Meinl HE-3018 Aluminium Doumbek

Actually it does slip a little, occasionally I rest it on a jamjar lid-gripping opening cloth. I also applied transparent metal lacquer, to prevent wear and tear on the paint and pattern. That retains the crisp look, and might also reduce aluminium dust. Its probably not much, but who knows?

The sound is exactly what I want from a darbouka, its easy to make a bass dum sound, sufficiently different from a tak sound, to make it spell out the patterns. Tickling its innards is also fun, as the pressure of the sound wave can be quite surprising.

The rounded rim is very helpful, to me as a beginner. It gives it a full body Egyptian look, and also does not kill your finger joints. The alternative Turkish style drum, is a lot cheaper, and looks less comfortable, but I guess a player who learns there will play this, no problem, but the opposite might not be true. Its a choice.