Meinl Professional African-style djembe

Though of African origin these Professional African Style Djembes are made in Indonesia and come in two solid mahogany models with different carved finishes. Standing 24in tall with a 12in head diameter, each drum is carved from a solid piece of plantation grown mahogany and comes in a choice of ‘village’ carved shell or traditional hewn shell, both with polished finishes. The drum is fitted with a high quality goatskin head and the bearing edge is smoothly sanded with a soft deep roll that is decidedly hand friendly. Both drums have the traditional Mali-weave tuning system with thirty vertical runners, all made from prestretched 5mm HTP black nylon rope, that keeps the head properly balanced. Straight from the box and correctly tensioned at the factory these drums immediately impress with a bright cutting slap, a deep resonant bass tone in the centre and clean open tones. The tone and fullness of sound is amongst the best I’ve tried in traditional djembes, with a broad spectrum that goes from firecracker rim slaps to a deep bass that really projects and is a testament to the high quality heads and the accuracy of the tuning system – often weak points on most cheaper models. Priced at £226 and £198 respectively they come with a tuning instruction booklet and rope strap. (JN) For more go to www.meinlpercussion.com