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There is Gawharet, Emin, Hossam's drum, Souhails, Kobi's and the list goes on....
The best tabla i've EVER seen is a Hassan Abdel Mageed Fishskin Tabla. The quality of manufacture and the sound are both top quality so anyone considering getting a quality drum should give it a thought.
He doesnt sell it over the internet ,but anyone going to Cairo looking for a good drum should take a look at his drums ,especially those looking for a Very good Ceramic w/ Fishskin. They ARE expensive and fragile ,but the sound cannot be compared to anything i've heard before. The negotiations about the price with Hassan might be a bit frustrating ,because there will be none. Hassan knows exactly what he is selling (he is the only Egiptian maker of such instuments) and that puts him in a good position to pricying his drums. As i said ,it is worth taking into consideration...
The best tabla i've EVER seen is a Hassan Abdel Mageed Fishskin Tabla. The quality of manufacture and the sound are both top quality so anyone considering getting a quality drum should give it a thought.
He doesnt sell it over the internet ,but anyone going to Cairo looking for a good drum should take a look at his drums ,especially those looking for a Very good Ceramic w/ Fishskin. They ARE expensive and fragile ,but the sound cannot be compared to anything i've heard before. The negotiations about the price with Hassan might be a bit frustrating ,because there will be none. Hassan knows exactly what he is selling (he is the only Egiptian maker of such instuments) and that puts him in a good position to pricying his drums. As i said ,it is worth taking into consideration...
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Re: Abdel Mageed Tabla
Sat, October 6, 2007 - 11:00 AMTHanx for the tip...would love to see his instruments...
Don`t think I`ll be near Cairo anytime soon though.....
Fishskin is awesome...I have a small ceramic fishskin darbuka I bought from a Lebanese bakery that no longer exists..
It has great sound, but it`s fragile as can be....A friend of bought 2 of them and broke them both..DOH.
Do you have any pics of Hassan`s drums? -
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Re: Abdel Mageed Tabla
Sun, October 7, 2007 - 2:25 AMThank you for the info. Is there a way to get a hold of him? Like a phone number or website or something?
If you're in Lebanon, there's Kevork, who's work is second to none...
In Austria, there's Eckermann, and in Germany there's David Roman drums.
For those not able to go to Cairo, you can get one of equal quality from Abdul Hamid Alwan in Milwaukee. Hamid is from Baghdad and is retired and owns a store called Village Bazaar. In the basement he's got a shop and he makes all kinds of instruments. His ceramic fishskin tablah has an amazing sound and the prices are reasonable (after getting one I hardly play my two GEF's anymore).
He doesn't sell over the internet, but you can call him and place your order. He's also a master at re-heading drums so if you ever get any duds off the internet, send them to him and he'll re-head it for a very reasonable cost (like $50 and you choose between goat, calf, or fishskin) and get it back to you in less than two weeks! I had some horrible sounding drums that came from Pakistan and the heads were too loose. After he re-headed now they are just amazing. He did the same for a swanky MOP riqq from Egypt that had heavy annoying hardware and a plastic head -- put glued fishskin on it and its top notch.
Check it out here: arts.state.wi.us/static/fo...alwan4.htm
Peace. -
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Re: Abdel Mageed Tabla
Sun, October 7, 2007 - 3:18 AMHasan doesn't have an electronic mail ,nor a website. His mobile is 012/4024505 ,his other telephone is 3919758. His Cairo shop adress is 1 Atefet El-Ataba. Thats all the info i have.
Greetings.
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Re: Abdel Mageed Tabla
Sun, October 7, 2007 - 9:00 AMWhen I was at his shop, he had no fish skin ceramic drums. I wasn't looking for one, though, and didn't ask him about it. His English is limited, so if you go, bring a good phrase book and/or ask one of the millions of incredibly friendly residents of Cairo who speak English to work out what phrases you might need. And, you are correct, there is no bargaining in any case. If he his not at his shop, a phone call will bring him riding in on his motorcycle...go JAWA!
I have never seen a darbukka made by Eckermann, he specializes in frame drums, davul, and riqqs/ tambourines. He is an absolute quality lunatic and a very friendly guy. Riqqs come in hard cases with two sets of zils in case you play Italian or another European style. He chooses the metals, cuts and hammers them out himself, etc. just to give you an idea of his attention to detail. He tans hides himself for many of his instruments.
I visited Abdul Hamid's shop recently, and while I don't like high fire ceramic tabla, his sounded really nice and were a big improvement over ones I played 15 or so years ago. Another quality lunatic, he does excellent work in stretching skins. In re tabla I don't think he is making any sumbati size drums.
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Re: Abdel Mageed Tabla
Sun, November 11, 2007 - 9:30 AMHey Mark there were 6 fishskin tablah's and 6 fishskin riqqs. A kick ass daholla that made your heart thump with every doum.
I'm currently in Cairo with M.E.S.T.O. and we picked up a tablah and 3 riqqs from Abdel Mageed. Tell him I sent you ;-) Expect to spend no less then $500. I'll post a picture of him, his store and maybe his workshop if I get around to it.
GEF is a little frustrating because there isn't one store but half a dozen GEF stores right next to each other. We went to the 1st one closest to Abdel Mageed and bought about 5 riqqs and 6 duffs metal with plastic heads. Almost all of the drums are stacked on top of each other so the heads are stretched out. You have to play a bunch to find some decent ones.
One of our members bought a nice skinned drum next door.
P.S. Abdel Mageed said that Ahmed Misirli's percussion school in Istanbul is now officially opened.
Cheers,
Donavon
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