Main page
Order Page
Cranberry Red
Seafoam Green
Cobalt Blue
Temoku (Brown)
Sky Blue
Mottled Yellow
Peacock Green
Turquoise
Main page
Order Page
Cranberry Red
Seafoam Green
Cobalt Blue
Temoku (Brown)
Sky Blue
Mottled Yellow
Peacock Green
Turquoise
Very important things to remember areThe drum body will break when you drop it!The drum shell is not invulnerable. If it drops on a hard surface it will not bounce. Though stoneware is quite sturdy and can outlast all of us, it will bust up in big chunks when it hits the floor. Believe me, I know!The goatskin head will absorb moisture and loosen!The natural goatskin head is like a sponge; it will absorb any moisture it can! Tuning the head is a matter of drying it in a controlled manner. If the head absorbs too much moisture it will become limp and sound really bad. Dry the head with a hair dryer, or hold near a heat source. Rub your hand in a circular motion around the head to ensure even heating. If the head becomes too hot to the touch it is indeed too hot! At this point its entirely possible for the head to split. Watch out!Other Methods of Tuning the headTraditionally the dumbek is held towards the bonfire in the center of the mid-night drum circle, forcing the moisture right out of the head. If you are playing on stage and don't happen to have a bon fire handy, try a heating pad with the drum up-side down. Set the pad controls to low and all should be well with the world. Also use a desk-lap with a 25 to 40 watt bulb, electric space heaters, gas stoves.....but not the microwave!The water-resistant wood glue can soften allowing the head to creep!I had to rehead a drum a guy left in his car all day on a hot July afternoon. The intense heat in the car caused the glue to soften which allowed the tight tight tight head to loosen and crawl all over the place. It looked as bad as it sounded. The only recourse is to soak the rest of the glue off and re-head it!The shoulder strap tie-points are strong but can get broken off if smacked against a hard object!To date I have not had any problems with the built-on shoulder strap tie-loops. I have had my dumbeks at drum circles with people spinning and dancing, and the ceramic loops hold fine. This is not to say however that they can sustain a good smack and not suffer. Once those loops break off there is little to be done to repair it. Crazy glues are not recomended for ceramic as they are far too thin and will suck into the porous body via capillary action. There are gooey crazy glues available that are better suited, but generally a white wood glue is the way to go. Still, you are never going to get the same strength out of the broken loop. I would be tempted to grind the nubs down to keep the drum as pretty as possible. Re-firing is possible in order to glaze-over the exposed surface, but re-attaching new tie-points is not possible. |
