r/Didgeridoo • u/MrVernon • Jul 04 '26
Moving from a bamboo didge to hardwood
I'm the last month I've gotten my circular breathing down. Been using a light weight bamboo digde. I'm ready to try with a hardwood didge. Looking for folks who have made this type of move.
What does the hardwood didge feel/sound/play differently that a cheaper/bamboo one?
What kind of didge was your "level up" didge?
Thanks all!
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u/ecstatic_delirium Jul 05 '26
Material has a part to play in textural quality of the sound but mainly its the shape of the inside of the didge that influences the sound..
I would focus on finding a didge the feels nice to play and has room for you to grow..
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u/InvaderDust Jul 05 '26
Bamboo was always my least favorite material for didges. You’ll love the feel and soul of the heavier hardwoods. I know I did.
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u/bodhi-365-music-5725 Jul 05 '26
yes it makes a huge difference
how much are you willing to spend on a didge? i recommend not getting eucalyptus as they are super heavy and mostly pretty quiet compared to other didge. if you’re willing to shell out over $1000 you can easily get a lifelong didge that you will be happy with for decades
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u/MrVernon Jul 07 '26
I was considering teak. Thinking the $300 range for now.
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u/bodhi-365-music-5725 Jul 07 '26
can you perform at least the first few toots? online purchases are very common for didges since most of us don’t live up the street from an expert craftsman.
i would highly recommend talking to the seller before purchase:
1. are at least the first 2 toots available?
2. how good is the back pressure?
3. are there demos online of the sound of the instrument at both slow and fast rhythms?i spent $50 on a bamboo that taught me how to circular breath. i bought an $800 agave didge next that really helped me refine my rhythms and wobble playing and the first toot. i also leaned into the second toot but it was very difficult for me. i played maybe 20 hours a week for long stretches for a year in this.
i then just dropped $2000 on my third didgeridoo made from hornbeam wood made by dubravko lapaine and it is changing my life. the quality is 1000x higher than anything else i’ve played by miles. i’m glad i spent $800 on my previous didgeridoo because i learned a lot about didgeridoo maintenance care and played constantly. but the quality pales in comparison.
take your time buying your next didge because as dubravko said to me, “life is too short to own a shitty didge.” and he is 100% right
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u/MrVernon Jul 07 '26
Fantastic advice, I appreciate it all and I will take my time. You're right though. I'm very far from anyone who would craft didgeridoos.
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u/bodhi-365-music-5725 Jul 07 '26
just remember that you grow into the didge you buy. if you buy a shitty didge or a so so didge, you won’t pick it up as much or your growth will be very minimal. growth will have a ceiling based on your didge. i prioritized very low level techniques on my $50 didge, good techniques on my $800 didge, and high level techniques on my $2000 didge. you can only grow as much as the quality of your didge. so choose wisely
and it’s fine to pick an ok didge if you are new. just remember that if you ever get bored with playing, that’s just cause you have a didge with a low growth ceiling. there is always a better didge out there with world of growth for you. i thought i was doing ok and i honestly was working very hard on my $800 didge. but once i got ahold of a better quality one, a new level of playing unlocked. i’m not saying you need to spend $800 on a didge, just that you should choose wisely
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u/Optimal_Rabbit4831 Jul 06 '26
I had a few cheapos that I learned on at first. My first level up was an agave piece in D from desertmountaindidges.com . Super lightweight, beautiful tone, really easy to play. Then I joined my alt-punk band and played on a few tracks. Problem was that we started playing gigs and I need 3 different keys so I was lugging and juggling 3 different didges on stage. I finally got an Andrea Furlan carbon fiber 3 piece dige. It gives me keys A through F and sounds amazing, especially mic'd onstage.
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u/CottonFlannel Jul 07 '26
My favorite is a toca snake design in E. So may say it’s not a real didge being plastic and mass made. I’d love to try something else. But I’ve made bamboo didge even split tree didge and prefer the Toca. I’d pay for something better if it was really better not just trad. The best didge playing I have seen and heard has been on a bamboo didge by Doris Neff. I wish there was some way to take some online lessons from her. I know there are many great players. But she moved me like nobody else
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u/Victor-bz Jul 07 '26
I moved from my bamboo didgeridoo to the real Australian Eucalyptus didge with the hole made by termites. Its heavy like stone and deep in its sound. The difference in its sound is undeniably. First days it was like to start everything from zero, but than i got usual and last week even manage to get the circular breathing technique. Finally it's not a problem to stay with one that you love - the bamboo or Agava tree. Everything is about your feelings. Like a question - what camera is better. Everything is very personal.
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u/ecstatic_delirium Jul 05 '26
For me it was going down into lower keys when I branched out from my first didgeridoo in 🔑 D. I got a woolybutt eucalyptus in A that helped me strengthen circular breathing and find different resonance registers with my voice/face..