Last month we were thrilled to see djembes and the healing power of hand drumming featured in the major motion picture, "The Visitor". Richard Jenkins stars as a college professor visiting New York whose uninspired and empty life is fulfilled through a personal connection with African drumming.

Watch the trailer:

New models are now available in the X8 Drums Djembe line. For a limited time, you will get a free djembe hat with any of these style drums!

World Tribal Djembe
Tribal Mask Bougarabous
Diamond Pro African Djembe
Ramadan Pro African Djembe

Order any size of the models listed above and we'll include a free X8 Drums Waterproof Djembe Hat that fits your drum.

Products limited and may sell out at any time. Prices are subject to change. This offer is not valid for any past or future orders.

Our friends at Giving World Percussion have impressed us again... check out the customization to this Matahari Pro Djembe Drum!

The credit for this particular job goes to Alan Bucciero. Alan is a mechanical engineer full time and serious drum enthusiast with the Giving World Percussion crew.



If you are interested in customizing your djembe with gems, ribbon, feathers, rubber protective material, studs, etc., drop a line to Giving World Percussion.

So you're in the market for a djembe drum but not sure if you should go with a wooden based shell or a synthetic shell. Well, you've stumbled onto the right site. Shopping for a djembe drum can at times be a bit overwhelming. There are such a wide variety of choices, sizes, and features that sometimes you lose sight of what you want. Hopefully after reading this blog you'll have a better understanding of the distinct differences between wood and synthetic djembe drums so you can make a more informed decision.

One of the biggest differences between wood and synthetic djembe drums is that synthetic shells are much lighter and tend to have an extremely bright and almost tinny sound. The brighter tone produced by synthetic shells can be good for cutting through the mix of an amplified band. Additionally, synthetic shell djembes are typically less expensive. After all, it's cheaper to manufacture synthetic molds on an assembly line than it is to carve a single piece of logwood by hand.

Traditional wooden shells have a much more warmer and fuller sound. Most professional players choose wood due to its warm and natural sounding tone. Plus wooden djembe drums are much more authentic and traditional. They just sound better!! Synthetic djembes will be slightly less affected by changes of weather and temperature whereas wood responds more to atmospheric changes, but since they are all tunable that may not matter too much.

If you're planning on gigging out a bunch and transporting your djembe around town, keep in mind that wood tends to show scratches more easily, though both are very durable. A drum usually gets most of its scratches when traveling, so be sure to transport your drum in a djembe bag to reduce the chance of damage.

QUICK REFERENCE:

X8 Djembes produce a traditional line of high quality wooden shell djembe drums made from a solid piece of mahogany logwood. Mahogany is a wonderful hardwood known for its resonant acoustic properties and used in many types of wooden based musical instruments.

Toca Percussion manufactures a PVC shell in their Toca Freestyle Djembe series. PVC is essentially a hard plastic.

All Remo djembes are manufactured using a synthetic shell called 'Acousticon' which essentially is fiberglass. Additionally, all Remo djembe heads are fitted with a synthetic material called 'Fiberskyn'.

Labels: african.djembe, african.djembe.drum, djembe, Djembe.Buying.Guide, djembe.drum, fiberglass.drums. wood.drums., remo.world.percussion, toca.percussion, toca.shell, x8.djembes

There are essentially two types of tuning systems found on most djembe drums - key tuned and rope tuned. To help you make a more informed decision when selecting your new djembe, I will discuss each type of tuning system and touch upon some of the differences.

Key tuned djembe drums tend to have a more modern feel and are tuned using a wrench to tighten the bolts around the djembe head. They are also known as 'mechanically tuned' or 'bolt tuned'. The distinguishing feature of key tuned djembes is a bulky, metal rim that fits around the head and is secured to the body using metal tuning hooks. The additional hardware on this type of djembe adds weight and is a bit of an eyesore. The trade-off in aesthetics is a tuning system that is relatively easy to understand. Just grab the wrench and begin tightening the bolts found on each tuning hook as you go around the head. Tightening the bolts will tighten the skin thus pitching up your djembe head.

Rope tuned djembes are more traditional in their design and are tuned by tightening the ropes around the head of the djembe. Depending on the djembe, there are either two or three metal rings fitted around the head of the drum. However, unlike mechanically tuned djembe drums where there is a most prominent metal rim wrapping around the djembe; the metal rings of rope-tuned djembes are tucked under the skin, are much thinner and not very noticeable. Additionally instead of the tuning hooks, as found on mechanically tuned djembes, rope tuned djembes are fitted with a bunch of vertical rope runners that run up and down the bowl. These vertical rope runners are fastened to the metal rings around the djembe head and are used to place tension on the skin when pulled tightly. To tune the drum you would place horizontal knots on the various sets of vertical rope runners by pulling what's called a diamond. This is known as the Mali Weave. Tuning a rope based djembe can be done quite confidently by a beginner and doesn't take long.

Making a determination of whether or not to go with a mechanically tuned djembe or rope tuned djembe is really a matter of personal taste. However, it's probably safe to say that most players today are choosing rope based djembes due to their traditional aesthetic appeal, and better sound quality. Djembes that are fitted with a mechanical tuning system just seem to lack that "real" djembe sound. Additionally, I've found the bulkiness of the mechanical rim to get in the way of playing.

Labels: Djembe.Buying.Guide, rope.djembe

Prince Charles and his wife made what appears to be an unscheduled stop during their tour of the Caribbean promoting environmental protection.

As the couple approached a street-side group of hand drummers, Prince Charles accepted an invitation to join the group. He and his wife Camilla both participated in a light round of hand drumming on djembes.