Best Talking Drums
Traditionally, the talking drum is played beneath one arm, and held against the ribcage. Hand carved shells.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Good size for a child or adult Recommended."
"I love the various tones and pitches that this talking drum makes."
"I have wanted a talking drum ever since I first heard Bill Kreutzman of The Grateful Dead play his."
"It is made with different material than the original but it still works fine."
"I bought this for my boyfriend and he absolutely loves it!"
"This is a great, high quality instrument, great sound, nice smaller size."
"The drum is very nice looking aesthetically but the heads are thin and look synthetic. Something put pressure on one side of the shipping box which pushed on the tuning ropes and they ripped the head apart. If you compare this drum's structure to other talking drums made by other companies you will see what I mean about the structure of the tuning system as it relates to the drum head."
"When I opened the box to see the drum it was very small, it was pretty but when i touched the head I knew this was not going to last. This drum dont even deserve one star Ibreally give it 0 stars for a playing drum."
Traditionally, the talking drum is played beneath one arm, and held against the ribcage. Hand carved shells.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Good size for a child or adult Recommended."
"I love the various tones and pitches that this talking drum makes."
"I have wanted a talking drum ever since I first heard Bill Kreutzman of The Grateful Dead play his."
"It is made with different material than the original but it still works fine."
"I bought this for my boyfriend and he absolutely loves it!"
"This is a great, high quality instrument, great sound, nice smaller size."
"The drum is very nice looking aesthetically but the heads are thin and look synthetic. Something put pressure on one side of the shipping box which pushed on the tuning ropes and they ripped the head apart. If you compare this drum's structure to other talking drums made by other companies you will see what I mean about the structure of the tuning system as it relates to the drum head."
"When I opened the box to see the drum it was very small, it was pretty but when i touched the head I knew this was not going to last. This drum dont even deserve one star Ibreally give it 0 stars for a playing drum."
This Classic Heartwood Dondo Talking Drum 8x18 is the largest size talking drum we have available from West Africa. Premium, natural, African sheep skin drum head, tanned goat skin vertical ropes, and sinew loops.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The heads on the drum are amazing."
"This is a beautiful drum with wonderful tones."
"The Dondo Talking Drum was exactly as I expected & another flawless package delivery by Amazon!"
"The dondo talking drum is typically played with a shoulder strap holding it snugly under the arm. I created a strap with fabric, rubber bands and some twist ties, and it's holding up pretty well."
"I appreciate the African, Ghanian, authenticity as opposed to other choices made in China, and that those who sell them support local artisans."
Best Ocean Drums
Remo's Ocean Drum is a professional, double-sided frame drum that sounds like ocean waves. 5 In x 16 In A 2-headed drum with metal beads inside that create wonderful sound effects when the drum is tilted or shaken.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Pretty awesome instrument."
"I LOVE LOVE LOVE this ocean drum!"
"Beautiful sound."
"Beautiful drum with a fantastic way of sounding like the waves."
"def worth the price, the residents love it and like looking at the fish."
"Love it."
Best Udu Drums
LP Udu Drums possess distinct tonal qualities which range from subtle bass tones to soothing tabla-like tones. The textured surfaces provide additional tonal variations by creating rubbing sounds. Bell chamber creates bright, wet sounds.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"From hands on playing, and comparing with other traditional rounded udus, this udu has a drier, sharper tone than my LP mbwata and meinl udu. I think this gives the drum a smaller tonal range than my other udus, so it's better played along with other udus than on its own."
"it produces a large nice deep tone when you force air into the center which is the reason I wanted this instrument was for that very specific sound but with the extra tactile patterns on both sides and the shape of the cup end, this model adds versatility apart from the regular claytones or pot based ones."
"It allows one to be forced from their comfort zone to a new terrain that will not only allow one to better draw sound from this and other Udu drums, but how to draw new and beautiful sounds from the world around you. I have found the best way to rest the drum is with the horn pointing at 3 o'clock or 9 o'clock in your lap while sitting on a chair. If you are a percussionist new to Udus, it may be best to start with a claytone, a more traditionally shaped Udu. The claytone 4 provides the most bass tone and was my favorite until the Mbwata which provides the low tone like a claytone series, but also has a flat playing service for lots of variety."
"This instrument is well made and produces very nice tones."
"I would say that this drum is not the best entry into this category of drum."
"There are many versions of the Udu drum -- dozens?"
Best Tablas
✔ FEATURES Our Tabla Drums have high quality handmade skins and not the cheap machine made skins Bayan: Made with Brass. Black Painted Bayan. High Quality Handmade Puddi (Drumhead) - 9 to 9.25 Inches. Height 10 to 11 Inches. Weight 2.5 to 3 KG Dayan: Sheesham Wood Dayan (Treble - Wooden Drum). High Quality Handmade Puddi (Drumhead) - 5 to 5.5 Inches. Weight - 3 to 4 KG. Tuned to C# or D#. ✔ PACKAGE CONTAINS One Black Painted Brass Bayan (Bass - Larger Metal Drum). One Sheesham Wood Dayan (Treble - Wooden Drum). Set of Cushions & Covers. Tuning hammer. Learn Tabla Book. ✔ NOW INCLUDES A MAHARAJA PADDED TABLA GIG BAG AS SHOWN IN THE PHOTOS.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I bought as a present for my girlfriend."
"Really nice distinctive tone."
"This is great!"
"Great and the price was very reasonable."
"Be careful when you remove the outer bubble wrap because the traveling case is underneath so don't get too aggressive with a knife/scissors etc."
"Dagga pudi seems to be a bit thin, but for this price it is a great deal."
"Had a drummer person look at these and tune them a bit since these are a present for a friend."
"I will recommend to buy it but missing gatta caused me to give one star because it is hard to find the parts."
Best Timbales
LP Aspire Timbales are a great and affordable place to begin learning the magic of timbale playing, whether used traditionally or as an addition to a drum kit. Brand: LP Latin Percussion.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"My hubby loves them!!"
"Good set for your first set!"
"My husband received these timbales for Christmas and loves them!!"
"Great sound!"
"Even that I order the LP Aspire timbales, I got the Toca Player series, I'm very satisfied with it."
"Excelente, lo recomiendo."
"I'm a novice learning how to play the timbales and there were no directions provided on how to assemble this or recommended setups."
"The package I got included both the cowbell and a free jam block, but this is also a good deal. You can't buy a set with a traditional 14" and 15" for less that two or three times this price and often they won't match these for quality. I could not understand a review at another page that said these were hard to assemble."
Best Bodhrans & Frame Drums
Equipped with a removable t bar in back to help support player's hand and wrist when playing. Primary rhythmic accompaniment for Celtic and Irish music with 18" X 3.5" shell size, giving bodhran a deep, rich sound.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I bought it for my father who is interested in learning how to play a Bodhran."
"This is the only bodhran that I have ever played or owned so I don't have anything to compare but it is a beautifully crafted instrument."
"It's beautiful and loud and can make so many different sounds, and you can carry it around and even dance with it, and now I can pronounce "bough-ron!""
"It came quick."
"Great sound."
"After researching a bit on bodhrans, I decided I needed one that was tunable, so I went with the Roosebeck 14" (since I didn't want another big frame drum--I have the Remo 22" buffalo drum) hoping that I could get away with as small a drum as possible."
"Which made it much more playable, took the tipper scratch almost completely out, and improved the looks quite a lot too. I got it from Roosebeck because I refuse to humor anyone calling themselves "Trinity College" unless they are actually in Dublin. So it is five stars because despite the sad skin and the work I needed to put in to make it playable, that is what you should expect at that price point. At 3.5" it is a wee shallow for excellent tone but with the allen-key tuners I can quickly dial it up to a nice boom that isn't so low it makes the head all flabby and I'm glad I stuck with 18" instead of being tempted by the lower prices on a 16" or (shudder) 14"."
Best Bongos
Size: one size. Wrench included, tunable heads.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"exactly as stated, awesome bongos."
"My one year old grandson loves them."
"Very excited to use these and very happy with purchase."
"I don't like the material of the set sticking out, but you get what you pay for."
"I tested them out, then I gave them to my dad for Christmas, and he loved the idea."
"Do a youtube on how to tune bongos and you are all set."
"This is heavier than I imagined, but it is a quality product."
"First set arrived broken, the drum head was cracked, Second one the metal frame was rusted."
Best Djembes
The MEINL djembe gig bag (Model# MSTDJB) is perfect for all djembe sizes and is equipped with heavy duty nylon stitching and a strong shoulder strap. CARVED FROM ONE SOLID PIECE OF MAHOGANY: The Meinl Headliner djembe has outstanding acoustic properties that reach from deep, resonant bass notes to cutting, high-pitched slaps. PERFECT FOR DRUM CIRLCES, LIVE SHOWS OR JAM SESSIONS: The Meinl Headliner djembe is a great all-around djembe for use in any musical situation.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The video was much easier to follow than the instructions that can with the djembe."
"She had been using a larger drum, but her feet didn't reach the floor to grip the base of the drum, and her drum fell a lot."
"We purchased this for beginner class purposes and it has worked well."
"Great looking with excellent deep sound."
"Sound-wise, as people already discribed, this little 10' djembe sounds rich and loud right out of the box."
"The sound from this instrument and the quality of this instrument is well worth the price."
"Received this Meinl Percussion HDJ3-M Black River Series Headliner Rope Tuned Djembe, Medium: 10-Inch Diameter a couple of days ago and had a chance today to open the box and check it out."
"This is a very good drum for a student or an intermediate player."
Best Ashikos
Traditional Ashiko drum standing 24-Inch tall with a 12-Inch playing surface of goatskin for beautiful, warm tones. This model is incredibly unique because it has natural goat hair around the rim of the drum head that offers character and new opportunities for tonal range.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This drum is beautiful it sits in our living room next to our grand piano. I love the look, the feel, the sound it makes and the quality of the drum."
Best Doumbeks & Darbukas
The durable synthetic head easily and quickly changes range from deep, resonant "doum" lows to snapping, ringing highs that both fully project. The Meinl aluminum Doumbek is made with a hand engraved aluminum shell that responds with immense tones, from deep low notes to snapping, ringing highs.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"i spent hours looking for the right drum, i almost got the toca but i read its not worth it unless it can be tuned so i went with this one."
"The teks are sweet, but the low doum sound is not quite as deep, full and rich as I would have liked, but that's okay, I guess."
"I wanted a smaller sized Doumbek for our music room, and this model fits the bill very nicely."
"I'm a beginning drummer and my teachers said that I picked a great drum."
"The sound is sharp metallic only if you are an experimented percussionist."
"This is my first drum and I wasn't sure what to expect."
"Great sound!"
"It sounded great but the engraved design had rough jagged edges that could cut the musician."
Best Congas, Quintos & Tumbas
LPMC instruments are made of siam oak and feature Mini Comfort Curve II rims, with natural rawhide heads. Miniature replica of the world famous, full size LP Classic Conga.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"However it produces big sound. For a professional this may serve well as a light or small sound that can take a beating. But to add a couple of these to a set of 9", 10" , 11" s would give ya a little extra range. I wouldn't say buy if your looking for your first drum, it's just too small."
"If you're looking for a toy drum that makes a lot of noise, this is not it."
"Good quality, but it would be nice if the surface were a little larger to give more musical options."
"Really good sound and makes me sound better when I play acoustic events, Just what was needed for my act."
"So well made, just a beautiful item."
"I, like so many of us like miniatures."