All repair services performed on site.
We repair most African, Mediterranean and Caribbean drums from Djembes Djundjuns and Ashikos to Congas Bongó and Batá.
Reheading traditional drums is our specialty. Great care and attention are paid to every detail to insure
quality craftsmanship . All drum heads are treated, fitted and tuned using traditional techniques. Many American Drum retailers now purchase shells and skins separately and use tools like "clam-cleat" pullers or wedge tuners to fasten skins to the shell of the drum. In many cases, this creates too much tension across both the ropes and the skins thus, weakening the head and shortening its "life".
At Shaved Monkey Productions and Go-rilla! studios All reheading and tuning is done by "hand", no machines or devices are used.
Skins are carefully selected and cured then shaved. Finally, applying our own techniques (Obi's personal secret), the new head is softened and made smooth. The finished product is a skin which has almost unparallelled texture of smoothness found only on the best quality African made drums.
We use the finest quality goatskin and calfskin on many African, Caribbean and South American drums and can even replace fishskin heads on Middle Eastern percussion instruments. Drumshell repairs are also available for almost all wooden shelled drums.Heads can be replaced on most drums including:Single headed; Djembe, Ashiko, Ngoma, Abakua drums and other similar drums. this includes drums which are "peg tuned"...Double Headed; Djundjun, Bombo, Rennaisance/ Vintage Military/ Tupan and more... We can also rehead Congas, Bongó and other "latin" percussion instuments. These drums can be reheaded to have softer, smoother playing surfaces without sacrificing quality or sound. (Recommended for handcrafted drums or, for those who wish to have a more authentic feel to their current drums.)Batá reheading/ repairs are available as well.
