The drums featured in this photograph are called darabuka, derbeki, or tabla, as well as many other names depending on the country and region.  I play both natural and synthetic drum heads.  The clay darabukas on this page have natural heads and were made in Egypt and Morocco.  The metallic drums are from Turkey and have synthetic heads.  Sizes and tones vary, because every drum is unique. When I do performances, I choose to play the synthetic drums, my preference being an aluminum Egyptian tabla.  It is loud, clear toned and user-friendly for all techniques from slaps to snaps, and it is perfect for playing through a club sound system.  The purist in me loves the traditional clay drum and fishskin head for recording.  There’s nothing like the clear bell-like tone you get from these drums that brings such a warm, crisp sound to your recording.  The trouble with natural heads, though, is that they are sensitive to climate; they were made to be played in dry locations.  Dry climates keep your drum skin tight and playable, whereas humidity loosens animal hide, making it nearly impossible to play at times.  Heating pads are good for such occasions, but I’ve found it to be problematic in a live performance to be dealing with heating pads and drums going out of tune.  A synthetic drum will stay in tune no matter what the weather conditions.  Depending on the manufacturer, some drums are tunable and others are pre-tuned.  The darabuka should be in a high tuning, as are most Middle Eastern percussion.  The unfamiliar drummer will often tune a drum low to get the bass notes deeper, thinking it “sounds like a djembe,” when all it sounds like is an out of tune Middle Eastern drum.  You can no more make a darabuka sound like an African djembe than detune a guitar to sound like a bass.  The best way to get the right sounds is to listen to Middle Eastern drummers and recordings and do what they do because they know best; they are your best teachers.  Check out my favorites page for lists of musicians and recordings.
 

Frame Drums:  The drums featured here are known as duf, def, daf, tar, or bendir.  These drums vary in size, and the names also vary depending on the country and region.  Some are made with bells or rings on the inner frame that make added percussive tones.  The Moroccan bendir has a snare along the inner skin, which creates its distinctive buzzing sound.  The riq, or Arabic tambourine from Egypt, has zils in the frame; it is a classical percussion instrument, as well as a folk instrument.  Frame drums from the Middle East and North Africa are used in large percussion ensembles, as well as to accompany melody and singing in smaller groups.  The duf is used by Sufis to play trance-inducing rhythms, to bring them closer to God.  Frame drums come with natural and synthetic heads, which have the same pros and cons as any other style of drum.  Preference is up to the individual.  For students looking to purchase drums, check out Earth Shaking Music for affordable percussion instruments.  Please also see the homepage for Atlanta Oasis.  There are good quality tablas available from this site, imported from the Nile Shop in Cairo. I have a very good tabla from these drum makers, I feel they are probably the best mass-produced tablas available, and very affordable.
 

These Egyptian Tablas are very nice sounding, and I've enjoyed playing them very much. The Tabla on the left is an Alexandrian model with mosaic inlay.  The Tek has a wonderful ring to it and it has a great Doum.  It's very well-made - unlike many Alexandrian drums I've seen in recent years, where the collars aren't fit properly and the inlay is chipping off.  I'm fortunate because this one is awesome.  The Tabla on the right is a drum from Cairo, it's crafted by Gawharet El Fan, or Nile Shop.  These Tablas are some of the best drums available in the U.S.to date. They are well-cast, with beautiful mother of pearl desgns, and have a really nice sound.  The one I own is very popular, as I've seen so many drummers on the Internet with the same model.  These days, for anyone purchasing a drum, I recommend the Gawharet El Fan, it's a great Tabla and its very affordable as well.