Anyone happen to know about tabla....?

[Sp3ctre18]

since the only music forum I'm on.... :p

I have an indian friend who went back to India for a bit before fall starts. We're trying to see if it's feasible and practical for him to buy a set there and bring or ship it back.

Does anyone know if the tabla are more fragile than other drums in any particular way? I keep reading about the importance of good head covers, using talcum powder, and the fact the heads WILL need to be replaced eventually, and depending on use, the heads may last only months or years. depends. I'll try to do some more research, but I've never heard so much apparent pessimism about a drum's condition whether it's toms and snares, djembes, congas, I dunno. I could be just ignorant of how things are with drums?

I can tell you it won't see much prolonged use. With all musical instrument I own, i'll play them a bit, maybe for a few days, and then not touched or back in storage for months. acoustic guitar, violin/viola, recorder, trumpet, piano... none of them really seem to need much maintenance. I only worry about my trumpet a bit, and I take it out every 6 months or so to re-oil the valves.

should I be more worried about tabla?

[A.Leung]

Nothing unusual really. Ship everything with extreme care. I have tons of instruments from all over the world and humidity effects them more than anything else. I've had a few odd spiders and other types of bugs in the apartment from instruments (mostly wood related) so look for those. As far as playing them then putting them into storage thats kind of sad. Keep them around. Protect them. SAMPLE them!!!! :)

Noting quite like sampling your own instruments and using them in a composition!

[hrw]

Wish i knew how to program them better... anyone know any where with some quick tips on programming tabla or related to that?

[scntfc]

if you're really paranoid about damage, have the friend buy hard cases for them. traditional tabla covers are for dust and preventing scratches. while tabla are no more fragile than most traditionally constructed drums, the tuning method puts significant wear on them...lots of gentle hammering involved.

@hrw. no quick tips, as authentic tabla playing can be complicated. tabla has a syllabic language tied to each sound it makes, and you learn traditional rhythms as sentences. i'm lucky enough to have a great tabla player to hire if i need it, but perhaps there are libraries that have all the syllables sampled?

[Omid Zoufonoun]

Nothing unusual really. Ship everything with extreme care. I have tons of instruments from all over the world and humidity effects them more than anything else. I've had a few odd spiders and other types of bugs in the apartment from instruments (mostly wood related) so look for those. As far as playing them then putting them into storage thats kind of sad. Keep them around. Protect them. SAMPLE them!!!! :)

Noting quite like sampling your own instruments and using them in a composition!

Specifically, the real killer is to go from a more humid to a very dry environment. This is murder for any of the organic parts (heads, etc). This is true for violins, pianos, guitars, etc.

[Sp3ctre18]

I've had a few odd spiders and other types of bugs in the apartment from instruments (mostly wood related) so look for those. As far as playing them then putting them into storage thats kind of sad. Keep them around. Protect them. SAMPLE them!!!! :)

Hehe, well, storage pretty means laid against a wall in their case (violins) or in a closet shelf, also in its case (trumpet). guitar has a stand and bag, recorder is laying around in my room or desk. They're not liked packed in away in a dark closet.

And no, no sampling or recording here. I don't do audio work and all I have is a PC mic and an old handheld mic with a bad plug.

if you're really paranoid about damage, have the friend buy hard cases for them. traditional tabla covers are for dust and preventing scratches. while tabla are no more fragile than most traditionally constructed drums, the tuning method puts significant wear on them...lots of gentle hammering involved.yeah, definitely looking for a case. I hope to get the whole set with everyitng needed, rings, covers, case, hammer, etc. I wouldn't know how fragile these drums typically are. I guess I won't mind a bit of maintenance especially since my other instruments here are practically zero maintenance. If the tuning can really put some wear, hopefully I'll get nylon straps then since I hear they hold better....but I don't expect those to be common.

@ Omid, I'm guessing it'll be the trip, either shipped or on an airplane that would be the main shock. After that, here at home, there shouldn't much of an issue with humidity changes. And I don't think the northeast is here is all that dry....

Thank all for your comments. :)