Vegan shamanic frame drums are an excellent choice:
1) The sound of the drum is not dependent on the weather. The sound of a hide drum changes just about every day. The skin is constantly in relationship to the temperature, and the amount of humidity in the air, which causes the skin to tighten and flatten, changing the tone. With a vegan synthetic drum, you always get the same drum, every time. This is convenient because you won’t need to check the sound quality of your drum before your plan on using it.
2) The drum you get will sound like the sound file. You can buy a synthetic drum, and have a very good idea of what it will sound like before it gets to you. The sound file typically sounds just like the drum you will receive.
There are generally four types of synthetic drums we suggest:
1) 16” REMO Black Bahia Buffalo Drums
This is a black synthetic drum made by Remo. The head is specially designed so you just get a pure bass note. It is deep, rich, and soothing in tone, and entrancing to hit. This is generally a great choice because it is lightweight, small, portable but also has the depth of tone of a 20 or 22 inch drum. People really love this one.
2) 22” REMO Buffalo Drum
A 22” REMO Buffalo drum is a white synthetic drum made by Remo. This drum is a little large for some people, but what you get in return for the size is a large amount of deep vibration. The drum has a great bass note and lots of power. Depending on where you strike the drum, you’ll get different notes. You get a pure bass note from the middle, but different higher notes when striking the outside.
3) 20” Moldovean Frame Drum
Synthetic drums are now being made in Moldova. We sell these in 20”, and they are each screen printed with a different design. The benefit of the Moldovean drums are that they are tunable. They have a clever allen wrench magnetically attached to the handle of the drum; with the allen wrench, you can tighten or loosen the drum, so you can get lower or higher notes.
4) 16” Buffalo Drum
This is a 16” white synthetic drum from REMO. This is a good option for people looking for a lighter weight option, and don’t want something that is just a deep bass note. This is for the person who appreciates a little bit higher tone to sing or tone with.
Do synthetic drums require maintenance?
Generally no. You don’t want to store heavy object on top of the drum. But the drum itself is made out of synthetic materials which should withstand fluctuations in temperature and weather that a normal hide drum would not like. You won’t need to apply any oils to the drums, and they are sturdy enough that we don’t really think people need cases, other then just for convenience of carrying and storage.