Ashiko Repair
Ashiko History & Construction
Before diving into the repair and maintenace of ashikos, let's wet our feet with the history and construction of these widely used but little understood drums.
There is a great deal of uncertainty about the hand drum we know as the ashiko. One common misconception is that the ashiko is a lighter and less expensive Western version of the iconic African djembe. Indeed, the staved ashiko known to most Westerners probably originated in the West and truly is modeled after an African drum.
But the truth is that the ashiko originated in Nigeria amongst the Yoruba people. It is one of the oldest drums around and inspired later drums, including the djembe and the conga. It's original construction looked very much as it does now, but the shell was built from a hand-carved log. Traditionally, cow skin served as the drum head.
Today, ashikos can be hand-carved or staved, skinned with goat or cow skin, tuned mechanically or by rope and they come in many sizes. Whichever version of the ashiko you may have, we know you love your drum. That's why we're here.
Ashiko repair is what we do!
We specialize in ashiko drum head replacement, tuning and restoration. Whether you want the traditional cow skin or the now-more-common goat skin, we'll find the perfect skin for your beloved hand drum and reskin it to your specifications.
You decide if you want to re-skin your ashiko with thin, medium, thick or extra thick goatskin. We use only the finest African goatskins, so you know you'll be getting the highest quality available. You prefer the deeper tone of cowskin? Of course! Want to experiment and try buffalo or deerskin? Speak but the word!
You also have choices when it comes to the thickness and color of the rope, should it need to be replaced. We use the highest quality rope with a polyester core and nylon sheath. Choose your colors. Be creative and mix them to match your flag or favorite team. One color for the crown, another for the bottom ring and a third for the verticals. Any combination that strikes your fancy.
And of course, you always have the option of supplying all the materials for your ashiko repair project, and we'll do the preparation, assembly and tuning.
So you see, just because your ashiko needs repair, there's no need to buy a new drum. Contact DrumDrTom Now! . . . and save your money.
We repair ashikos!
We routinely restore ashikos from top to bottom. We'll recondition the drum shell, repairing any cracks and flaws such as a chipped or uneven bearing edge, have new rings made, wrap them with cloth and rope them; and, of course, install new tuning rope and re-head the drum.
In just a few days and at a reasonable cost, you can again enjoy the emotional and creative relief that only drumming provides, not to mention the fellowship. (Look below for examples of what you can expect from our ashiko repair experts.)
We're located near Santa Cruz, CA, easiliy accesible to anyone in the San Francisco Bay Area, San Jose/Silicon Valley, the Salinas Valley and the Monterey Bay. But don't worry if you're not within driving distance, many of our clients ship their ailing ashikos to us, and we return their restored drums by whatever means they choose.
So why waste your money on a new drum? Our expert care will restore your precious ashiko to better than new! For a no obligation, free consultation call or text us at +1 (831) 428-6626, send us an email or fill out a contact form.
And remember, ashiko repair is not all we do. We're fully qualified to treat other hand drums and ethnic instruments such as koras and balafons--just ask!
Deadhead Ashiko
Andy's ashiko from a 1980's Grateful Dead tour has got a dead head. ;) Sorry about that.
Andy would like us to replace the torn drum skin and bring his drum back to life. While we wish there were more verticals, the rope is of good quality and in good shape, so we won't replace it. Just a head replacement should do it.
The flawless African goat skin we mouted is of medium thickness and pulled with all the force needed to make this ashiko have a clean and resonant voice. Andy is happy indeed.
Drum received. It looks and sounds great!
Thank you,
Andy (South Bend, IN)
Ashiko Drum Reheaded
Stan has a West Cliff Percussion Ashiko. These drums were made by Arthur Hull in Santa Cruz with staved shells. They are light for their size but have big voices, and when they're skinned with good skins and well tuned can sound incredible.
The problem is the skin has ripped.
So we're going to replace the drum head. The old skin was probably of decent quality, but we're going to replace it with a very fine African goat skin.
We'll also take the opportunity to replace the rope. The old rope is also of good quality, but it's old and worn and a critical component, so we'll replace it with new rope of the finest quality.
The African goat skin is beautiful, robust and durable. The new rope is beautiful, strong and durable. The drum is a treat to the eye and to the ear.
Ashiko Repair Adventure
Anthony sent this ashiko with the complain that it just couldn't be tuned. He said that it had once sounded fine, but now played different tones around the playing surface, and the overtones were just too much. He wondered if the scarring on the skin might be responsible for the dissonance. Anthony gave instructions to do whatever was necessary to restore the drum's voice.
On close examination we see that the scarring is unsightly, but should not greatly affect the sound of the drum. This is a thick cow skin, and the scarring merely scratches the surface.
What might affect the quality of the sound is the disparity in the thickness of the playing surface. Compare the two closeups here.
Then we discover what we think is the real cause of the problem. The bottom ring has slipped off the ledge on the shell meant to hold it in place.
This creates an imbalance in the tension applied to the skin.
Once we disassemble the drum we see that the ledge is quite narrow. Only a perfectly sized counter ring would remain in place on such a narrow ledge made of soft wood.
Here's a look at how the soft wood has been crushed, allowing the ring to slip off.
During the examination, we also discover a couple of wood knots that run through the shell. These will have to be sealed.
So, we now know what ails the patient and decide on a course of treament. We will resize the counter ring, seal the knot holes and mount a fresh, thick goat skin.
Anthony was thrilled.
I got the Ashiko back. Your're right . . . It looks great and sounds great! Fabulous job! Thanks!
Anthony (Emporia, KS)
Don't you just love happy endings? I know I do, but that's not the end of the story.
A few days later we got the ashiko back! Take another look above at the results of our hard work and dedication. Now take a look at the drum that came back to us.
Anthony was bothered by some stray stubble on the skin and had taken a blade to it. An instant of carelessness resulted in a nick on the skin. He took the drum to his guitar technician, who took a rotary sander to the drum head so as to smooth out the nick.
It worked. The nick is completely gone.
Anthony deserves a lot of credit for owning up to his blunder and simply asking for help.
We were happy to oblige. Luckily, we keep a supply of great African goat skins, so we again re-headed the ashiko. At this point we knew the drum so well, the process was smooth and flawless. Here's the result.
Oh Yeah. That Ashiko came out absolutely perfect. Looks great and sounds amazing as well. Flawless job! Thank You!
Anthony (Emporia, KS)
Finally! A happy ending.
Judis Ashiko Re-skinned
Judi has finally decided to participate in Jim Greiner's drumming classes. The problem is that her hand drum, a beautiful ashiko made by West Cliff Percussion, is in need of repair.
Once the drum is disassembled, we see that the rope has seen better days but decide it has one more lifetime left in it. Good rope is rather expensive so it's wise to get as much use out of it as possible. We'll recommend to Judi that the next time the drum is re-skinned she have the rope replaced as well.
The shell is in fine shape - all it needs is a good cleaning and oiling to refresh its beauty and vibrant glow. The drum is now ready to be re-headed.
The African goat skin of medium thickness we mounted suited Judi's ashiko to perfection. The drum has a great range and sings beautifully. And as you can see, it's quite a vision as well. If you compare the before and after pictures, you'll see how the beauty of the wood has revived.
There's nothing more rewarding than a heart felt Thank You from a happy client.
You're more than welcome Judi.
Cow Skin Mounted On Ashiko
Whitehawk Sessions, of New Mexico, is a musical group that loves their ashiko. The ashiko has recently developed a tear in the skin, so it must be replaced.
They wondered if cow skin could be used to mount the new drum head.
Of course it could! Cow skin happens to be the type of skin that is traditionally mounted on ashikos, though in recent years has been gradually supplanted by goat skin. You see, with goat skin an ashiko can sound much like a djembe, and djembes are extremely popular drums these days.
A cow skin ashiko is likely to sound more like a conga.
We found that the rope was severely damaged and needed to be replaced. This rope would likely snap if used to mount a goat skin - there was no way it would hold up against a thick cow hide.
There was also some minor damage to the shell we would repair as well while we were at it.
So the shell was repaired and the rope replaced with beautiful, strong and durable 5mm rope capable of withstanding the strain of pulling thick, strong cow hide into tune.
The cow skin we mounted, while thicker than any goat skin, was not as thick as some can get. It was thick enough to approach the sound of a conga, yet bright and lively.
Dr. Tom,
We received the ashiko today. We are playing the two drums together (We also repaired a doumbek); sounds amazing. Beautiful work, exactly what we asked for.
Whitehawk Sessions (New Mexico)
Ashiko Fully Restored
Julie has a collection of hand drums. Among her drums is a large ashiko she wanted us to give the full treatment to, with no limitations as to the materials or time required to make this drum achieve its full potential.
Needless to say, we were thrilled by the opportunity to practice our craft without restraint. We were chomping at the bit and were out of the gate immediately at full gallop.
The drum shell, the foundation of any drum, was exceptional not only because of it's size, but because of the quality of the wood and the craftsmanship. Many ashiko shells are made of soft wood, but this sell is made of a beautiful hardwood and very well put together.
The one flaw in the shell was the failed attempt to substitute a ring ledge with pegs. This interesting idea might have worked if the recessed slots for these pegs had been more numerous and drilled deeper into the shell. As it is, the sheer force used to pull the skin tight had forced the pegs out of place.
No harm was done to the shell by the pegs being forced out, so all we had to do was remove them and rely on the tapered outer wall of the shell to wedge the counter ring in place
OK, maybe there was one more flaw in the shell - the crown and flesh rings were too large. Since the goal was to make this drum the best it could be, we had custom rings made. In the meantime we gave that truly gorgeous shell a good cleaning.
Once we had the perfect rings, we wrapped them with colored fabric to match the rope we had chosen and soaked a flawless African goatskin. It was time to make some magic.
It's unlikely you will ever encounter a finer ashiko than Julie's.
Tall Ashiko Rebuilt
Christian has an ashiko he's not sure is worth repairing. From the looks of it, his doubts are understandable.
The skin is old and ready to be replaced. The rope is made of good material but too thin to withstand the force it would take to get such a drum properly tuned. The rings, top and bottom were poorly chosen and badly wrapped and tied. The bottome ring is over sized and has slipped over the ledge. And there's work to do on the shell.
Yes, the drum is worthy of repair, but it will take a lot of work.
Once we have the drum apart we find the bottom ring is a couple of hose clamps wrapped in cloth. We can do better than this.
After removing the hose clamps we see clearly that the ledge will need leveling and shaping.
So that's what we do.
We also sealed some minor splits on the shell and sanded the bearing edge while we were at it.
We had rings custom built for the drum, since the old ones were too large. We can now put this drum back together again. Along with the custom rings, we'll be mounting a flawless African goat skin using high grade rope.
We would say it was well worth the effort. One reason this drum deserved so much care is that it's rather unusual. This is a tall ashiko at about four feet tall. And it looks and sounds amazing!
Dr. Tom,
Hey Tom Yes, the drum arrived safely, thank you!
The tone range is real good, gun-dun, go-do, pa-ta are very distinct. I wear a belt around my drums to hold them up and in this case, to lean the Ashiko forward off the floor to create tonal range.
Nice work!
Christian Waskiewicz (Minden, NV)
Ashiko Rehead
Phil brought this nice ashiko to me because it's special to him. It's not only a nice drum - it's a nice drum that was made by his son.
At first sight, the shell, rings and rope are all in fine shape. It's only the skin that needs to be replaced.
Phil brought this nice ashiko to me because it's special to him. It's not only a nice drum - it's a nice drum that was made by his son.
But on closer inspection we see that the crown loops are not spaced evenly and some have more slack than others.
This minor point means that the verticals (the rope that runs up and down the shell connecting the crown ring to the bottome ring) will be asymmetical and point in different directions.
On top of that, we find that the rope on the bottom ring is damaged severely enough to need replacing.
So we replace the rope on the bottom ring and make sure its symmetry matches that of the crown, which we've corrected.
Now we're ready to mount a nice, fresh African goat skin on this lovely drum. The results are gratifying. We end up with an ashiko that sounds as good as it looks.
Another Ashiko Drum Head Repair
Let's take a look at how we get from the 'before' picture of this beautiful ashiko to the 'after'. This drum was either left within a source of heat for too long, or it finally succumbed to the constant stress that rope-tuned drums are under. Either way, it was time to give this baby a fresh new skin.
Here's a better look at the damage. This ashiko is quite large with a 13 inch drum head and standing 24 inches tall. (Don't forget to click on the thumbnails for a better look)
A drum this large will require a whole goat skin, so we take the goat skin, soak it until it's nice and pliable and cut it round to fit the crown ring..
Here you can see the hairy goat skin mounted and pulled quite tight. The hair was cut short before mounting. We're almost done. Now we just need to shave the skin and patiently let it thoroughly dry before we give it its final tuning.
Tuned and ready to play! Looking fine as well.
Hardwood Ashiko Repaired
Edward has a beautiful ashiko that needs a new drum head.
It seems like just another typical ashiko in need of a fresh skin. The skin we'll be replacing is pretty typical for ashikos - a thin Pakistani skin. These skins are really not suitable for ashikos. They just don't seem to stand up to the wear and strain, yet these are the skins most used on ashikos. We'll replace this skin with an unprocessed African goat skin.
Two things about this drum are not typical of ashikos. First, the rings fit really well - nice and snug. Second, the shell is made of quality hardwood. We belive this results in a better sounding drum. Most ashiko shells are made of soft, light wood. We have high expectations for this hand drum.
This drum completely met our expectations. She is beautiful to the eye and ear, and that fresh, durable African goat skin should hold up to many, many hours of vigorous play.
African Goatskin For Ashiko
Lance loves his ashiko but the drum head has split, so he needs it replaced.
The rope's in good shape and so is the shell and the rings, so we'll just mount a fresh goat skin on this 14" hand drum.
We're going to replace the processed Pakistani goat skin with an African goat skin. The African skins we use are more durable and reliable than their Pakistanki counterparts. We think they sound a lot better as well.
There it is. We didn't just fix Lance's ashiko - we made it better than new.
Another WCP Ashiko Repaired
Patricia loves her husband, so she though getting her husband's ashiko repaired would be a great thing to do. You see, Patricia's husband loves his ashiko. Don't fret, he's fond of her too. ;)
We've seen many of these West Cliff Percussion ashikos. This one needs the goat skin replaced, and the rope has some serious wear and tear. We'll be replacing that as well. The shell only needs a good cleaning.
The African goat skin sounds great and should last a good, long time. It's hard to go wrong with a fine African goat skin. And the rope not only looks great, it's also of the finest quality and should last for years to come.
Processed Skin Replaced
Leavenworth wanted her ashiko reskinned and that it be done in a way that would endure. This was the fourth time she'd had the drum head replaced.
Two things stood out as causes for the short lifespans of the previous skins. First, the quality and type of skin was inappropriate for an ashiko. The skin of an ashiko must be pulled extremely tight in order to properly tune the drum. Processed and relatively thin skins such as the one we replaced cannot withstand such stess for long, if at all.
Second, the iron flesh ring was not wrapped so the rust that developed when the wet skin was first applied had direct contact with the skin and caused deterioration.
This is a common problem that occurs amongst any type of drum that uses a flesh ring.
We replaced the skin with a beautiful, strong and reliable African goat skin and wrapped the flesh ring. This drum head would have a long and fruitful life. Oh, and it would sound MUCH better than the flimsy old skin.
Leavenworth's ashiko was ready to begin a long and joyful chapter in its life.