Use a danmar riser, or DW's tom tom riser.  Hot Dog this is my 100th !!!!!!

The Danmar wont work because its designed for a drum with a uniform diameter down the depth.   The DW would work as it has adjustable posts.   And whatever one it is Bart got for his kit obviously works.  

You didn't specificy what drum you had, or if you'd be willing to buy another.   So if you're worried about the durability of the goat skin head, there are always synthetics.

Forgive me if this is a little off topic, but this thread reminded me of several years ago, when the group of hand drummers I ran with at Festivals and I played in the wedding of another one of our fellow drummers.  It was so cool.  It was outdoor in thea beautiful garden at the Texas Renaissance Restival.  All of us drummers <about 15> lined up along the aisle facing each other,  armed with djembes, and as the bride walked by, we all played along to the "Lion King".

Just wanted to point out for those unfamiliar with such things that a djun djun is designed to be struck with a stick, and to have a deep bass note.  They also typically have cow heads, which take that kind of beating much better than the thinnish goat heads found on a djembe.

To get the bass noteout of a djembe, you have to strike it with the flat of your hand, or equivalent.  Striking it with a stick will produce a bright pop, not a bass note.  I suppose you could tune it down to a bass note, but I suspect you'll only get a very dull thud with the head that slack.

Here's a photo of a set-up I used about a year ago which incorporated a Djun-djun ... played with a Kick pedal. The cradle I used is made by Mountain Rhythm.



The problem with finding a good cradle, kick/tom riser, whatever you want to call it, that will work for a Djembe is that many of these devices are not design to work with odd shaped drums. My cradle works great because the four arms that hold the drum are independent of each other.

I recently saw a very nice cradle that I think I would highly recommend. I believe DW makes it, but I'll have to go back and check it out. Anyway, what's nice is that this new cradle is designed to handle all kinds of drums, and even has a center section that swivels, so it should easily hand drums with narrow throats/necks (ie. Djembe, Klong Yaw, Ashiko, etc).

The Djun-djun, when played like a Kick drum, sounds good with a standard felt beater. You can visit my website to hear what my drum sounds like; just view the video clips on my demo page. I've also posted some MP3 files in the past (here at the Drummer Cafe) from various recordings I've done using the Djun-djun as a Kick drum.

The problem with using a Djembe as a Kick is two-fold. As already mentioned, the drumhead on the Djembe is typically goatskin, which is thinner than calfskin, and the drum is designed to be played with the hand (Djun-djun is played with a stick). So using a standard felt beater on the Djembe just doesn't sound right ... and nothing close to subbing as a Kick drum (in my opinion). I created my own beater for the purpose of playing the Djembe as a Kick drum. The beater is large and flat, created to resemble a human hand, and thus does a better job of producing bass tones while using a Kick pedal. The second issue, which I alluded to earlier, is that the Djembe is shaped in a way that doesn't allow it to be cradled by just any stand or riser.

I'll check on that new DW riser/cradle that I saw ... confirming the brand (it may be a Gibraltar product) ... as well as where you can pick one up. I suspect that this was a new item at NAMM 2005.

Yes ... I use all kinds of apparatus on my Djembe, but if you use the Djembe as a substitute Kick drum, it just doesn't sound good with a hard felt beater IMO.

The cradle you are describing to build is fine, but the point is that it's not very versatile. You'd have to be a little more creative than that if you want the cradle to work with various drums ... and for me versatile is the name of the game!

I should have been more clear with my initial post.  I have a 14" Remo Djembe with Remo's synthetic head.

Thanks for all the replies folks.  After reading here about the DW cradle, I looked it up, it looks like it might work.  I like your suggestion ddrummerr, of making a cradle out of plywood, that seems cheaper in the short run.  If the drum sounds good, I'll probably end up getting the DW cradle because it can be used for a bunch of different drums.

What about using one of those big, puffy wool beaters?  Won't one of those work?  Bart, do you have a photo of the beater you made?

Any beater will "work" ... but sound wise you really need a beater that make contact with a large area of the drumhead. The "big, puffy wool beaters" make more contact than the average Kick drum beater, but it's not going to even come close to covering the surface that your hand could. This is why I created my beater, which I don't have photos of at this time ... for several reasons ... one being that I may (or may not) try to market it.  

I gotcha Bart, if you need a beta tester let me know!