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Jim Donovan Signature Series Small Djembe (11" x 20")
Everyone’s Drumming hand drums and percussion instruments are made with great attention to detail using local wood species native to the North Eastern United States. Each instrument is handcrafted by, yes, human beings!! Our drums are not mass-produced by large factories overseas, but rather made in small batches here in Vermont to assure the highest quality available. We strive to make Every Drum suitable for the professional, yet accessible to the beginner. Whether you want a Djembe, Ashiko, Talking Drum, Djun djun , Cajon or some crazy custom creation we are confident you will love our drums. Each Everyone’s Drumming drum has a 6 month limited warranty on the head as well as a lifetime limited warranty on the shell.
SoundLab # 3
Everyone’s Drumming Percussion
Review of Everyone's Drumming Djembes featured in DRUM Magazine
WWW.DRUMMAGAZINE.COM | DRUM! 117
Model: Jim Donovan Signature Series Djembes
by Brad Ranola
In recent years, the name Jim Donovan has become synonymous with
community drumming, drum circles, and an instructional program called
The Interactive Drumming Experience. Many people think of him as the
heartbeat of the acclaimed jam band Rusted Root. We can now equate his
name to the newest line of djembes from Everyone’s Drumming.
For this
latest addition to their product line, the company and Donovan teamed
up to create a pair of djembes that are not only accessible to students,
but have the consistency and sound that professionals will appreciate.
Out Of The Box. The Donovan djembes are available in two sizes:
12" x 20" and 14" x 24". The shells are made out of Vermont maple with
stave construction, and are treated with a rosewood stain and four coats
of polyurethane clear coat. The lower half of the shell features a
handsome Everyone’s Drumming logo with Donovan’s signature burnt into
the shell’s surface. Each drum also comes with a tuning tool, a
play-along CD featuring some traditional grooves, and a poster
autographed by Donovan.
The djembes feature rope tuning with
a minimized version of the company’s famous “Cinch” tuning system,
which offers a quick way of tensioning heads by pulling a series of rope
ends up (to loosen the head) or down (to tighten), using a T-handled
tool. The principle is based on a standard djembe’s rope-tuning system,
but rather than having one continuous piece of rope that needs to be
woven through itself to add tension, Everyone’s Drumming has split the
system into individual tension points. It looks like a
traditionally-tied rope-tuned drum at first glance, but interestingly,
the tension points that connect the top and bottom hoops are independent
from each other. Each tension point has a short tail of rope with a
knot at the end of it. Going around the perimeter of the drum to pull
each knot takes about a minute and a half to create a
noticeable
pitch change in the drum, which is then simply held in tune by friction.
The whole system is tied with a low stretch, 5-mil static weave black
nylon rope. For this series, the company has eliminated the tuning
tool’s large wooden
ball that helps its ability to grab each rope
end. Instead, they’ve narrowed the tuning tool’s hook, which grabs the
knot at the end of the rope. This aids the appearance of the drum, makes
the drum more comfortable to hold in certain situations, and eliminates
some unnecessary parts that could eventually fail.
Materials And Sound. The Vermont based company takes much pride in the
materials they use. It’s common knowledge that maple is plentiful in
that part of the country. After all, it’s the Northeast that makes our
pancakes so tasty – but maple for a djembe? (Well that’s initially what I
thought.) Two things immediately put my mind at ease: the drums’ light
weight and huge sound. Not only is maple significantly lighter than most
indigenous African woods, but its tonal characteristics also proved to
be the perfect solution for a very versatile sound. Donovan djembe bass
tones were extremely loud and full, and open tones/slaps were isolated
and crisp. Coaxing tones out of the calfskin heads (which were
very consistent) was a snap; often thinner animal-skin heads can have horrible overtones due to the slightest inconsistencies
in
thickness. Not an issue here. Even without any tugging on the Cinch
tuning, the drums have the projection and clarity needed to survive in
any situation, speak with a traditional accent, and feature clean and
separated tones that are surprisingly versatile. (Let’s face it, how
many current djembe players actually use their drums primarily for
traditional music?) The consistency in sound between the two drums is
also impressive – they complement each other perfectly. Bass tones are
almost a perfect fourth from each other and open tones can be easily
tuned to any interval. Although these drums aren’t made from a
hollowed-out log that has fallen into a watering hole, and hand-carved
by a Senegalese master craftsman, they’re round, easy to manage, and
consistent. These, quite possibly, could be some of the best sounding
domestic djembes I’ve had the pleasure of playing.
The weight of Donovan’s djembe might be light, but the sound sure isn’t.
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Features
- Made in the USA
- Environmentally friendly finish
- Kiln dried Hardwood from New England for the drum shell
- Stave construction, lathe turned for increased tonal range
- Hand selected premium natural hide head
- Low Stretch, military grade Alpine rope
- Cinch Tuning for the fastest and easiest tuning of all rope tuned drums
- Limited Warranty 6 months for head , Lifetime on shell
- Comes with a Free Autographed poster and play along Drum Circle CD
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