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FAQ

Where is the shop that sells didgeridoo and what criteria should be taken into consideration to choose a good instrument?

There are some shops in Holland (Amsterdam) and Germany e.g.. They have a wide range of didgeridoos. But the problem is the following:

An authentic eucalyptus didg hollowed out by termites, which any real didg-player should have in his collection, costs at about 200 euros. It is the lowest level of price and sound. Having some selection criteria of a good instrument in mind you can find an acceptable instrument among didges at the price of 200-300 euros. In any case they will be better than didges made of bamboo, reed or plastic.

Something suitable and eucalyptus is already at the price of 500-1500 euros. The price of a really professional instrument is about 3000-5000 euros.

The situation can be explained by the following reasons: an instrument sounds well if it has more or less correct acoustic arrangement(structure). While hollowing out trees termites are not governed by the laws of acoustics and so they seldom make correct instruments. Consequently to find a good instrument you have to search for a long time. In other words if you dont have a talent of unmistakably finding out a well-sounding eucalyptus, you will have to cut down a lot of cheap trees in the forest.

What do people do in this case? They try to do the monotonous work of termites. In other words they cut out a correct shape of whole timbre. But this work demands certain experience and skills: to make a well-sounding instrument you have to know what good-sounding is and how to reach it.

There are some skilled crafts men in Europe. And we have as well. (The information given below may be regarded as a self-advertisement, but wed like to assure our readers that the primary aim of this is to share our experience).

In Ural (Russia) we did the following. Anatoly Kutsenko, a highly-skilled crafts Master was found. According to our drawing he made the first didg, then the second and the third. As a result we got didg of the professional level. And the price of it is 5 00015 000 rubles not 3 000-5 000 euros. This sum of money will certainly surprise average men. What should I pay for? It is just a wooden tube without holes, vents and any mechanism. But the instrument is worth paying. It has a lot of advantages: perfect sound, quality of manufacturing and it gives a wide range of possibilities to a performer, which cant be born from anywhere. If someone considers this time-consuming manufacturing to cost less, they always have a choice of making the instrument by themselves.

As a result I have the following instruments in my collection. There is good eucalyptus didg C sharp. But it is not often used and displayed as an item of the collection. I prefer another instrument that is made of maple here in Ural and has better performing possibilities and acoustic characteristics.

Having one authentic eucalyptus sample in my collection I am certain to spend 250-300 euros at hand for an Ural didg not an Australian one.

If I decided to put up 50 y.e. to my music-ethnic self-development, Id prefer bamboo. And what is more Id thoroughly choose among available instruments and not buy the first one off-the-shelf. If you are ready to spend 1 500$, Id buy either "Yamaha" or "Korg"(piano).

For example some my acquaintances, who wanted to have some fun, attempted to blow into the mouthpiece of eucalyptus didg in order to produce sound. And a lot of them didnt manage to do this. When they tried to play the Ural didg, to their surprise they could easily produce sound.

What is the secret? In the internal shape. It doesnt depend on a mouthpiece. It has the same parameters in both instruments.

The next thing is that:

If you play in meditative genre, which is called TUUUUU, youd better use instruments of low tone (C-D). Their sound is richer and more diverse. And such instruments are not necessary to be heavily blown out. But didges of high tone (F-G) should be heavily blown out to get them worked up. Even if they have good back pressure.

The most suitable variant is tone E. On the one hand it is not very high (to play Too-o-o) and on the other hand it is mobile enough for genre Too-Too-Too".

One more eucalyptus sample is Indonesian drilled tubes. But they are crude and need improving. One was being sold at 50$ but it was so rough inside. In this case you have to take a drill, imagine as if you were a dentist and trash the cannel. After that you have to vanish over several times. Generally it will take you much time.

There are certainly some cheap instruments in didgeridoo-shops; but they are likely to be bad-sounding billets. What an adept Australian will sell a good didg for nothing? You may find such a simpleton but how much time it will take? An Australian native is unlikely to lose his profit.

And the last one is the market of secondhand instruments. People sometimes sell their instruments and you may be lucky to find a suitable one. But, firstly, you must get to know about this fact. If you have no spy in the market it will be rather difficult. But if you are eager, everything is possible.