I have a friend who plays a Remo and absolutely hates it. She thought that all the pros would be enough for her to love it, but after trying a couple of real djembes, she now knows that the sound is too big a con. She is saving her money for a beautiful drum from Mali.

My big problem is the sound, but also, I want my drum to smell of goats and beautiful wood and iron and smoke. My bag, which is also from Mali, is made of mudcloth and smells of the marketplace. My whole drum is just a sense explosion. With a Remo you get industrial plastic and fiberglass. It’s got no soul, no smell and crappy sound.