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Hi All,
I know this isn't hang related but knowing more than a few of you play the Didge I'm asking for some advice.
I'm in New zealand and we dont have didgeridoos available to buy in the shops so I'm wondering if anyone has had any experience of buying a didge over the internet?
Thanks very much for any info
Frazz

Hey Frazz.... well I would say much like Hang sales try to steer clear of eBay unless the seller of course has incredibly good ratings and comments from previous buyers... more than a few of my friends have been stung with cracked wood thats been painted so looks great in the sale pictures but reality is any moisture in the air and the cracks open up like the grand canyon.

There are of course other sites to be wary of, a lot of Oz sellers sell what we refer to in the UK as tourist sticks. they are poor quality, mass produced Didjes that are also usually illegal felled off of sacred Aboriginal land, to sell to the tourists... you'll find half will crack in transit as they're made from green wood and a high % of the others will have oversized massive mouthpieces that have been reformed with half the worlds bees wax to make them playable.

There of course other sites that I can reccomend (they're the ones I trust anyway)... they do ship workd wide but you may be better off trying to find some more local to you from Oz... i'll have a word around for ya and see what I can find too.... failing that you can always join my Didjeridu forum where some of the top makers and sellers up here in the north frequent... a lot of useful advice is given.. and some banter along the way.

http://didjeclub.proboards.com/index.cgi?

Sites I would recommend for great didjes (remember you do pay for quality).

www.thenattyshed.co.uk Ant Scott has been making Didjes for around 20 years now, he's had incredible reviews from a lot of good top Didje performers for his quality and understanding of the wood... highly recommended Didje seller.

www.serioussticks.com co-owned and run by Christian Somm and John Macdonald these guys collect only the best Aboriginal and fair trade instruments - made from some of the most trusted Aboriginal elders and clans men these sticks cost a lot... but hell they are worth it, great sound quality and art work which are all original pieces and collectors items of today and the future.

and closer to home for you.... although I only know 2 people with a Bruce Rogers Didje http://www.didgesbybruce.com.au/frames.html his sticks that I've seen are pretty darn good and play lovely and he's been going a long time.

Like a Hang you need to choose the right Didje for you, what key do you want, do you want art work on it or just plain wood, length and shape as well... me I have a few didjes at home ranging from C through G but the key I kind the most audible pleasing and suits my playing style is F. But not all F didjes sound the same or feel the same so really the best way of which i'm sure you'll agree is to play them and test them in person... but I appreciate being in New Zealand thats not a luxury you have on your doorestep.... hence the internet buying question.

Questions to ask a seller.... Whats the wood, is split wood or Euc, what size mouthpiece has it got (for me about 1 1/4 inch diameter suits my style and mouth) any history behind it, what length and Key.

The rest is pretty much up to you.... do you have a didje already, how long ya been playing?

Kelly

Hi Kelly
Thanks very much for your reply.
One of the very few downsides of living in NZ is there's not one single shop that sells real didges in the entire country!
I'm new to the didgeridoo I've been playing on a PVC pipe because I wanted to make sure it was something I wanted to keep up and not a flash in the pan.
I can circular breath and play simple rhythms I'm hoping I can transfer what I can do on the PVC to a real Didge and keep playing and getting better.
I'm really liking the key of E is that good for a beginner?
I'm only going to be able to afford one didge because I want a really nice one. I would rather have great sound than great artwork.
Is it possible to get a reasonable didgeridoo for about 300 uk pounds?
I will join your forum sounds like a great place to get lots of tips
Any more info you can send my way will be much appreciated.
Frazz

£300 will get you a great Didje... most split wood Didjes that are of good quality will cost you between £200 - 300 so your budget is in the right place.

If you've been playing on a PVC pipe then the second you gte to grips with the change in mouthpiece on your new wood didje you'll be very surprised at just how good you are. PVC, Teak and Bamboo Didjes are a great place to start but you really notice how good you've got when you pick up the wood... sound quality is improved ten fold.

There is no right or wrong key for a beginning as such, the higher the note usually the more air is needed to keep the pressure up but that also depends on the didje.

I started on a D didje and to this day I love the key of D... sounds great with Hang as well, integral is in D and as such all notes harmonize well with the didje.

As your playing progresses you'll find the key you like the best, but to be honest different key = different sounds anyway, lower key is great for slow, vocal rhythms where as higher E, F and G are for great for punchy fast paced rhythms.

One thing to think about, the denser/harder the wood the better the sound quality out the other end... softer woods soak up sound so to get some really deep raspy sounds then obvious choice is the Euc, its incredibly hard wood. Glad you're thinking about the sound over the pretty pictures... I love the traditional Euc sticks all ochred up but you end up paying through the nose for the art work on them which usually bumps the price up to £400+.

Good to get advice first though, I found out the hard way when I first started playing... went through 2 teak didjes, a bamboo and a Didje made from accoustic piping... I pick it up every now and then to remind me just how crap it was LOL

Don't waste your money on buying multiple instruments either... find one you like and learn it... its nice to have different scales, if ya wanna jam with people then buy a sliding didje, they're not brilliant in the sound quality department but work well in a jamming situations as you can change to suit... 1 good didje is worth the extra money.

Good luck and let us know how ya get on and any other advice you might need

Hi Kelly just two more quick questions.
are there many didges around with a natural mouth piece? I dont like the feel of beeswax at all!
I'm a bit worried about wether I will be able to play a real didge is it easy to get the drone
going on a real one? my PVC has a really nice mouthpiece but real thin not like the thickness of a real mouthpiece.
Ta very much
frazz

hey... yeah most people don't like the feel of beeswax, that and it gets so dirty when you play. I know they have natual anti bacterial qualities but some of the mouthpieces i've seen are guaranteed to kick start facial herpes LOL

It depends on the maker thats the hard part... toursist didjes as I said early will inevitably come with a mountain of wax on, largely to cover up the poor quality that's been put into the mouthpiece of the didje. Your best bet is when you have found a seller you like the look of contact them and ask them about their mouthpieces, if they are a good maker then they will cater the mouthpiece to suit you and will in most cases just carve the mouthpiece to a smaller more suitable size.

Other alternatives can be to use substances like Milliput, not sure if that's available worldwide, judging by their website www.milliput.com i'd have thought so... craft shops will sell it or something similar. Its just an epoxy putty that you can mould over the top of the didje it sets rock hard and can then be sanded for a fine polished finish. It sticks to wood and creates a great mouthpiece that is solid and to the size you want. Create a small mouthpiece and then sand it out larger meaning its totally flexible to your face

I think if you've never played on a wooden didje since you've learnt to play and circular breath... getting your hands on a real one will open up your world. PVC is good but it lacks the back pressure and depth in tone to a wooden didje. As for the change in mouthpiece... with milliput you can create as wide or a thin as you want.