I went by Guitar Center today and picked up a new head for my Remo Djembe. Danielle had accidentally poked a hole in my djembe while we were moving and I just now got around to fixing it. It was a measley $31.00. I asked the guys at Guitar Center to help me replace the old one, they said they didn't do that kind of work on that specific instrument. So I spent about 2 hours trying to get the old one off. For anyone who ever wants to remove a djembe head from a key-tuned Remo djembe, listen up. First of all do not try to salvage the old head, you WILL demolish it during removal. Secondly all you really need is a hammer. No pliers, C-Clamps, candle labres (yes, I actually used this as a tool), or any other tool besides a freaking hammer. Now here are the steps I followed to getting the darn thing off:
- Loosen the key tuners and slip them off the head ring
- Remove the head ring and spend 2 hours trying to budge the head off with your hands and feet.
- Utilize a friend (Beth in this case) to sit on top of the djembe and hold it in place while you try to pry it off with your leg stuck inside.
- Take a knife and cut the head out to loosen the tension. (this didn't work)
- Use a standard claw hammer and pound on the lip of the head the opposite direction until it comes off.
Three swings later I had the head in my hand and was on my way to putting the new one on. The old one was in several peices. Be careful not to hit the body of the djembe while swinging the hammer. You probably couldn't hurt the thing, but it will put some ugly scratches on it. Putting the new head on is very straight forward and I will not go into detail about it. Just slip it on and start tightening the key-tuners down. It's best to start on on side and then go to the opposite side you started with and continue this process all the way around and up to final tuning. Tuning the djembe is a different story, try this
guy's advice.
