The Didgeridoos

I have made quite a few didjeridoos after getting the first opportunity to buy a few sticks from a fellow who bought a trailer load from out west to the annual Mardi Grass parade weekend of madness and celebration a few years ago. One of the seven was an immediate success (a good A) and was snapped up by Matty O, a friend and plays really well but it still needs finishing. The others all turned out good and 3 are pictured here during the making. The one on the left (on the right also in the photo below) I sold for 400 swiss francs to a lovely Russian chap I met in Basel at the world psychedelic forum and it has a great bright fast pumping swirling sound that I loved, see it played in the video below. He got a bargain. The middle one was the first ever attempt where I tried to make it too thin and left it lying around which ended up so cracked and holey I thought I'd cut it in half, then left it lying around for ages again. I finally got round to running my spare liquid epoxy into it when I was glueing basses and sealed the cracks and embedded some bits of leftover broken art glass in some holes and then glued it together and it sounds great and looks kind of like a snake. The one on the right is really fat and I still have it, here they are;

I then got a bunch from a lovely feller from the aboriginal art shop in Cooktown, Joseph McIver, whom I met at the Bushweek festival in North Queensland near the Bloomfield river (awesome festival by the way, highly recommended) where I did his didj making workshop for just 30 dollars! Thanks heaps Joseph they have all turned out great.

The long one in the middle of this photo I ended up cutting down to a really resonant, fast, cracked and repaired but wonderful drainpipeish sounding one that is for sale in the Happy High Herbs shop in Nimbin for $350, the one just left of it I sold for $250 at the gold coast show, a lovely low A. Third from the left has been cut down a bit and is in the shop for $250, a very playable and nice sounding d#. Second from the left is a really bright and light one I sold too to a sweet and spunky, petite Portuguese woman traveler for $200, and it really suited her. The one on the very left I'm still not happy with. The two on the far right are in the photo above, one of which is for sale, second from the right is the one that went to Russia. The lighter coloured ones in the middle are made from Woolly Butt and I sold one for $320 which was a gift for some lucky person in Indonesia, the other sold in a festival in Wales to a lovely young woman for 130 pounds. It was very trance inducing low B. Third from the right is also a d# and for sale foe $250. Most people like Bloodwood and Red and Yellow Stringy Barks which are really good too. I don't recommend eucalypts as they tend to crack and then leak and even slight leaks wreck the tone and playability.

I did another didj workshop where I learned alot with Phillip and Patrick Barlow of Gundoii Didjeridoos in Eacham on the Atherton Tablelands behind Cairns  North Queensland. There I made a super D# trumpet which my friend Matt Farrell bought and then resold to my friend Matt Ostilla who has a low F sharp I made too. I got some more blanks from Phillip too, along with valuable lessons, help and insights and made them when I got home. I highly recommend doing a day didj making with them. $250 well spent. Lovely hospitable people, amazing place to visit (and you can stay overnight) great area, great fun and super results guaranteed. Here are some pictures of Phil and Pat with a french student and her masterpiece.

I set off home to immerse myself in the didge-making experiment. Each stick taught me more and rewarded me with It's own unique sound, so I am very pleased with my learnings and my instruments I believe to be of high quality. I visited again recently to get more blanks and worked away for two days up there with Patrick on them and for another couple of weeks to get them done before going abroad to North Wales on a trip where I sold ten (and spent it all and got back broke!) Happily this happy customer called Natty recently bought this amazing Bloodwood one for 500 and is taking it to B.C. in Canada. Nice guy, good player, friend of Ganga Giri so I rather reluctantly parted with it.

here are two angles of my favourite one which I am keeping;

You can download a 10 minute video (40.13Meg) didges.mov  of Matt Ostila, the best didge player I know, also my good friend and customer -(book this awesome talented hard working muso or his entire band "Ozmosis" and get him to your studio on tabla, bass, didg, percussion, drums, mouth/jaw harp, horns  etc. etc. for recording, whatever...contact me and I'll book him out for paid gigs... ) -having a short blast on a lot of them including some of Phillip and Patricks ones too (the ones with the shinier finish.) If you think you might like one contact me on my email ron*unheardofinstruments.com (the * is an @) and tell me what number it is in the video. They can be posted just about anywhere for about $70 or less. My relatives in Wales have three still and a friend in Amsterdam has six of Phillips ones for sale too (he bought 1 and is selling 2, 3, 7, 9, 10, and13) so if you are in Europe you can save on postage. They were numbered according to where they are in the video and I wrote the numbers in the bells at the bottom so spot yours or if you like one let me know it's number and I'll let you know if I still have it.

I'm not going too far into the secrets of making or cutting here.

If you would like to do Phillip Barlow's course give him a bell 07 4096717.

Go to the source, the native owners of this land are the pupil of humanity and I have utmost respect for their Lore and culture and very much appreciate any sharing they have with us negligent and largely oblivious and ignorant paler Australians who know next to nothing of the true nature of this land, this is their knowledge to share.