Meinl HE-314 Jingle Darabuka

I needed a dirt cheap Darbuka with jingles for a once-off project so I checked out some sound clips on the Meinl website and like what I heard. I didn't expect it to sound as good in real life but it's actually pretty decent. It obviously doesn't have the same power in the bass as a larger drum but perfectly usable if you can live with the "bass" being more like 150-200 Hz.

Build quality is excellent and it looks like a much more expensive instrument. The head can be replaced if needed. Tuning key is included (but it's just a standard hex wrench, looks like the same size as the ones used for most guitar truss rods).

The jingles actually sound great, suitably "dark" and brassy sounding, thankfully not the thin, bright Christmas sleigh jangle that so many tambourines have.

It sounds surprisingly powerful in the room and records beautifully. Far better than expected at this cheap price.

Highly recommended as a low budget alternative. Probably not for professional darbuka players but excellent for anyone like me who just needed some inexpensive Middle Eastern flavored percussion for a project.