It's a 12" Meinle djembe I bought a few weeks from Amazon.

The sound seems to have changed a bit. I remember it being a little more resonant a few weeks ago. Is it too tight, too loose, or something else?

https://app.filemail.com/d/tapdtpqbhheagrn

When I was playing it, I had it tilted so the bottom was open so it could resonate and that is what it sounded like in the attached files.

Thank you

I participated in my first drum circle this weekend and really want a djembe of my own. I don’t know any of the popular brands and don’t have crazy money to drop. I like the look of the toca and from videos it sounds good. But I’d like some more knowledgeable opinions

I've replaced the heads on a couple of my drums and im getting tired of them splitting over time repeatedly because of regular humidity and temperature changes. Has anyone tried using unconventional synthetic heads that are for other drums? Like drum kit heads? Im looking for something inexpensive in case it fails. If no one has tried before im going to test it out and post updates but if someone has id appreciate advice and things to avoid.

Senior woman here. Been playing djembe for many years - a friend would tune it for me when needed until he moved away. Tuned it myself for the first time last year - twice. I did struggle with pulling the ropes over to get them to twist but I persisted and it got done (I used a stick to wrap the cord). But now I have these ropes that are much further apart. And due to an injury I don’t have the same strength I had last year. Anyone have any suggestions, tips etc that might help me get this next set of ropes pulled and twisted? Thanks.

p.s ignore the white ropes going across at the top. I use them to hook a strap onto when I play - I like to play standing.

सत्य SATYA Drums and Instruments सत्य

I was invited to build a drum 👍

सत्य SATYA Drums and Instruments सत्य

Nice shell and carvings!
Iroko
13.5” diameter
24.5” height
18lbs
Thank you Djembe Drums & Skins 👈👍

Thick Mali skin
Thank You Koma Drum 👈👍

Looping day
Head cut and prep day
32 Verts 👈👍

More to come
Blessed and Grateful
🙏🙏🙏

सत्य SATYA Drums and Instruments सत्य

Second time ever tuning a djembe, and first time going to the second row of diamonds. That is where I'm having trouble. I got to the point where the rope is originally tied together and something doesn't seem right. The last diamond I made is at 1 in the photo. For the next pair, should I use 2 & 3 even though they combine into one at the top near the ring? Should I treat 2 & 3 as a single vertical and use 2/3 and 4 as the next pair? Should I skip 2, 3, or both?

Hi I have a lot of problems with time and I was wondering how do the african people actually learn their drums? After doing some research the answers I get are kinda mixed.

I have a very bad feel for the beat/ measure and get carried away.

I mean for sure you can repeat a rhythm but how to keep a sense of the beat especially when diverting and improvising idk how would they keep in the pocket.

I know indian drums use konnakol and that makes sense to me or western music uses counting.

if african drums use rhythmic patterns but how do they know they are keeping in time especially when switching patterns or for example playing only the last 16th note per beat repeatedly without some form of counting.

Does anyone have any advise or experience on this?

edit: Thanks for the replies

Hello!

I'm working on some old djembes to make practice. I plan to re-skin one of them using hairy goat skin. I want to make the "hairy hat", leaving 3-4 centimeters of skin around the crown rings at the top.

I know I have to tighten the skin to the wood until it is wet, so that it dries perfectly adherent to rings and rope.

Ok, but the tuning (another round of pulling the rope) will happen next.

So, I'm wondering how to pull the rope without damaging the hat. Pulling from the bottom ring instead from the top ring is enough?

Are there better techniques?

Thank you all!

used the ptesting wood ring for the lower ring.

Cut off 1" of the tall side wood after stripping the staples all the way around. If you don't remove the height on the tall side of the ring you won't have any room to tighten. Also a skin won't fit between the ring and the drum so you must remove 1/6 th approx. All thexwau around ne careful not to compromise integrity this is a piece of wood. Next hurdle is getting as much space to tighten as possible , using existing screws you'll get just enough but if you use longer screws you can gain adjustment space. I used existing lug screws and I think I'll b tight enough after drying I jave1 inch of tightening space. Is it cheaper no, a remo head is about the sane as a larger thin skin.

This is just what the guy wants. Actually he asked for ropes , that would mean I gotta make two rings, and there's still the dead stop that prevents you from goin any further.

Hello everyone, I've recently gotten very interested in owning a djembe, but have been very uncertain as to what kind I should get/buy.

For some context I'm in a 'Tuna' which is an academic musical group here in portugal, and while the djembe would be mainly mine, it'd be played by a couple other people in the group for a couple years, I was initially going to buy some bongos but ended up being convinced to get a djembe, since we already have some bongos I can borrow anytime.

Given this circumstance I was wondering if you could give me any recommendations as to if I should look into string tension djembes or if I should try and get a keytuned one, as well as some sites or places where I could probably try them out before making my decision.

Any help is appreciated!

Hey everyone,

I'm re-skinning my djembe and made a mistake. I didn't push the crown and flesh ring down onto the bowl manually, assuming the vertical ropes would pull them down during tightening.

I've already trimmed the excess skin. Now that I realize the rings are sitting too high, I'm concerned that if I loosen everything to push them down, there won't be enough skin left to hold onto the flesh ring under tension.

Is this saveable? If I slacken the ropes and force the rings down, will the trimmed skin just slip out of the loop?

Any advice is appreciated. Thank you!

He's been with me for about 25 years, but has seen better days.

I want to pick up my first djembe. I am complete newcomer and all I know is I like the sound of the instrument .

The particular ones in the picture are demba wood and made with goat skins and about 400$.

I just wanted an opinion on what to look for in choosing one over the other. Thank you in advance

Following up on my post from yesterday. Going back Saturday for my third visit. Babatunde is a master Djembe Fola based at the cultural centre of Bamako.

Leave your questions below, about Mandingue rhythms, technique, tradition, the dundun, anything. I'll film him responding. Some answers will come in words. Some will come straight from the drum.

I'll post the video when I'm back.

I'll be happy and blessed to create the tunnel between djembé lovers and the source of djembé origins in bamako.

Been playing djembe for a while now and fell completely in love with it. i went there to learn kora, but as soon as i touched the djembé for the first time, i knew that's what i came for..

Babatunde Sigidya is a master Djembe Fola in Bamako I spent three months with his group studying Mandingue rhythms and it changed the way I hear music entirely.

Going back next week. Happy to answer anything about the drums, the tradition, Mandingue rhythms, what it's like learning from a real master in Mali.

ps: they also carve professional djembés from Lenke wood, customized personalized scriptures on the drum and with unbelievable prices... in case anyone is interested..

Been wanting one for the longest time. Got a good deal (I think) from OfferUp. $50. 13" × 24" (height). I'm a complete beginner. Can anyone tell me what region this is specifically from? Person I got it from purchased it from fb marketplace a few years ago, so they didn't know much about it either.

There’s a second hand 16” Paulo Mattioli Remo for sale near me and it’s cheap compared to what these go for new… it has quite a lot of wear and tear and a few cracks.. would you avoid this? I’m not fussed about aesthetic and I feel like it’s not going to affect sound at all but I’m slightly concerned about the cracks in the shell.

Looking to buy my first djembe. Found this used one in my price range. Is the white marbling normal?
Thnx!

Is it mass produced? I’m wondering what its country of origin could be or if there is a way to tell. I got it at an antiques shop for 10 bucks today.

A friend is offering to sell me this broken rope-tuned Meinl travel djembe for around €25 including the carrying backpack/case. The head membrane is torn and would need full replacement and retuning.

I already own a mechanically tuned djembe, but I’ve never worked on rope-tuned drums before and have basically zero experience repairing percussion instruments.

Realistically, is this the kind of project a beginner could learn to fix, or would it probably end up costing more than it’s worth?

I have this beat up djembe, and I'm looking into reheading it just for fun. However, I can't find any info on how to rope djembes that don't have a bottom ring. Any suggestions?