Djembe Maintenance
Just as
your car requires a service to mend any faults or to prevent faults occurring, a
djembe will require periodic maintenance to ensure that it stays in good playing
condition.
Occasional checks
Just as
your car requires a service to mend any faults or to prevent faults occurring, a
djembe will require periodic maintenance to ensure that it stays in good playing
condition.
Occasional checks
-
Is the skin in
good condition overall, are there any nicks or cuts that could rip? If there
are, keep an eye on them. If there is significant damage, consider replacing
the skin;
-
Does the skin
still produce a good tone? If the drum
has become dull and tonally lifeless, the skin may have reached the end of its
playing days, either play it 'til it drops or retire it;
-
Is the edge at
the top of the drum flat? use your eyes and your fingers to check. If there are
any significant inconsistencies in the edge, you need the full service to
rectify them;
-
Is the rope in
good condition? is there any fraying or signs of weakness? Keep an eye on
damaged ropes, they will rarely give way unless cut but should be replaced at
the next re-heading;
-
Are the welds in
the metal rings sound (as far as you can see)?. If the welds are starting to
crack or give, make investigations into having new rings made either by yourself
or at a local engineering facility.
-
Are there any
cracks anywhere in the shell? the base of the stem can be prone to this.
-
How many rows of
horizontal knots do you have in? If you have 3 rows or more, I suggest that you
remove all the horizontal knots and tighten the verticals as far as you can
before re-installing a few knots to bring it up to playing
pitch.
Full
Service.
Having
the head off the drum allows the player to adjust, repair and replace elements
of the drum.
-
Bearing edge.
This is a critical factor in the drum's sound. This is the very top of the drum
where your hand strikes. It should be absolutely level. There is a page on re-working the bearing edge
of a djembe.
-
If your drum skin
is damaged or old, consider re-heading a djembe, it is a straightforward but
time consuming task. What about skins?
-
If your vertical
ropes are damaged and need replaced read about re-heading a djembe,
-
If you are want
to know about the roping (and tuning) of a djembe read about the beautiful Mali
weave
-
Minor cracks can
be treated with wood glue and sawdust mix. Collect the sawdust from sanding the
inside of the drum. If there is more significant damage then you may consider
using epoxy to stick
it
with webbing to hold the bits together apart from that seek a
specialist.
-
If you have
many rows of knots and the drum still isn't high-pitched enough, you need to
take all the knots out and re-tension the verticals. Read about it in the Mali
weave.
-
Some advocate the
application of wood oil to the shell, I think this is useful to stop the drum
totally drying out and potentially cracking.
-
I can't help you
with the welding, sorry.
|
Paul Marshall |
| About the author: |
|
Paul is the owner of Drumdojo and the Dojo Sites, He is responsible for writing and collating a lot of of the material that you see here on drumdojo.
Playing drumset since age 5, Paul has been a drummer on and off for most of his life. He plays every drum he can get his hands on. Paul works as an instrument designer, has designed many instruments for the Stomp orchestra and more recently in Holywood Movies. Paul is a prolific web designer and currently has a portfolio of around 40 business and hobby sites.
|
Trackback(0)
|