Many people write to me all the time and ask, “what djembe should I buy? And I often get asked, “please help me choose a djembe”. The best djembe is the drum that is perfect for your needs. Everyone needs something a little different and some people do not need or want a professional drum where as some people want the highest quality musical instrument they can get.
I do suggest whatever you need is that you do make sure you get high quality. Built well. Built to last. And it should sound good. Why buy something that does not sound good or is not built well?
About djembes
Please note that the djembe drum is indeed a musical instrument from a long, deep rooted heritage and for the most part, (especially in the higher end models), are made by very experienced crafts people who have trained long and hard and are very skilled at what they are doing.
Making a djembe is an art form and several different sets of hands are involved in the process.
A djembe drum is a fine musical instrument. Just like a piano maker or guitar. Djembe artisans work with wood, skin, metal, rope and other elements to create something beautiful for you to create music on.
A drum is not a lesser instrument then any other instrument . Just as much or more time goes into the making of a good drum as any other instrument. Try carving a shell with rudimentary hand
tools and mounting a skin for yourself if you want to really know.
So please keep in mind that there is a huge process that goes into the making of your drum. A tree must be grown/ found, cut, aged, carved on the outside by hand and also on the inside. Rings must be made and welded.
Skins must be obtained and processed. The shell gets further decorative carvings and treatment. The skin gets mounted and pulled. No easy job and getting it right and balanced is an art unto itself. All of these things take skills. There is very little margin for error in high quality and professional drums. Everything must look right, feel right and sound right, too1
Got Djembe?
The first thing
I ask someone who asks me to make a recommendation for a drum is what is there intention with the drum?
Are you going to jam, play at dance classes, perform, go to drum circles or play in the band?
If you are jamming with friends you might not need the loudest or heaviest drum. If you are playing acoustic music you might want a larger drum with more mid range, tone and a thicker less ringy skin.
Each drum size, type, wood and shape can effect your playing experience. Of course your own playing technique is a big factor as well, but that is another story.
The bright slap may be less important for recording drums. At a drum circle you may want a mid sized light weight drum with a balanced sound and possibly a thinner skin so you project more and have more bass. Or maybe you want to stand out so you may want a louder and larger drum.
Wula Drum “The Art Of Djembe”
People often say, “I want a lot of bass”. The bass is more about the relationship of skin to shell then the size, weight, shape or type of wood used. However the bowl shape and stem opening as well as the length of the stem can have something to do with it as well.
Often thinner skins have more bass, less defined tone and sharper slaps. Its harder for many people to differentiate slap and tone on thin skins. These days most people prefer and use medium thick to thick skins when using goat.
How do you play?
An important question to ask yourself about a potential drum is, are you carrying the drum around, traveling far and playing sitting up or standing? If you are going to stand the weight is important.
In this case of course you want a lighter drum. And often a lighter drum is a compromise in sound. So you have to decide for yourself what are the most important factors.
Many people use djembe stands that hold the drum in the air slightly off the drum so there is no pressure on their backs. They can be nice if properly made and heavy duty, I have not found one that
the art of djembe; wula drum
does not jiggle and move. This may also be do to my particular playing style.
Occasionally smaller and lighter drums can sound as good as larger drums. But not usually and there are no “givens”.
Overtime sometimes I think I finally have the formula down of what makes a drum sound a certain way. And then a drum will appear and goe against everything I have said. So I am going to say “generally speaking” and “for the most part” when I talk about all of these factors that one has to consider when buying a djembe drum.
dougara wood Wula drum
Wood and weight
To my ears and in my personal experience heavier drums tend to sound better then lighter drums for over all balanced sound.
But who wants to be standing up playing for an hour with a super heavy drum? Of course you can always put it in a stand as an option.
The reason heavier, thicker or harder woods sound better is because I think that the thicker would resonates more, The same is true on conga drums. The thicker and denser harder woods always sound better.
Lenke (lengue), Hade (Khadi), are two examples of hardwoods that are commonly found on high end drums from Guinea and Mali. Some people like Djalla wood. Some people like other woods.
Wula Drum
Senegal often has a hard wood called Dimba which is not as pretty as the two aforementioned wood but quite resonant as well.
The Ivory Coast often uses Iroko wood which is a lighter less dense wood but still produces a nice sound.
There are so many other woods to be found as well. Ghana uses an inexpensive very light weight wood called Tweenaboa.
When it’s used to make very thick shells and when it has a medium to thick skin on it (I recommend calf) it can sound very nice. But the cheap Ghana drums with thin heads and thin skins don’t sound good.
www.wuladrum.com
There are other drums being made in neighbouring countries as well as all over the world. You can find a djembe made almost any where in the world now.
Many drums are being massed produced and many drums are being made on machines called lathes which turn and spin the drum making production faster and more efficient.
Wula Drum still uses hand carvers and does not use machines.
The wood needs to have been kept and aged correctly over a certain amount of time. If it has been treated properly chances are it will not crack. Often in cheap drums the wood is too new (fresh) and your drum can crack quickly.
Large drums are becoming more and more rare and its important that the drum makers and companies we support also get involved in programs of replanting and re growth.
If you are going to buy a drum on line I suggest Wula Drum as your first choice.
Pre-order djembe
Wula djembes are sourced from the best hardwoods in Guinea: Lengue, Khadi, Acajou, Doukie, Koula Koula, as well as Melina Wood fortheir lighter drums. Wula Drum has created several different models, or class systems for the djembe.
Each model has a unique style and characteristics, as well as an original decoration.
Wula Djembes are handcrafted by their special team of artists at their shop in Guinea, West Africa. They offer several models of djembe, each different in form, style, wood type, and aesthetics.
Each drum is hand-made to a variety of sizes, weights, and decorations, resulting in a variety of different price points.
According to Wula Drum: “Our mission is to provide the highest quality West African instruments, performances, instruction, and educational materials. We believe that the way to break down barriers of race and class is through the education of music and dance, environmental awareness, paying higher wages, and support sustainable incomes in Guinea as well as the USA”.
sleek and beautiful
Wula drums are made from the highest quality materials: Solid wood shells, custom made rope, oils, waxes, and hand-picked skin.
From the most elaborately decorated masterpieces, to a simple classic style, we ensure a great drum for every drummer.
Skins
No matter what the wood is, no mater what the weight of the drum is, no matter what the shell or shape of the drum is the skin must be matched to balance the drums inherent qualities and tonalities.
If you have a very resonant drum shell for example you need to have a certain type of skin to balance and smooth out the sound yet you dont want to kill it.
Some drums need thicker skins and some need thinner skins. It’s not ever one skin for all drums. The type of skin matters as well as the thickness.
There is goat skin, calf skin, mule skin, horse and camel. Not only does the thickness of all these matter but how the skin was processed plays into your drums sound as an end result as well.
I love the calf skin sound but calf skin is harder on your hands, fingers and joints. Its a very full melodic tone and musical slap but your body will pay the price. Goat skin when medium to thick is my favourite on many drums.
Thick goat can sound almost as good melodically speaking as cow. Cow has a longer life then goat and will not pop in humid climates as easily as goat does. It also stays int one longer with out having to pull the diamonds tighter or higher.
Wula Drum Team Member
I also like mule skin as an in between goat and calf alternative but it tends to hurt ones hands after a while as well. If you have really strong thick skinned hands it may not matter but the rest of us need to be careful.
A good drum maker knows how to pick high quality skins that will both match and enhance the drum perfectly. You want someone with a lot of experience putting your drum together.
High quality skins are important. Not only do they sound better but they last longer as well. They cost more but they are worth it.
New djembe drums arriving soon from Wula Drum in Guinea
Size matters
The next factor is the size of the drum. The larger the drum the more sound you are going to get. If you are a player with larger hands and you are first starting out on djembe you dont want to start on a small 12″ djembe.
Once you have your technique perfected you can play on anything and make anything sound good as well. You want the drum to fit your body type. Smaller drum for smaller people larger for larger. But not always. Of course its up to you and these are just my suggestions.
Smaller drums are generally higher pitched where as larger drums have more bass. This can be changed or balanced with how you tune the drum (pulling the ropes) as well.
Higher pitched small drums can be great for soloing but do not offer the full range of sound larger drums do. For inexperienced players it is harder to hold accompaniment on a smaller drum then a larger drum for example.
The shape of the drum, how the upper portion and lower portion is carved can make a huge difference in sound.
The eveness or unevenness of the carving can make a difference in sound although i have heard drums that look awful sound great with the right skins on them.
Used drum?
If you are on a limited budget for the foreseeable future an option is drum that has been repaired. A repaired djembe or one with a head replacement is fine to buy. Often the high end djembe makers sell repaired drums at a signifigant discount.
Instead of buying a new cheap drum with poor sound I highly recommend checking out high end drums that have had crack repairs done correctly or drums that might be slightly out of round.
The slightly out of round drums makes no difference on your sound. And for many people they sound better. Why, who knows. I dont know.
What is your budget?
You get what you pay for. If you buy a $100 drum from Bali or China or Ghana generally the ropes are going to be low quality as well as the skin, the ring, the wood, the carving, the interior and the shape.
It’s all going to be cheap. It might look similar to a more expensive drum but they are not the same thing. There is no substitute for craftsmanship, quality and experience.
Try to get the best drum you can possibly buy even if you are just starting out. Otherwise, you are going to end up being unhappy a few moths down the road. Then when you try to sell the cheap drum you won’t be able to. I suggest going to a drum company called Wula Drum.
big drums, too!
Quality vs Quantity
At Wula Drum one of the the main concerns is the quality of the drum, how it was carved. They use very high quality wood which has been aged properly.
The bearing edge (rim) has been rounded correctly. The drum has a rubber tire mounted on the bottom for protection.
The rope is the highest quality. The drums shape, design and thickness have all been developed to the highest standards over time.
The skins are even and consistent. The mounting jobs are perfect. The sound us superb. You can count on any Wula drum sounding great because they are consistent.
Michael Markus the president of Wula is not only the owner, he is an accomplished djembe player as well and long time student of master djembe fola M’Bemba Bangoura. Michael has traveled to Guinea over 15 times as well.
He spends every waking moment on his company constantly in touch with workers in Guinea West Africa and always refining the process and improving the drums as well.
A company you can trust
Companies such as Wula Drum who have been in business for 20 years have developed a specific methodology for picking the right woods, for carving the shells consistently and for getting a consistently great sound. There track record is impeccable and there is a long list of satisfied customers.
Wula Drums from Guinea
If you order a drum are unhappy with the drum, you can send it back and trade for another one. They stand behind their product. If you can not see and try a drum personal then you are taking a chance buying it on line.
That is why it’s great to go with an older company like Wula Drum who has an established sound.
Right now is a perfect time to buy a Wula Drum. They are moving their warehouse and need to get rid of all of their drums before a new order comes in. Some of the drums are over $350 off right now. Wula Drum offers drums in every size, a variety of woods and in every price range starting as low as $300. Wula Drum company is a drum you can trust with a long history of happy customers across the globe.
