Hi guys I just joined here recently and I love this new forum. It was recommended by a friend to me so I thought I might as well have joined since I have a thing for dhols


I just had a question. I read somewhere that straight barrel dhols have a lighter weight compared to the traditional barrel dhols which have a belly in the middle and if there is a weight difference would it allow you to play longer? considering you wont tire your self out quickly?


Also what would be considered as a good microphone to fit in to a dhol?

Mate it does depend, like what moni said.  Unless the shell or dhol is really heavy it wont make much diference as you will get use to it.  Just choose whatever you think looks good and sounds the best and see the link that moni posted for the mic. 

I recommend you get a kaali taali from india and get a shell with a belly.  Kaali taali is the best wood.  Get a shell with a belly because it does give a better sound than a straight - its just way better as it is curved and more importantly it keeps the rope tight compared to the straight which needs to be reroped often.  If you want a straight try to get one with a very slight curve - they will be easier to maintain and sound betters but when u put on the rope and drum heads it will look like a straight

They both (curved and straight) can have different weights, depends on the shells  thickness and density.  Hope this helps

Mate it does depend, like what moni said.  Unless the shell or dhol is really heavy it wont make much diference as you will get use to it.  Just choose whatever you think looks good and sounds the best and see the link that moni posted for the mic. 

I recommend you get a kaali taali from india and get a shell with a belly.  Kaali taali is the best wood.  Get a shell with a belly because it does give a better sound than a straight - its just way better as it is curved and more importantly it keeps the rope tight compared to the straight which needs to be reroped often.  If you want a straight try to get one with a very slight curve - they will be easier to maintain and sound betters but when u put on the rope and drum heads it will look like a straight

They both (curved and straight) can have different weights, depends on the shells  thickness and density.  Hope this helps

I honestly don`t find no difference in sound when it comes to straight barrels if the straight barrel`s dagga side is about 14 inches and the treble side is 13 then you`ll have the same deep bass (assuming you use a good quality bass skin) and a nice sharp treble because the way it gets bigger when it gets to the dagga side pretty much compensates for the curve on a normal dhol, I won`t be surprised if anyone bought a straight dhol with not even a slight curve that has equal diameter heads on both sides and it don`t sound too good ( equal diameter heads is not a problem on curved dhols the dagga side can be a bit bigger if that is your preference) and regarding the way a straight barrel is roped the thing is alot of straight barrels look better single roped like johnny kalsi`s dhol but its actually better to cross rope your dhol if you have the dagga side roped and the thili side on hooks because it gives it a much better pull and you don`t have to pull the rings much after the break in period, on my old dhol I single roped it and after the break in period I tightened the ropes a little bit but then every week I had to tighten them more and more and then the skin ripped after 2 months when I eventually had to tighten the rings all the way, and 1 more thing to add about the thickness of the dhol, a lot of dhol players that are born in the generations before use prefer a dhol that is thicker in case the straps ripped, but nowadays we got the straps with the rings in them along with these clips for extra protection, and also a friend of mine has a chitti taahli dhol with tattoo designs on it and its lighter than any amb dhol that I have ever played yo can pick it up with your pinky if you tried.

the shape honestly doesn't make that much of a difference. quality of the wood and quality of the craftsmanship are the really important things.


any good quality dynamic mic is good for the dhol.  shure sm57 or 58, audix d2 or i5, sennheiser 609, etc.

The curved barrel keeps the tightness of the rope as it has something it rests against while giing a bit of tension. A straight dhol desnt do that.  When tuning a choosing a dhol you want one that will give you a slight ring after this and a curved gives this just because of the way its shaped.  This is why i moved away from straight dhols-they started to sound flat after a while which gave me more maintanence.  Thats why desi dhols are curved as they give you a ring (so when you play with an accent/stress it gives you a sikk sound) and keeps the ropes nice and tight otherwise they will be a nightmare to tune and rerope. But its up to you, if you want more of a modern approach or a dhol that looks good then get a straight like most people do but dont get me wrong ive heard some badd dhols that you can tell that the dholi has put a lot of work into. or if you want the traditional approach and the authentic sound get a curved  barrell.  What ive got is one inbetween as, its got a slight smooth curve which you can see only when the ropes and heads are taken off or if your close but otherwise it looks like a straight from distance.  It still gives you the propeties ive said for a barrell but it looks like a straight. So it up to you and what type of dhol you want.

I agree to the notion that a dhol with a belly shape does add more of a ring to the treble sound compared to a similar straight barrel wood quality barrel.  That being said, it is not the case if the wood is shitty or if your dhol has improper fillings (if in the event was previously cracked). 


With regard to the suggestion that belly dhols help keep the rope tension tighter than straight barrels, that is not true.  There are two different methods of roping a dhol; criss-cross or straight V's (my way of putting it anyway).  The Criss-Cross methods keeps the ropes tighter than a straight V roping method. Also it comes down to how snug the holes on the dagga skin are to the rope and if the rope is a Knitted rope or a twisted rope and whether if the rope is pre-stretched or not.


All-in-all to answer your question, it depends on your style of playing I believe. Your style of playing depicts your preference of sound which ultimately leads you to leaning towards straight barrels or belly-shaped barrels.  I personally love both the sounds for two different reasons which is why I have both lol.