Remo DJ-0012-24 Mondo Djembe Drum - Adinkra, 12"

I have been a drummer for the past 10 years, but have just recently gained an interest in hand percussion. I knew that I wanted a djembe, because of the portability and wide range of sounds they can produce. After searching the internet and reading around I found that Remo's line of djembes would best suit my needs. They are extremely durable, do not require difficult rope tuning (they are key tuned), and sound quite close to traditional djembes. Upon receiving my drum I must admit that I am very pleased. Everything I read about the drum is correct. The earth finish is very nice and has a bit of a texture to it, which I find helpful for holding the drum between my legs. I wanted to get the 14in in order to have a lot of bass, and this drum certainly isn't lacking that. It is quite big, however. The drum is very wide and fairly tall, I probably wouldn't recommend it for smaller users. I am an average sized guy, 6'00'' 150 lbs, and the drum is a good size for me. I am no expert, but the drum sounds very nice. Bass tones are rich and full, and the higher pitched sounds are produced with ease. I am very very happy with this drum, it is a blast to play, and is well worth the $200 I paid for it.

This is a beautiful djembe, has a great sound and is easy to play. I like the fact that I can play it outside without worrying about the head going out of tune. It is expensive, but I think it is worth the purchase. I did not have any problems with the "ringing" sound that some people mention.

I have played traditional djembe drums in the past and nothing quite comes close to that classic djembe sound but the downside to traditional djembe drums is that they're made out of natural materials which degrade and deteriorate over time. This Remo djembe is made of synthetic materials so it will last a lifetime and you don't have to worry about inclement weather or extreme heat or cold. The sound stays the same regardless. Deep rich bass, nice hand slaps, and great tones and overtones. Some may say this drum has too much overtones so they make a slight modification to it. If you buy this drum and you also think that, then go to YouTube and look up the video called "That Remo Ring". It shows you how to decrease the overtones to make it sound more like a traditional djembe drum. I like how it sounds just the way it is. To each their own. I'm glad I bought this drum and I highly recommend it!

Great buy for all noisy monkeys!Made in the USA from recycled and synthetic materials... If I were a hippie/patriot-hybrid monkey with an affinity for homegrown and environmentally-conscious products, I'd be in heaven... or whatever zen, fermented-fruit land they go to in the afterlife. ;PSeriously though, I have owned a ceramic Djembe with a natural-skin head and had started on a similar one way back when... when I didn't have my own drum. There, I said it.I loved the flexibility of the natural-skinned head to where I could slam a knuckle down on one hand and rap with the other, increasing pressure with my knuckle so that I ended up creating this almost water-in-a-metal-bowl sound when struck. A harmonic ping that dripped upward in pitch over a few beats. I could even get tremolo effects out of it. The intricate dynamics of a natural head are mostly lost, but that's where the cons stop.The feel of the drum, the sound and resonance of the head/body and the multiple voices you get from this drum makes it all worthwhile.Granted, as said above, it isn't as flexible as a natural skinned drum... yet.I'm assuming it may break-in over time, or I can tune it down to get more give.The mechanical/modern key-tuning is great!... as I would feel like a dyslexic fisherman with a net full of Djembe fish if tasked with tuning one fastened with rope. Knots and braids elude me when organized, I can untangle a mean cable-monster, but that's about it.One thing I have to say, is that I was always afraid of tearing through my natural-skinned drums, having to really watch my pressure in certain spots. With this beauty (beast?), I feel confident playing at any strength. The head feels super durable, the body could stop a speeding concrete floor. Lol... never quite looked at it from that perspective have you? And every aspect of it has been painstakingly crafted to the highest of American production standards.Having shopped around physically to great extent in the past, then doing the online thing for about two hours (which equals about a month in real-life shopping time), I'd say I've scoured the options and considered many... pretty thoroughly actually. In the end, this baby won... and I'm REALLY glad she did.Made here, played here... played everywhere if I can get my ass out of here for a frigging vacation! LOL!Oh, wait... I'll have to buy the travel-bag first. Next paycheck. Then I'll start saving for that tour de Canada! BWAAAAA HHAAAAA HAA HAA!!!! J/K.Ok, it's late, time to stop making-out with my new drum. G'nite...P.S. BUY IT!!!!

This drum is no light weight as the stars above would indicate. It is light for as big as it is. It is a quality drum with a great sound. It is decorated nicely and just a nice all around drum. I like the ease of tuning vs a rope tuned drum. I bought the little tuning wrench purchased separately and it works great.

I ordered this a month ago and I'm really enjoying this drum. It sounds good, and although it's not as great sounding as an African made goatskin djembe, I expect the head to last much longer and be much easier to replace. By the way, the replacement head is available on Amazon and costs around $40.00 for the 14" model. The quality seems really good and I expect the body will last a long time. The base sound is pleasantly deep and the rim slap sounds good as well. I'm glad I got the 14" instead of the 12". I think the 12" wouldn't have a deep enough base tone for my preferences. The drum came tuned from the factory and I haven't felt the need to adjust it yet. The synthetic head is made of "Fiberskyn 3". I have another Remo drum for kids that has a head made of the same stuff. My one year old boy beats that thing like crazy and even took a fork to it one day. Hardly any damage resulted. It just had some small pits in the top surface of the head which didn't go through to the bottom. I'm impressed with the durability of the stuff!