Didgeridoo, Bamboo, Black Design

as a loyal Amazon prime customer, I am taking my time to write this particular review. I read all the reviews prior to purchase (as I always do on Amazon) and A LOT of them wrote about cracking! I also had a friend who got one, and theirs unfortunately cracked. I was a little hesitant to purchase, but after some other alternative research, I decided to get it and do all I could to PREVENT the cracking, and handle with care. + for $30, being my first didgeridoo, it's a good deal and worth it to learn on.here's what I learned and am sharing in hopes to help those like me - who honestly want to use this instrument, but don't want theirs to crack or break after just one (or a couple) uses.since this is made of bamboo, like with any bamboo made product, YOU MUST TREAT IT BEFORE USE!! especially since this is something you will be blowing your breath (and some spit) into it, the temperature will change, and temp change is one thing that may cause it to crack or warp. to prevent that from happening, get BOILED LINSEED OIL! you can find it in the paint section at any hardware store, or even here on Amazon. a little goes a long way, so you don't need a big can. use a cloth rag to rub the oil into the entire didgeridoo (yes, even the painted part), let it stand upright for 10-15 mins, then using a different clean cloth, wipe off any excess oil. you will see the oil seep into the wood, the (majority of) splinters inside even go away!! it will also make it look all nice and shiny!since temp change can be another thing that makes it crack.. do not store in any high areas, areas of extreme temp changes, in your garage, in a shed, in your trunk. Always keep it standing upright, never lay it on a side because that does not allow air to flow through it evenly, especially after you just get finished playing it.this didgeridoo was the first one I have ever played and it produced an amazing sound as soon as I learned the proper technique to make it! you must learn how to use this instrument to make its drone vibrations! and it's something that takes practice! so don't worry if it doesn't come super easy, instantly. there are plenty of tutorials on YouTube so don't waste your money buying any DVDs! focus first on just producing one tone, and then work on making all the animal calls!You might however want to get the beeswax mouth piece. it does not come with, nor does any mouth piece, and since your lips are literally vibrating you will want that mouthpiece if you plan to play often!this is great for breath work, vibration, frequency, sleep apnea, meditation, and it's just really fun to play!I hope my review helps at least someone! Happy playing!

very nice , haunt the neighbors at night .

I ordered this because I love world history and culture and also because I have heard of it's health benefits for people who suffer from sleep apnea. For the price, it's an absolutely great instrument! The seller shipped it fast and I received it by my birthday just in time to annoy my wife for the rest of the evening :-)It took me a little while to get how to do the basic drone down (the key is to keep your lips loose and let them vibrate, not tight like you would for a brass instrument such as a Trumpet), but after that I can do it pretty much every time. Now to work on circular breathing which is a challenge but I should hopefully be able to get down soon.I would like to also address a few comments I've seen listed here. First, the one I received was NOT a PVC Pipe, but definitely made from wood (bamboo to be exact.) I believe some leaving comments about it being a pipe are confusing this one with the Synthetic one also sold by the same company. Also, there is NOT a mouthpiece included with this model, and the PVC one does not work well with this model (it's not meant to.) With the wooden model, you will need to make a mouthpiece out of beeswax, which was much more simple than I thought, it's basically like playing with playdough and forming it. You can buy a Cake of Beeswax from most Hardware stores for about $3-$5 and it takes about 10-15 minutes to create. There are several sites online and videos of how to make one.All in all a wonderful birthday present and a great purchase!

This didge is attractive and fun. The one I received matches the picture above.Besides producing a quirky, but relaxing and surprisingly pleasant drone -- playing a didge might actually improve the quality of your health and lengthen your life. (Just do a google search for the British Medical Journal, sleep apnea, randomized trial, didgeridoo). If you want to explore what didge playing might do for you, this model is an excellent value, lightweight and carries a quite decent sound.Sleep apnea, or pauses in breathing during your sleep, IS dangerous. These pauses means less oxygen to vital organs and an accumulation of carbon dioxide which can make you drowsy and confused the next day. It can be a silent force that imperils kidneys, hearts, lungs, raises blood pressure and even makes the effort to lose weight much tougher.Unfortunately media reports and some sleep centers have insufficiently communicated the full range of dangers associated with sleep apnea. People walk away thinking that the biggest threat is a little lost sleep and being drowsy during the daytime. Unfortunately, these are only the tip of the iceberg and sail by unnoticed. The organ damage is more subtle, sometimes even silent until relatively advanced. For the person with sleep apnea, its really a question of whether they are sleeping safely. Answer: not very, when the airway is intermittently obstructed.All too often after a few discouraging attempts to wear a CPAP or BiPAP device mask, and feeling claustrophobic or that it actually disturbs sleep that otherwise at least "seemed" normal to them, many of my patients unfortunately just give up trying. Despite trying different masks there remains a substantial number of people, way too many in fact, who can only make it part way through the night with their mask or not at all. We talk for years about the necessity of dealing with sleep apnea, but some of them only are able to press themselves to endure CPAP/BiPAP devices after they have finally suffered significant, perhaps irreversible organ damage or other health consequences of the sleep apnea.Hence, didgeridoos are an attractive, low risk, frankly fun way to supplement the management of sleep apnea along with positive-pressure airway devices. Obviously, one should speak with their physician, consider adding the didge concurrently with CPAP/BiPAP if diagnosed with more than moderate apnea, and for best results repeat the sleep study after a few months (4 in the BMJ article) of didge training to confirm it is working. Frequently persons being treated should have routine sleep testing yearly to make sure their mask is still working -- the same might also be advisable for the didge strategy. Your primary physician and/or pulmunologist should be consulted for your specific needs.Participants in the BMJ study learned the circular breathing technique as part of the basic technique for conditioning airway tone and "practiced" about 30 minutes a day, 5-6 days per week. One should probably expect to maintain playing the didge for life -- though duration of benefit among those who later quit was not studied. As far as we know, wearing CPAP/BiPAP doesn't really condition the airway musculature. The user remains dependent on their machine so that if they fall asleep in the daytime while watching TV or accidently knock the mask off at night -- they are sadly unprotected. Thus a wonderful benefit of didge training is that it does condition the airway and could assist in bridging the gap through these accidental mask-off times.I've personally owned 5 didges. This one is middle of the range in quality, very solid value, easy to use and one of the least expensive so far. Although this one does not come with a separate mouthpiece, it seems to do quite fine without one for me. The interested user, however, can purchase some beeswax BEESWAX BLOCK YELLOW 1-LB and locate a website with instructions on how to fashion one -- a fairly simple task.This didge is constructed from a single piece of bamboo, is lightweight, about 1/4 inch thick, and has a slight bend in the midway down its shaft which actually seems to make it a little more responsive to vibration than my straight PVC models. Internal diameter varies but 1 and 1/4 to 1/2 inches at the ends. The vibratory tone is deep, the feel and sound pleasurable (mine is tuned to D, just about 2 octaves below middle C). Even without a mouth piece it is very responsive to variations in breath or lip technique. Single-piece didges like this features one dominant note (with one or more fairly fixed harmonics). I do like the harmonics for this model, but they are a little weaker intensity than for my other 2 didges. Its not quite as easy to "sing" into this one as it is for my telescoping 300 dollar PVC concert-grade, sliding didge. BUT the latter is much harder to warm up prior to playing, because vibrations are not transmitted uniformly through the separate segments until it is fully warmed.The painted design varies among these bamboo models. The buyer apparently can't specify what they want. Mine does not match the picture shown above -- but is nonetheless attractive and should hold up well to responsible household use. I would NOT leave it outside or allow it to bounce around in the car or truck. PVC/acrylic models are probably more durable if exposure to younger children, rough use and storage conditions are anticipated. My bamboo didge came with a thin, nonpadded black storage sack that offers only very modest protection -- there are other more rugged cases available if you search the net.Enjoy. Breathe well. Sleep well!!! Consider hosting a didge instructor for you and your friends.