place to check in Reading was called "Earth Rhythms." It's a drum store that was off the 422 W exit that you use to get to the outlets ... Penn Street, I think.

Uh...whoops? Long workdays making brain shrink...losing mind...can't...read.

What is it with you hippies and the fucking drums? :)

'I don't want to work, I just want to bang on the drum all day ..."

Thanks for the information. I have already looked at sites on how to tie a Mali Weave. I'm trying to figure out how much rope I will need for the drum. I'm guessing 30-50 feet.

I had no intention of drying a damp head by the fire. I was referring to Wolf heating her dry head to tighten it.

I looked at this site for prices on skins. I am thinking about ordering two heavy 14" goat skins in case I mess one up.

Any thoughts on rope? The current rope looks like covered nylon. I would guess any heat and moisture resistant rope with good friction would do.

I glanced at the spirit in the wood site. He charges $250 for a 10.5 x 21 Ashiko. So if I can get my 10.5 x 17 Ashiko reheaded and restrung for a grand total of $60 I will be ahead of the game.

BTW, does anyone have any idea what wood this is?

looks like morningwood

I'm guessing that that comes from the trunk of the pisshardon tree?

The rope on most of the rope-tensioned drums I've seen seems to be much the same as thinner diameter climbing rope.

:beer:

Because synthesizers are hard to plug in way out in a field somewhere around a bonfire.

If you ever make it to forks we can run a long extension cord from the house ... bring extra.

how do you pronounce this? duh-jem-bee?

d' jem beh

(shorten the emphasis on the "D" sound, slide it into the jem a bit more)

Virtually no "d" sound at all...most of the drummers I know say it like "gem bay".

the d makes it clear that it's really not quite the same sound as our g, though. there's a roughening of it and the dj kind of makes that clearer ... ah, we're never gonna agree on it exactly, and it's very hard to have such a discussion in text. AND i'm not going to record my version and post it, either.

thanks!

I noticed the tone was way too flat when I tried it, so I had my first attempt at tuning. I haven't replaced anything yet, so I unwrapped the ropes to the point where the rope was threaded through the diamonds and PULLED. It reminded me of those Victorian movies where the maid was tying a corset. I didn't have a broom handle and I was afraid to crack the wood, so I think I held back a bit.

The tone seems much better and the center has a deep bass. I don't know if I want to replace the head, but I do want to untie the ropes and clean the wood.

If I do decide to reskin it, should I get a 14" or 16" goat skin? The head measures a little over 10.5 inches. Should I get a medium or thick skin? I would assume a thick skin would give me a deeper note.

So far the three suppliers for goat skins I found are Mid-East Manufacturing, Columbia Music , and SunReed Instruments . The spirit in the woods shop Wolf recommended mentions new skins but doesn't list them on their page.

I'm going to Home Depot this weekend for rope and something to refinish and clean the wood. I'm looking forward to this project.

Rich,
I don't know drums and I don't know wood for drums , but that rope ain't to be found at Home depot . Go to a climbing shop , any rope head can identefy it for you and you can get MANY different colors , i am thinking it looks like a 8mm rope . Good luck , and post pics as you fix it up .

I would recommend stretching the existing one flat and measuring it, and then try to match it as closely as possible in size. I mean, it apparently worked once, right?

When tying the diamonds, it is good to have a pencil or stout stick to pull the rope first, through tightly, then *down* tightly. It is the downward pull that you make that actually puts the tension on the drumhead.

Obviously, you've already improved it, as that size drum should theoretically have three tones. (1) bass note produced by open handed center hit, (2) mid tone halfway from the center produced by using your whole fingers and upper part of the palm, and (3) a "rim shot", high tone produced by striking the head at the very edge with the end two joints of the fingers only.

I'm excited for you, Rich. Nothing better than a drum for trancing and practicing not being quite so Caucasian. Hell, if it weren't for drumming, I'd still be eating Velveeta and white bread sandwiches with mayo...

I'll just park a lot of batteries in my trunk and play from my laptop.

goddamn hippies...

128 steps does not a clean filter sweep make!

Finished Drum
 

I lost my last poist in the Cellar crash. I finished the Ashiko 2 weeks ago. I sanded it and put on 3 coats of Tung oil. I restrung it with 5mm climbing rope and 2.75 mm climbing rope on the crown. I had to unwind the crown and flesh rings, which are coiled steel ribbons, because the crown ring would not go over the top of the drum with the heavy skin I used. I used black electrical tape on the flesh ring and red electrical tape and Martha Stewarts holiday ribbon on the crown and bottom rings.

Last week before my surgery I tightened it. Tonight I put aloe lotion on the head to soften it and it loosened it. I will have to re-tighten it next month when my carpal tunnel surgery heals. Since I can't use the drum until then, this is no loss.

Nice job Rich, now beat it. :biggrin:

Cool! I wondered into an import shop last year and picked this up

http://img48.exs.cx/img48/3366/Djembe.th.jpg

[Come to think about it, I shoulda picked up the hippy chick that sold it to me aswell]
:heartpump :doit: :heartpump