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[Fwd: Dumbeks]



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Ah....Something I know something about.

Peters, Rise J. wrote:
> 
> Poster: PETERSR@spiegel.becltd.com (Peters, Rise J.)
> 
> Good gentles, I am considering making a dumbek, and am looking for someone
> who is knowledgeable about these instruments to answer some (relatively
> simple, I think) questions ("are these period" "metal or ceramic" "how in
> the world do they get the head to stay on the ceramic ones".... things like
> that ).  Advice or a referral would be very welcome.
> 
> =Caitlin Cheannlaidir

They are period in the ceramic form, but evidently didn't see wide use
outside of egypt until after period.  Frame drums were mostly used in
Western Europe.  I used to have a source to site for that...alas.

His Excellency is most correct about the fish-skin heads.  They sound
real nice, but I would postulate they were used mainly because they made
a different sound than goat, calf, horse, etc. as they all did.  The
goat skin heads are the best, I think, because we wear them out with SCA
use(humidity, heat, newbies, etc.) and a new one runs about thirteen
bucks and an hour of time attaching.

The head stays on the ceramic ones with regular water soluble Elmer's
Glue. Really.  The head and the drum go through some stress, though.  I
attach natural heads to ceramic doumbeks(I did one on Monday for my drum
class, but it fubarred and that happens now and again) but I don't
gaurantee the drum case will survive.  If it is cracked at all, it can
break on the stretching jigs I build.  I am working on getting better at
lacing heads, the most period of the practices.  Although skin-glues
will work as well as Elmer's, I haven't found docs for adhesives in this
application.  Sir Daveed can lace heads, but he generally does it on
bigger drums and uses a thick goat skin.

Falcone





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