[shawnguess]

Truth is that Galen is overloaded and we need someone to help him with repairs, but trying to find someone who can do the quality level of work we insist on is very difficult. I am just seeing these posts and have not yet spoken with Galen about it, so I don't know the details, but I know that remounting a djembe takes two to three weeks...only because we pull the verticals two to three times, with rest periods in between in order for rope and skin to stretch. This ensures that you will never need to pull the verticals yourself. Notice that our drums ship out fully tuned with only one or two diamond knots, while most other companies ship with a one row already installed. Wula builds drums more slowly than others, but on the other hand you end up with less hassle and expense over time.

I will speak with Galen to see where things are at with your drum, and hopefully when can get it to you very soon.

Best,

hi Tom,
just curious if you've heard anything on my djembe -- it's been another two weeks and no communication from Galen. . . i purchased on May 1st.
thanks,
shawn

[michi]

The one I took home last summer weighed 35 lbs. I know from the airport scales. The one I'm using now is 27.

That is absolutely insane. Janice, no disrespect here, but are you sure that drum maker of yours knows what he's doing? Do you have a picture of some of these drums?

A djembe should not be that heavy, unless it is of truly monumental proportions. As a guide, I weighed the three shells I built recently. Without top rings, skin, and rope, the Dugura and Lenke shells each weigh 7.8 kg (17.2 lbs), and the Gueni shell weighs 8.3 kg (18.3 lbs). I didn't weigh them after I completed them, but I'd expect the top rings and the rope and skin to add maybe 3-4 lbs, so the total should come out around 20 lbs, or maybe just a little over that.

Cheers,

Michi.

[haworth]

Well, I have extensive (2 years every day lessons) but not a wide variety of experiences with the djembe world. Very new to it still. I took one of my drums by the Wula factory last week and they commented immediately about the weight and the fact that it needed to be "thinned out." That is not the *style* of the drummers that I've been playing with the past two years so I didn't know any better. Wula is working on my drum right now. I'm looking forward to hearing how the sound changes! (And it will be nice to have a drum that I can carry without pulling my arms off.)

I'm coming back to the U.S. in a couple of weeks. Looking forward to continuing my playing and studies there.

Janice
Dubreka, Guinea

[michi]

If Wula are giving it a make-over, you can be sure that you'll get a first-rate job!

Let us know what you think when you get it back please!

Michi.

[Tom]

hi Tom,
just curious if you've heard anything on my djembe -- it's been another two weeks and no communication from Galen. . . i purchased on May 1st.
thanks,
shawn

I communicated with Galen on this last week and he confirmed what I had already cited as the probable causes. It is Sunday, but I will call him tomorrow to get an update and get back to you no later than Tuesday. By the way, when did you send the drum for repair?

If Wula are giving it a make-over, you can be sure that you'll get a first-rate job!

Make-over is in progress. The drum already looks much better cosmetically, and yesterday we removed the excess wood from the interior. The main problem was that there was way too much thickness left on the upper part of the stem. We also reformed the interior of the bowl, and from what I see, once we put a professional mounting on the djembe it is going to sound phenomenal. If I get the time I will take a photo and post it one finished.

[shawnguess]

hi Tom,
just curious if you've heard anything on my djembe -- it's been another two weeks and no communication from Galen. . . i purchased on May 1st.
thanks,
shawn

I communicated with Galen on this last week and he confirmed what I had already cited as the probable causes. It is Sunday, but I will call him tomorrow to get an update and get back to you no later than Tuesday. By the way, when did you send the drum for repair?

it's not a repair, i purchased it new from the site. thank you for the help.

[haworth]

I am excited about the makeover. Will pick it up later this week.
BTW, I have no idea how to do pictures on this site. Are there instructions anywhere?

Janice
Dubreka, Guinea

[michi]

See How do I include pictures in a post?

Cheers,

Michi.

[Tom]

hi Tom,
just curious if you've heard anything on my djembe -- it's been another two weeks and no communication from Galen. . . i purchased on May 1st.
thanks,
shawn

Shawn,

I spoke with Galen and he let me know that you spoke yesterday, and that the issue is resolved. Let me know if all is good on our side. Galen also said that the timing was good because we just sent/received the best skins ever.

[shawnguess]

Shawn,
I spoke with Galen and he let me know that you spoke yesterday, and that the issue is resolved. Let me know if all is good on our side. Galen also said that the timing was good because we just sent/received the best skins ever.

yes, Galen sent a message on monday that he would email a pic the following day and that the drum would ship out this week no matter what. that's very good news -- although i'm not going to get too excited until i have a tracking number, lol. but thank you for staying on top of the issue, it is much appreciated.

[Tom]

yes, Galen sent a message on monday that he would email a pic the following day and that the drum would ship out this week no matter what. that's very good news -- although i'm not going to get too excited until i have a tracking number, lol. but thank you for staying on top of the issue, it is much appreciated.

Great. Please let me know if all goes as planned.

[shawnguess]

Great. Please let me know if all goes as planned.

well, no pic and no tracking number just yet, so we shall see.

[shawnguess]

yeah, no pic, no tracking number, and its the end of the week -- so not much faith restored here.

[Tom]

yeah, no pic, no tracking number, and its the end of the week -- so not much faith restored here.

Michael just cc'd me on an email informing another customer that Galen has been out of commission the last couple of days with food poisoning, so it will be this coming week before he can get back to you. Please hang tight for a couple more days.

[shawnguess]

yeah, no pic, no tracking number, and its the end of the week -- so not much faith restored here.

Michael just cc'd me on an email informing another customer that Galen has been out of commission the last couple of days with food poisoning, so it will be this coming week before he can get back to you. Please hang tight for a couple more days.

again Tom, i really appreciate your helping out with keeping me informed, and of course i hope Galen is ok. but, this whole thing is quite off-putting; is Galen really the only one there that can send an email to keep customers informed? i'm having to get information on a forum for a purchase made over two months ago and promised multiple times since to be delivered "next week". delays happen, but Galen apparently even provided misinformation when telling me weeks ago that the drum was done and that the skin was drying -- when the re-skinning process had obviously actually not even begun. i know things happen, but i can't say that this has been a positive experience and that i wouldn't think twice about ordering from Wula again or recommending to someone else.