iDIDJ Australia Didgeridoo Cultural Hub

Hello,

I am new to this page and I just bought my first didgeridoo.
I live in Canberra but bought my didgeridoo from a souvenir shop in Sydney, which is closing down near circular quay.

It has 70% on all didgeridoos at the moment.

I payed $135 for mine which was originally $450. It is painted and signed by Karl Hardy.

I was wondering if anybody could tell me if it is a genuine aboriginal made and painted didgeridoo or not...
Or could you give me some tips how I could find out or who i could ask in Canberra?

I would also be interested in what wood was used....Are the wood types easy to distiguish?


I was assured in the shop that it is genuine and it does not look machine made from the inside at all.

I could as well post some pictures if that would help.

Sorry if I posted this in the wrong section.

Thank you for your help,


Adan.

Yes, I guess it would

Hi Adan
Welcome aboard.

The best way to tell if you have an authentic instrument is to educate yourself and you are at a very good place to do so. Just browse thru the section where authenticity is dicussed. By seeing countless authentic instruments, you will develop the feeling fortelling the difference.
With your instrument, I just googled the name and came up with this http://www.didgeridoobreath.com/Product ... D-633-2003

I would not call this instrument really an authentic aboriginal didgeridoo for several reasons..In contrast, some (like the shop you got it from) might claim that it is a genuine one as it was made by an Aboriginal etc but this calls for a long discussion which people got involved in many times on this forum before. So please check back these relevant topics!

I hope you enjoy playing your instrument,

Cheers

Mahir

Karl Hardy is of Aboriginal descent but comes from Queensland if I remember correctly. Some of his instruments are made of bamboo and some are termite hollowed eucalpytus (my very first didj was a bamboo one made by his outfit). I reckon (without having seen pictures of your stick, but from the price alone) that this is a eucalyptus specimen. His sticks are usually painted with a universal splatter or sprayed background in yellow and red with x-ray style cartoony animal depictions on top.

It wouldn't be classed as a traditional instrument, but assuming it is a termite hollowed eucalyptus instrument, would still be considered a didgeridoo (the Aboriginal made bit is contentious and best not discussed here as I'm not sure of Karl's ancestry).

At the end of the day if you like your stick and you can play it well that's what matters now whilst you're beginning.

Welcome to the forum

Kyle

??? I consider sandwich didjes, PVC and vacuum cleaner pipes as didgeridoos as well...
(only joking for vacuum cleaner's pipes)

Ah Fran6co,

I was speaking in regard to it being an 'Aboriginal digeridoo', which is why the next part of the sentence refers to its Aboriginality!

Kyle

Hi Adan - welcome!
FYI two snippets I've found regarding Karl/Carl? Hardy...

"It is hand painted by Karl Hardy. Karl is an aboriginal artist from Northern Territory, Australia."

"Carl (Aboriginal name Barb) comes from the Bundjalung tribe. His family is from the Armidale Area in New South Wales. At a very young age he started 'background' and 'filling' work for his grandmother and developed a very Northern Territories style. Althought only 25 years old, his work has a much more mature feel. He is an accomplished didgeridoo player and historian. His heritage is of prime importance to him."

Bundjalung and other 'bottom end' clan groups are not traditionally associated with the didj, though 'tradition' never stands still - maybe have a look at http://www.ididj.com.au/authenticity/label.html for a quick summary.

As Kyle says, enjoy your new friend!

Hi Adan,

Have a look at the labelling Guan uses. Based on the comments made here, I am sure you can pick one now for your didge.

http://www.ididj.com.au/authenticity/label.html


Cheers

Mahir

Hello people,

thank you all for your great comments and the warm welcome in this forum!

I googled Karl as well and basically found the same than you did. But i suppose only the painting is from him and the didge could come from anywhere.

I think the guy in the shop mentioned the wood ironbark. But I am not entirely sure.

Is there any way of checking that?

It for sure has a great deep full sound and the air comes back really well...It is sooo much fun to play...
Just have to figure out the circular breathing now.....

I will post some pictures later. It basically has a traditional dot pattern like the one posted before:

http://www.didgeridoobreath.com/Product ... D-633-2003

and then one kangaroo a bit further down and a few spaces where you can see the natural wood in between...

Maybe one other question...

My didge is really thick all the way through (although it is even a big thicker at the end). I saw that most didgeridoos are thinner at the mouth and then thicker at the bottom. What difference does that make in terms of the sound or the playing?


Thank you again very much for all your answers!!!!!

Hi Adan
Sounds like it could be ironbark especially if it is really heavy. Some traditional instruments are thick, check out these pics of a Don Weluk mago I have (6.5kg's) + I have added a trad soundfile just to show that even thick instruments can still play well and sound great and have good resonance.

Paul

Hello Paul,

thank you too for your answer.

I did not mean that the wall of the didge is really thick but the diameter. Sorry my english is not the best...

The wall is only about one centimeter or less...But it is indeed pretty heavy:)

I will weight it later when i am at home and send some pics through...

Cheers,

Adan

Hey,

here a couple of photos of the didge.

Please let me know if that could tell you anything about the didge, wood, key, genuineness, sound...etc....

thank you so much !!!

Hey,

I also loaded up one sound example on youtube. One of my first tries with it as i only got it on Sunday so it is reall really poor

I guess i should be happy that at least something comes out of it....

Tips are greatly appreciated

Here it is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzaUGa3KN_E


Ciao,

Adan

Hi Adan

Think you will get a better sound if. 1) you tidy up the mouthpiece a bit, try making it more even (circular) and try a diameter of around 30mm + check there are no air leaks where the wax joins the didge. 2) tighten up your lips a bit so you can make a crisp raspberry sound , they sound a bit loose at the moment, more like the kind of sound a horse makes then I reckon you will start to hear a tighter, crisper sound. This will then use up less air, which will come into good use when you start to learn circular breathing and of course, the didge will be louder.

Well done and keep at it

Hey Paul,

actually my mouthpiece is coming apart a little as well, you might have noticed on the pictures i posted...I opened a new thread regarding to the mouthpiece....


Is there anything else you could tell me about the wood, authenticity and or quality of the didge if you look at the photos?

I would love to know at least a couple of things about my didge and I am kind of still thinking the guy in the shop might have screwed me over

Thank you,

Adan