incorporating a djembe?

Anybody have a djembe setup ON their kit? Where do you have it? (pics?) how do you incorporate it in your playing ...or is it stand alone thing for you. I realize they are intended for hands but it sounds cool with mallets.

I love that idea. I can't say that I have, but I've wanted and meant to for quite some time now. I enjoy playing djembe (especially when everyone's unplugged) and have always played it separately from the kit. We have a few songs we've written with a djembe (or two) on it, but I've only recorded it separately and when it comes to playing it live we just ignore the poor djembe parts.

If I think of a way to do it and get to try it out successfully Ill be sure to report back!

only on my Roland TD-15 lol.. have you considered incorporating a electronic pad or two to get this and other sounds?

A real djembe in a set is a no go. The very thin heads won't hold up.

I have used a djembe shaped object produced by Remo in the kit. I took the bottom part of a small cymbal(actually old style snare stand), so that the bottom was off the ground.

Eventually the older style fiber skyn head wasn't very good with sticks(or hands for that matter)though brushes were great, so I sold it to a coworker from Cameroon(who said it was subsequently stolen).

I think the newer style fiber skyn heads would work better, I've seen people playing them with sticks to great effect, and seems about the same as the black suede tom heads.

There is a Chinese drum called a flower pot drum that is shaped like a djembe and played with sticks, might work better.

i have one and play it separately before. but i just put an old Gretsch GTS mount and decided to mount it on kit. it is very awkward to mount up with any other components. Matt Abts ( Gov't Mule) and Jay Bellerose use this but i guess really as stand alone sounds in solos.

i have this Remo one in 14" w/ an meinl or LP stand (rubber basket hooks / strap). my only beef is stand doesn't *quite* go low enough for drumset, but its workable. the right height sitting down for hands...but i want a little lower for sticks / mallets...closer to a tom or a snare height...i'll deal.

I used it a lot for a bunch of one-off x-mass gigs (the little drummers boy KILLED). now playing around in the woodshed w/ it and bongos using sticks & mallets. we'll see how it goes w/ the fyberskyn head (tunable).

http://www.remo.com/portal/products/6/28/175/dj_kt.html

opentune said:

i have one and play it separately before. but i just put an old Gretsch GTS mount and decided to mount it on kit. it is very awkward to mount up with any other components. Matt Abts ( Gov't Mule) and Jay Bellerose use this but i guess really as stand alone sounds in solos.

Click to expand...

Real traditional djembe really are lead/soloist instruments, according to the instructors and performers I've encountered, as opposed to dun-dun. The super thin goat skins are meant to be loosened after each performance, and tightened very tightly to get that slap.

Ya I have a similar Remo in 12. Its nice, and yes I kind of realize they are not the 'real deal' with skin. It is definitely cumbersome to mount around the kit in the right place, mostly due to its length. After fiddling with it the last few days I decided to remove. Its basically like a heavy African version of an octoban. Thanks for all the replies. Maybe some things just don't belong on a kit.