How to tell what wood a dhol is?

[ADholiCalledAli]

I've got a dhol and its painted but I don't know what wood it is... I bought it when I didn't know anything about dhol, but it's my 1st dhol because I'm still a beginner-intermediate player.. When I get better I'll buy a new one but for the time being, any one know how to determine what wood it is?

 

[Basim]

Hi Ali,

Dhol woods have been discussed a lot on BTF already. You should try to search from the main page on BTF or using Google.

Here are some good places to get you started:

http://bhangrateamsforum.com/discuss/main-bhangra-discussion/dhol-wood-question/

http://thedholcompany.com/customize-your-dhol/buying-guide/

http://bhangrateamsforum.com/discuss/main-bhangra-discussion/what-dhol-should-i-get/

http://www.dholetc.com/level.php?division=1

Hope this helps,

~ Basim

P.S. - If you post a picture of your dhol here, I'm sure there are many who could probably take a guess at it, but it would better to read the aforementioned websites and compare it with what you have.

 

[Dholi harsh]

if reading up on the drum doesn't help you figure out what kind of wood you have theres one fool proof way of figuring out what kind of wood it is. Sand the paint off to its bare wood (it'll make the dhol sound better anyways so you might as well) and compare it to pictures of other dhols. You're going to need to oil it with mustard oil to get the right shade though.


Also, if you got the drum for very cheap... chances are its made of plywood. My first dhol (i still sometimes use it) was literally 100 bucks online and it was a plywood shell with 10,000 cracks and dents all filled in with some sort of masala paste, and painted over with at least 8 coats of paint. luckily it wasn't a Frankenstein dhol but i know alot of dhols that are put together using two pieces of broken dhols. So be careful before you sand down the paint, it might be the only thing other then some cheap glue holding it together.

 

[ADholiCalledAli]

Oh okay thanks man! =] it's a decent Dhol but I'm not going to sand it because hopefully ill get a better one when I'm a lot better I was just curious about the wood

 

[Dholi harsh]

i'd sand it down regardless. As dumb as this sounds, theres no better bonding experience with your dhol then sanding it down. The amount of work that goes into it makes you care about that drum that much more haha

 

[ADholiCalledAli]

Lmao, I'll attempt in summer are there any good videos on how to de assemble, sand, oil and put it all back together?

 

[Dholi harsh]

Best way is to find someone that knows how to do it and watch them do it in person. Videos don't answer questions like real people can.