One of the best demos on how to replace the skin on a rope tuned djembe head. A little advice for the do it yourselfers, remember that this Mr. Wimberly is no wimp, he is big and strong. So, most of you may have to get some pulling bar tool to do the job. If you too look like a football player then you will be ok. This is a clear and concise presentation by Mr. Wimberly professionally shot. Thank you Mr. Wimberly.
I've never thanked anyone for their tutorials (shame on me), but this time i just have to. This was SO perfect for my first attempt to repair my jembé! And although I had I slightly too small piece of skin I finally raged to get the job done. - But also: The way you're 'performing' this is so sweet! Thank you for the great teaching as well as for your kind heart!
Nice video Michael. I agree with the comment below. You don't have to take out all the vertical rope to take the old head off. Leave most in and save yourself about 2 hours of work. I would also trim the head closer to the rim so it's more comfortable to play. You can use rope around the head to flatten the excess skin after trimming. Thank you for creating this resource!
Great video! I've watched 3 videos by different people showing the re-skinning process. Each one has different tricks and methods. Definitely learned a lot from you Mike! Thanks!
You're a legend sir, amazing little tidbits sprinkled over, have a gash on my new drum's skin was totally heartbroken looking at the repair costs. Thank you so much for this awesome tutorial! 🩵
Very nice and concise video. Its the cleanest repair area I've ever seen as well. Did notice that you didn't mention that you need to pull out the folds of skin along the top rim. I did see that when the scene switched the folds were out.
Thanks Michael, as learners, will have to follow step by step of your FREE given out skills, you did a good video of it & it is very professional too, God bless you sir
Very nicely paced, clear demo. Thank you for posting it. (I found an awesome djembe that had a split head, but otherwise no damage, at a thrift store & I feel pretty confident that I can replace the skin now ~ although mine isn't strung but has adjustable screws/hooks. I hope this will make it less time consuming and require less muscle power than dealing with all that rope.)
for those who buy nautral skins its important to center the spine of the goat skin (the dark patch that runs along the entire skin) within the lower ring to even the tonal range of the drum i usually tie a skin around the ring using dental floss to ensure the skin fits over the ring evenly
Wonderful I am happy to see your video, I can now repair my drum myself instead of finding a repair shop. Purchased a large sheet of goatskin and now I will gather the rest of the tools and comeback to your video and DYI!!!! Thank you .
Thank you! I just found a beautiful 10" djembe at a thrift store, it had apparently been in a fire, the head was badly burned through but the hoops were mysteriously OK! I watched this video, promptly unwrapped it, put the drum in the tub and gave it a scrubbing, I can't wait to get a new head for it and PLAY IT! Thank you for the clear demonstration, I was nervous but now I'm psyched!
Thank you very much, this was very helpful. I didn´t soak the skin because I used a synthtic one for tuning stability, which was always an issue where I live. I used a 22" Remo Diplomat Fiberskyn 3 bassdrum head for the 12" shell and I ended up cutting away less than 2 inces, so you need it to be that big if you want to do the same. Putting it on was a pain in the ass compared to the wet and soft goat skin but it´s possible. It doesn´t stretch as much as skin, so you have to leave it pretty loose when wrapping it around the ring, so the top ring can pull it down a bit and the knots are out of the way. I´m happy with theresult. It´s not more different from the previous goat skin than any other goat slin would be different.
Another tip is to use some spare rope to hold the head in place at first. I.e. make 6 or 8 runs evenly spaced around the drum with individual pieces of twine / skinny alpine rope. This will hold the head in place while you put the verticals back in. When you put the verticals in, don't make them particularly tight, that's how the head gets off centered.
hey michael, i use to remove only one of a third of a round of the vertical rope. i relax the rest of the tight rope about 15-20 cm distance off the body. then you can remove the head and save time of pulling rope. yeah, always good grooves with your drums!
Thanks for the video. I'd say there are some good tips in the head reskinning video from Motherrhythm but it's a bit long and the audio is kind of windy because it's outdoors. Your tip on way oversizing the head is great, especially for beginners who can use the extra room to work. Once you've done it once or twice 2-3" is enough extra, just barely.
I learned how to do this my self 😊 because first time I had it repaired it cause 150 bucks to do it so the second and third I did it now I'm learning how to tune them it so simple don't know y I never thought of it before thank you for the lessons 🤘
Hey man! first of all thanks for your videos, they have been really helpfull!!I have a question for u.. i'm changing a skin of a big drum, i've got to the point of the first tight, but i made a terrible discover.. my top ring is upside down.. so i got the top ring loop rope facing down, and holding on top of the skin.. i got a picture if u want.. So my question is, should i restart again or could i keep going? thanks for the answer man!!
Thanks for the video! Could you tell me which rope is more convenient to use? I've heard that the cotton rope is better because it does not stretch or loosen. That's true? Regads
I bought a replacement head that was already fitted to the inner ring (rookie mistake?). I'm assuming I still need to soak it, but can't find any info on it. I don't want to jack it up. I appreciate any help I can get.
Hey there! Thanks so much for your videos! Just wondering if it's possible to remove a skin, re-soak it and re-install it on the djembe? I got someone to replace the skin on my drum as I had little time before a flight & they didn't do the best job so I want to re-do it myself before I shave the hair and tune it, just wondering if that's possible or will it ruin the skin to re-soak it?
So, I've been thinking about trying my hand at making these. I've seen it done on UA-cam and it's very labor intensive but I like to make things. The problem, finding a big hunk of wood that size and of the right type. The wood itself is expensive so, it might not work. So, plan B, pottery. I've seen these made from pottery but I've never done it before. So I have to find a place that might hold my hand through the process and who has a kiln large enough to fire it. Any advice would be appreciated.
Fun!? Several big sighs with a heaving one at the end after doing the vertical ties does not look like fun to me 😂. No wonder people get it done professionally. What a hassle and days of waiting for the drying process. Also, how often does tuning need to be done in general? So arduous.
if you want to use a real skin head, i suggest using goat skin. If you know what country your drum is from, as a general rule, get a skin from the same country. center the thickest part (the spine) when you apply it. If you don't know what country your drum is from, a safe bet would be to go with a skin from Mali (since you are looking for a deeper tone. You can find these skins on WWdrums.com
Boy this is an old video hopefully someone will see my question haha, I took my head off and the inner hoop had no cloth on it it was just a metal hoop. I've never done this and I'm very new to the djembe in general, should I spin a cloth around that hoop and if so could you give me any tips on how or what to use. Love you guys thank you!!!
I suggest a real goat skin djembe head as opposed to a synthetic one. wwdrums talks about how to select a skin, what kind of skin to use, and how to configure it. Or if you're vegan and don't believe that animal parts should be a commodity, a synthetic head would work just fine.
I just found out that I had a small tear in my djembe head, and now it sounds way too low to make the proper sound. This is what I get for trying to work on the drum by myself.
I am sure glad all i have ah to do was tighten my friends drums restringing looks like a lot of time and effort...almost better to buy a new drum, if it was a cheep one to begin with...
One of the best demos on how to replace the skin on a rope tuned djembe head.
A little advice for the do it yourselfers, remember that this Mr. Wimberly is no wimp, he is big and strong. So, most of you may have to get some pulling bar tool to do the job. If you too look like a football player then you will be ok. This is a clear and concise presentation by Mr. Wimberly professionally shot. Thank you Mr. Wimberly.
This is the best demo i ever watched . Super awesome and clear explanation about each and every aspect. Cheers ❤🥂
It would be helpful if you explain the starting knot that is suddenly in the rope at 8:27. Is that just some type of tucker hitch?
I've never thanked anyone for their tutorials (shame on me), but this time i just have to. This was SO perfect for my first attempt to repair my jembé! And although I had I slightly too small piece of skin I finally raged to get the job done. - But also: The way you're 'performing' this is so sweet! Thank you for the great teaching as well as for your kind heart!
Nice video Michael. I agree with the comment below. You don't have to take out all the vertical rope to take the old head off. Leave most in and save yourself about 2 hours of work. I would also trim the head closer to the rim so it's more comfortable to play. You can use rope around the head to flatten the excess skin after trimming. Thank you for creating this resource!
Great video! I've watched 3 videos by different people showing the re-skinning process. Each one has different tricks and methods. Definitely learned a lot from you Mike! Thanks!
Wow this is one of the best ones I've ever seen. Great job, Michael!
You're a legend sir, amazing little tidbits sprinkled over, have a gash on my new drum's skin was totally heartbroken looking at the repair costs. Thank you so much for this awesome tutorial! 🩵
Thank you Michael for a great tutorial. Great teaching and great vibe!
Very nice and concise video. Its the cleanest repair area I've ever seen as well. Did notice that you didn't mention that you need to pull out the folds of skin along the top rim. I did see that when the scene switched the folds were out.
Adie Woods
What a great teacher, Mr Wimberly. Thank you for showing your skills. I agree, God bless you.
Thanks Michael, as learners, will have to follow step by step of your FREE given out skills, you did a good video of it & it is very professional too, God bless you sir
Very nicely paced, clear demo. Thank you for posting it. (I found an awesome djembe that had a split head, but otherwise no damage, at a thrift store & I feel pretty confident that I can replace the skin now ~ although mine isn't strung but has adjustable screws/hooks. I hope this will make it less time consuming and require less muscle power than dealing with all that rope.)
Ropes vs. screws?
Hard to believe the techniques taught her actually translated to any usefulness for you.
for those who buy nautral skins its important to center the spine of the goat skin (the dark patch that runs along the entire skin) within the lower ring to even the tonal range of the drum i usually tie a skin around the ring using dental floss to ensure the skin fits over the ring evenly
Wonderful I am happy to see your video, I can now repair my drum myself instead of finding a repair shop. Purchased a large sheet of goatskin and now
I will gather the rest of the tools and comeback to your video and DYI!!!! Thank you .
Thank you! I just found a beautiful 10" djembe at a thrift store, it had apparently been in a fire, the head was badly burned through but the hoops were mysteriously OK! I watched this video, promptly unwrapped it, put the drum in the tub and gave it a scrubbing, I can't wait to get a new head for it and PLAY IT! Thank you for the clear demonstration, I was nervous but now I'm psyched!
Wow! This is an old video, but it is very well done. I have a drum that's almost exactly like this one, so this is going to be a snap.Thank you!
Great instructions. This gave me the confidence to try it myself. Thanks Michael!
great tutorial, but where can i get those pants?
Wow, 2-3 Days from start to finish.... Now I know why Djembe owners have spares!
You're fantastic, i did it for the first time in my life, and it worked perfectly. 👍
thanks for your expertise. clear concise and to the point - much appreciated
Hey Michael nice tutorial clear and to the point
Very nice ! One thing I may suggest is soaking the old skin to remove from the ring and it will just slip off the ring instead of all that cutting
Thank you very much, this was very helpful. I didn´t soak the skin because I used a synthtic one for tuning stability, which was always an issue where I live. I used a 22" Remo Diplomat Fiberskyn 3 bassdrum head for the 12" shell and I ended up cutting away less than 2 inces, so you need it to be that big if you want to do the same. Putting it on was a pain in the ass compared to the wet and soft goat skin but it´s possible. It doesn´t stretch as much as skin, so you have to leave it pretty loose when wrapping it around the ring, so the top ring can pull it down a bit and the knots are out of the way.
I´m happy with theresult. It´s not more different from the previous goat skin than any other goat slin would be different.
Thanks for the tutorial Michael. Very helpful. One djembe head replaced !!
Another tip is to use some spare rope to hold the head in place at first. I.e. make 6 or 8 runs evenly spaced around the drum with individual pieces of twine / skinny alpine rope. This will hold the head in place while you put the verticals back in. When you put the verticals in, don't make them particularly tight, that's how the head gets off centered.
hey michael, i use to remove only one of a third of a round of the vertical rope. i relax the rest of the tight rope about 15-20 cm distance off the body. then you can remove the head and save time of pulling rope. yeah, always good grooves with your drums!
Wish I saw this before removing all of my verticals. Next time, I guess
Thanks/Gracias for the tutorial I just today noticed that the Leather for my djembe needs to be replaced and this tutorial will surely help me!
very well done, You are a gentleman Michael
Thanks for the video. I'd say there are some good tips in the head reskinning video from Motherrhythm but it's a bit long and the audio is kind of windy because it's outdoors. Your tip on way oversizing the head is great, especially for beginners who can use the extra room to work. Once you've done it once or twice 2-3" is enough extra, just barely.
Very clear and thorough. Thank you!!
Very nice tutorial, understandable and with all necessary facts!
Thank you very much for this tutorial. It is extremely helpful.
thank you for this video, but my djembi skin is not dryied yet sence an hours, how mutch time it should take?
i have to do something or just let dry?
Thank you! Your video was exactly what I needed!
Very helpful, many thanks!!
I learned how to do this my self 😊 because first time I had it repaired it cause 150 bucks to do it so the second and third I did it now I'm learning how to tune them it so simple don't know y I never thought of it before thank you for the lessons 🤘
Very good explanation, thank you
What sort of timber is that drum? It's beautiful and I'd like to know if such things are available at what cost?
Hey man! first of all thanks for your videos, they have been really helpfull!!I have a question for u.. i'm changing a skin of a big drum, i've got to the point of the first tight, but i made a terrible discover.. my top ring is upside down.. so i got the top ring loop rope facing down, and holding on top of the skin.. i got a picture if u want.. So my question is, should i restart again or could i keep going? thanks for the answer man!!
Thanks for the video! Could you tell me which rope is more convenient to use? I've heard that the cotton rope is better because it does not stretch or loosen. That's true? Regads
I bought a replacement head that was already fitted to the inner ring (rookie mistake?). I'm assuming I still need to soak it, but can't find any info on it. I don't want to jack it up. I appreciate any help I can get.
You can leave some of the rope on the drum, I just removed 3/4 and started again from there.
Can you please upload the video with Michael demonstrating the different Toca djembes? (I think it’s a longer video.) thx.
That was a lot of fun, Ha! can't think of anything that could be more fun. Real helpful though, Thanks.
Hey there! Thanks so much for your videos! Just wondering if it's possible to remove a skin, re-soak it and re-install it on the djembe? I got someone to replace the skin on my drum as I had little time before a flight & they didn't do the best job so I want to re-do it myself before I shave the hair and tune it, just wondering if that's possible or will it ruin the skin to re-soak it?
Thank You very much, very useful
very good tutorial
thank you so much!!
Can you tell me where I can purchase the replacement head leather? If you have any store or site you can recommend.
So, I've been thinking about trying my hand at making these. I've seen it done on UA-cam and it's very labor intensive but I like to make things. The problem, finding a big hunk of wood that size and of the right type. The wood itself is expensive so, it might not work. So, plan B, pottery. I've seen these made from pottery but I've never done it before. So I have to find a place that might hold my hand through the process and who has a kiln large enough to fire it. Any advice would be appreciated.
Thankyou,very nice explonation
Should there be the same number of loops on the bottom of the drum as on the top? I have many on the bottom and few on the top.
Fun!? Several big sighs with a heaving one at the end after doing the vertical ties does not look like fun to me 😂. No wonder people get it done professionally. What a hassle and days of waiting for the drying process. Also, how often does tuning need to be done in general? So arduous.
thank for video How mNY HOURS YOU PUT THE SKIN IN WATER ESACTLY??
How do you clean it if the ropes get very musty and moldy?
Exelente ! Gracias !!!
Im about to put some heavy leather on my djumbe for deep sound. is it the same process?
if you want to use a real skin head, i suggest using goat skin. If you know what country your drum is from, as a general rule, get a skin from the same country. center the thickest part (the spine) when you apply it. If you don't know what country your drum is from, a safe bet would be to go with a skin from Mali (since you are looking for a deeper tone. You can find these skins on WWdrums.com
Boy this is an old video hopefully someone will see my question haha, I took my head off and the inner hoop had no cloth on it it was just a metal hoop. I've never done this and I'm very new to the djembe in general, should I spin a cloth around that hoop and if so could you give me any tips on how or what to use. Love you guys thank you!!!
Please send us an email at tocaadmin@rbimusic.com for our team to assist you. Thanks!
Thank you
I don't own a djembe yet, but could I use a conga head as opposed to A leather skin?
Cesar Moreno No. you should use a Djembe head
I suggest a real goat skin djembe head as opposed to a synthetic one. wwdrums talks about how to select a skin, what kind of skin to use, and how to configure it. Or if you're vegan and don't believe that animal parts should be a commodity, a synthetic head would work just fine.
I just found out that I had a small tear in my djembe head, and now it sounds way too low to make the proper sound. This is what I get for trying to work on the drum by myself.
If anyone has questions about djembe repair, please find me on facebook, and join the group called, "Djembe Repair."
Omg the toca freestyle mechanical djembe...such a pain in the ass to get the new head on that one...
When you have time I have 500 djembe need re heading lol
seems legit
I am sure glad all i have ah to do was tighten my friends drums restringing looks like a lot of time and effort...almost better to buy a new drum, if it was a cheep one to begin with...
Then why don't you offer your take on replacing djembe heads then? ;)
que alguien arreste a este tipo!!
que alguien tradusca no sean gachos :D
Then make your own video of the "proper" way instead of name calling no?
;)
Why is he carrying a Hitler-Moustache?
what has that got to do with the tutorial!!!!