Copper or aluminium darbuka?

[AlbertoRossi]

If you had to choose between buying a copper drum and an aluminium one, which would you choose? Some say that copper darbukas sound better, is that the case?

[Keisha]

This question doesn't have right answer, to be honest! It all depends on the instrument's size! If you want a medium sized darbuka, maybe copper is better, if you would like a large instrument, aluminium is better, but this is all very subjective!

[spinny]

Copper? Aluminium? Here I was thinking ceramic darbukas are the best ones out there! Or metal, metal is OK too, but I thought ceramics is the best material.

[crazycam]

@spinny: I thought so too! Ceramics are the most "popular", but of course, there are some other good amterials that make a good darbuka!
Between copper or aluminium... I'd choose copper. But of course this is just a personal preference.

[Lillyan]

Well, since I am not an expert when it comes to drums, I thought I'd contribute to the discussion with 2 videos:

This is how the copper darbuka sounds:



And this is how the aluminium one sounds:



You can hear the difference if you listen to both 'till the end, or fast forward the aluminium darbuka video, it gets more 'rhytmic' after the first 30 seconds and you can compare the 2

[Ayla]

@Lillyan: thanks so much for the examples I was actually curious about how each sounds.
However, if I can add something, copper is actually better than aluminium, if you want to compare the quality of the material. It also weighs less, but that's not that important I guess.

[Keisha]

The videos actually help a lot, hearing the difference in sound could help you figure out which one you like best. It's just like choosing the right oud, it's a matter of personal preference.

[musiclover]

I guess it will all depend on someone's preferences. I myself would prefer the bigger ones, so basically as what Keisha said, I would prefer the aluminum darbuka. But even though, I do believe that the differences between the two in my opinion are slim, so I won't really mind getting myself a copper darbuka someday. Nevertheless, darbukas in general are a good instrument, so it's one of my favorites.

[Omar Madni]

Thank you so much Lillyan for providing that video, as that will automatically show which is the best. I always prefer Copper but there are many of my friends which are more attracted towards Aluminum, it’s just a personal choice as I don’t find too big difference.

[Al-anoud]

Both are decent but I would go with Aluminum as said by many when the size is bigger, it’s much better to have Aluminum Darbuka, but rest depend on personal liking as my friends prefer Copper more, as they have been using it since their childhood days.

[Saqeef Khan]

I have not had my own Darbuka, as I mostly practice or try my friends, but once I am done with learning I will definitely look to have my own, so I need to know what’s the basic difference between Copper and Aluminum so I can purchase the best.

[Hazeem Shiek]

Copper one is better for me as I have been using it for many years one but you don’t need to be overly worried between choice since both are much the same with Copper just been more controllable size and Aluminium been bigger size.

[kola]

Want to buy one, which  should I choose? Some say that copper darbukas sound better, is that the case?

[googly]

Copper is a higher quality metal than aluminum, it is a higher quality drum.  The aluminum is a good, solid beginner drum. It's shell is thick and strong.  The copper is an advanced, or even pro-grade, drum, which a beautiful shape and design to its shell.

The copper doumbek has better resonance and, in turn, sings more than the aluminum doumbek, which should be expected give the copper is more expensive.

[googly]

Some people say copper sounds better but it's always depending. A good aluminum drum sounds better then a medium copper one...so I would say both can sound very nice if they are in the same quality category...the turks used merely copper for their old style drums...and these dar bukas sound differently...the turkish style darbukas have a deeper doum sound...but I guess that's because of the different shape (and the screws outside at the rim not inner tuning system) however copper does make a difference in the sound...on the other hand I haven't played a heavy copper darbuka so far...so I have no idea if that exists...maybe they would beat the alu drum.

Any suggestion is appreciated.