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: