Is it too late to rescue my newly-installed djembe head?

September 27, 2007 3:00 PM

I just installed a new skin on my djembe, and it doesn't sound very good; I need some troubleshooting and advice on what to do next.

Tightened the verticals, shaved the skin, all seemed to go swimmingly -- but now that it's had a day or so to dry, the head rings are noticeably tilted: the top rings are about 1/2" down on one side, and as much as a full inch on the other, and the bottom ring shifted over a bit during the night too (tilted in the same direction as the top). I (perhaps foolishly) decided to try tightening it up anyway and maybe it'd even out as I went -- but as I'm getting it up to playable tension there's a lot of high ringing overtone.

Is the fact that the skin is off-center what's causing those overtones? Or is that just caused by the skin being new or not completely dry or not yet at full tension or something else entirely? (to be clear: the goat spine is still well-centered on the drum head; it's just the rings that are at a slight angle.)

If the tilt is what's causing the overtones, should I:
a) loosen the ropes just enough to try wiggling the rings back level and retighten? (or will the skin have already taken its shape, and not be adjustable at this point?)
b) take the whole thing apart, resoak the skin, and start over from the beginning? (or would that just ruin the skin completely?)
c) write it off as a learning experience and buy another skin?

posted by ook to sports, hobbies, & recreation (5 comments total)

have you checked this, this or this?
posted by Salvatorparadise at 3:25 PM on September 27, 2007

You will most likely get more informed responses at the DrummerWorld forums.

Good luck!
posted by DMan at 3:26 PM on September 27, 2007

Salvatorparadise, yes I have; they're good step-by-step descriptions of the process, but don't address my specific question.

DMan, thanks, I'll try them out too.
posted by ook at 3:47 PM on September 27, 2007

My husband says that overtones are usually from the drum not being tightened enough. You might also have a bad skin or have put it on wrong. So the answer to most of your questions is "maybe."

Morgan has never seen the rings shift that much during drying. The target is 3/4" down, but your 1/2-1" tilt/placement should only be a cosmetic problem. 2" is too much.


a) loosen the ropes just enough to try wiggling the rings back level and retighten? (or will the skin have already taken its shape, and not be adjustable at this point?)

Probably not the cause of your problem if it's that small a tilt, but it's a good place to start. If it fixes the problem, great!

b) take the whole thing apart, resoak the skin, and start over from the beginning? (or would that just ruin the skin completely?)

No, it won't ruin the skin. As long as you haven't cut the skin so that it's right at the rings (so you have someplace to hold on while puttting it between the rings, etc), resoaking shouldn't cause any problems. (Just don't put dishsoap in the water, or it will dissolve.)

c) write it off as a learning experience and buy another skin?

His final response: "Well, we've all been there. :)" (Did I mention the dishsoap above?) Don't write it off until you've tried the first 2 things you mentioned. Also, the Djembe-L list is very helpful & you might find someone local who could help you.

Good luck!
posted by belladonna at 4:03 PM on September 27, 2007

Thank you very much, belladonna (and husband thereof)!

I'll wait for it to finish drying out and tighten it up before I try anything more drastic, see if the problem goes away on its own -- if it doesn't, at least my hands will have had a few days to rest before I have to start pulling ropes again :)
posted by ook at 4:16 PM on September 27, 2007