| High quality, handcrafted Aboriginal didgeridoos imported directly from Australia to the USA! |
| Didgeridoo
Care and Repair |
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| Right out of the box |
A eucalyptus didgeridoo needs to acclimate a bit to its new environment before being played extensively (more than 20-30 minutes over a 1 hour period). So when your new didgeridoo arrives, take your time getting to know it, and give the instrument a chance to adjust to the local humidity, or lack thereof, in its new home. For the first 5 days of receiving your new didgeridoo try to limit your playing to about 20 minuets at a time, allowing the inside of the bore to dry before going at it again. When you travel with your didgeridoo, be sure to keep it insulated in a carry bag or wrap it up in a beach towel or blanket. Try to avoid long periods of exposure to direct sunlight on very hot days, and keep the instrument insulated while making any transitions from cold, wet weather to a dry, warm house. It's natural wood, so common sense goes a long way in protecting it from stress. |
| Repairing leaks or cracks |
Playing a didgeridoo causes moisture from your breath to dampen the inside of the bore. If there is any tension in the wood along the internal neck of the instrument, this extra moisture may cause a fracture and allow air to escape. While one or two hairline fractures may occur from time to time in eucalyptus didgeridoos, they will sometimes close up tight on their own in a few days. If you have a permanent fracture that you feel is leaking air there are options for sealing the wood: 1.
Beeswax - The quick and efficient Aboriginal way to fix a leaky didgeridoo. For larger cracks let the pros fix it up. If you bought your didgeridoo from us we'll repair it or replace it for free if it cracks. If you have a badly cracked didgeridoo that you bought somewhere else (like in Australia) we'll gladly have a look at it, and most repairs cost only about twenty to forty dollars, depending upon the work involved. Modern didgeridoos like those crafted from plastic, leather and glass are more forgiving when it comes to temperature changes and travel. Bamboo and agave didgeridoos (if they are resin coated like ours) are the same way. Most of these types of didgeridoos will only need to be wiped clean with a dry cloth from time to time, no worries. |
| Making or replacing a beeswax mouthpiece |
Almost
every eucalyptus didgeridoo has a mouthpiece made from a ring of beeswax.
This serves to create a good seal with your lips, and makes adjusting
the size of the opening, or embouchure, easy to do. To adjust
the size and shape of your beeswax mouthpiece simply heat up the wax
on your didgeridoo by playing for a few minutes, or blow a heat gun
or hair dryer evenly over the wax for about 20 seconds. Don't let the
wax melt, just heat it up enough to make it more malleable. You can
then pinch, pull, flatten or resize the embouchure to perfectly fit
your lips. The shape and size of the mouthpiece will determine
just how easily the didgeridoo will respond to you playing it. Take
your time, experiment, and find the right size and shape that suits
you. |
| The funky aroma |
Sometimes,
if you play your didgeridoo very often, you may notice a smell developing
inside the instrument that you don't like. This is caused by moisture
from your breath coating the interior and, over time, getting a bit
funky to the nose. The fix is really quite simple. Place a mixture of
1 part essential oil to 3 parts water in a spray bottle and sprizt a
few times (no more than 4 squeezes) down the inside of the mouthpiece
end. Don't worry about the bell end. I prefer tea tree oil which is
a natural antiseptic, but some folks like lavender oil or a citrus oil.
Any of these will work well to give your didgeridoo that fresh feeling
again. |