Djembe

[Atomic]

I really want to get a Djembe but I know nothing about them. I want one so I can jam with friends when they play acoustic guitars mostly.

Would bongos be better or a Djembe? Does it matter which size I get and would you guys recommend a specific one?

[xsabers]

I really want to get a Djembe but I know nothing about them. I want one so I can jam with friends when they play acoustic guitars mostly.

Would bongos be better or a Djembe? Does it matter which size I get and would you guys recommend a specific one?

REMO makes some pretty good djembes. Larger diameter is better for low end. I would suggest a cajon or djembe over bongos personally. I have a djembe but cajons are very cool and very versatile for jamming (and they come with a free throne too!)

[Gretschhead]

The best djembes come from Mali, Guinea, Ivory Coast, and Senegal. Solid 1 piece carved shell, rope tuned with goat skin is the way to go. I'm not a fan of the sound of key tuned djembes, but they are easier to maintain. If you're serious about learning djembe, my advice would be to look in the used market, craigslist, ebay and such for a good traditional djembe from one of the countries I mentioned above. There is plenty of stuff from the major brands at GC and such, but I personally can't reccomend any of it.

[xsabers]

The best djembes come from Mali, Guinea, Ivory Coast, and Senegal. Solid 1 piece carved shell, rope tuned with goat skin is the way to go. I'm not a fan of the sound of key tuned djembes, but they are easier to maintain. If you're serious about learning djembe, my advice would be to look in the used market, craigslist, ebay and such for a good traditional djembe from one of the countries I mentioned above. There is plenty of stuff from the major brands at GC and such, but I personally can't reccomend any of it.

Apples to oranges, I guess. If you are looking for a decent, easy to tune and maintain drum, then get the mass produced drum. I have owned both and in context, either will work for what you are looking for. Depends on your budget and needs.

[Atomic]

My budget is pretty low, and I don't know if its something that I'm going to take interest in over the kit. But I definitely intend on becoming relatively good at it.

Would you guys recommend a certain size for playing with acoustic guitars or does it really matter?

How difficult is a rope tuned Djembe to tune and maintain compared to a key tuned one?

[frquent flyer]

Suggest at least 12 inch diameter and I too prefer goat skin over synthetics.

[SportEd]

I would suggest a djembe for your intended purpose, as I believe it will be more versatile for you. Although, I like the idea of a cajon... you can even get them with snares mounted inside for a more versatile sound.

As far as djembes go, it's best to look for opportunities to hear yourself on both natural and synthetic djembes, as it will come down to the sound you prefer. Make sure you get a full sized, playable djembe though... There are lots of touristy souvenir type djembes from Bali etc, which I would avoid. A rope tuned djemebe is pretty easy to tune, once you learn how to pull diamonds...

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[PsyAbi]

Another vote for a traditional djembe. I agree with what Gretchhead and frequentflyer said. A 12" is a good size and a one-piece, good wood, goat-skinned, rope-tuned djembe is the way to go.

Sure, rope-tuning is more involved and difficult. But, it's not that hard. And, it gets you closer to the drum and will help you become a better drummer.

[cat]

One more vote for traditional djembe. The sound is absolutely better than machine tuned, and if you get a used one, the skin will usually have setttled, so there wont be much tuning to do. I havent tuned my senegal djembe for 25 years, and the goatskin is still in top condition. Only thing to watch for is that the skin does not get to tight.
As an alternative I would suggest a conga. They can sound very good with a synthetic skin, even if the conga is not top quality.
cat

[Atomic]

I think I'm gonna try to find a used rope tuned 12" djembe then. I watched a video on how to tune it doesn't look that difficult just a little time consuming but I guess its something you dont have to do often.

[Gretschhead]

You can find rope pulling tools online that make tuning very simple, most websites that specialize in djembes and African percussion will have them for sale.

[bongobro]

Having played both rope-tuned and key-tuned djembes, each has its good points. Rope-tuned djembes are more authentic in the way they're made--and in the way they sound--but I have found the Remo djembes sound good for a key-tuned model.

I reviewed several djembes on at least two posts in the PRODUCT REVIEW thread, so check that out as well.

The trick is, play a few and listen for yourself... Good luck!

[MartyM]

Atomic, sorry for delay in this response, had to upload to Photo Bucket, had not done that in a long time, Bongopro is a good source for hand drums to name the many on this site...all I can add is I got this Djembe on ebay for $99.00 from auction, and it sounds fantastic for as small as it is...24" hgt with approx 12" head...good luck
[IMG]URL=http://s581.photobucket.com/albums/ss259/MartyM54/?action=view&current=DjembePic.jpg][/URL][/IMG]

[Pearl MCX Man]

I was in the same boat as you trying to figure out which Djembes to buy and I am still looking but not has hard. May want to check this website out www.discountdjembes.com they have alot of them but it is so confusing what to look for in a Djembes. Good luck

[NLP]

I actually bought a djembe for an acoustic show a while back, and the variety of tones that a djembe can produce beat the conga and the bongo for me, and I got a traditional rope-tuned wooden djembe, which looks great.