Timbal - Purchase advice

Timbal - Brazilian percussion blog
Tips and information to keep in mind when buying a timbal: size, material, rim... All you should know before buy your instrument.


Which size?

Timbals are available in various sizes,- in order to find out which timbal is the right one for you, you should regard following aspects:

  • If you are mainly interested in achieving a strong bass sound, you should choose a timbal with a diameter of 13" or 14". The timbal typical strong opens and slaps are also easier to achieve with a larger diameter.
  • We therefore recommend to choose your timbal as large as possible!
  • A height of 70cm is suitable for a person up to 1,68m, if you are larger than 1,78m you should get a timbal with 90cm height, - 80 or 85cm is a good inbetween.
  • You should also consider in which position you want to play your timbal, - at the height of your hips or rather lower.


Wood or aluminium?

Decision criteria are weight, sound and visual appearance.
  • the weights differ depending on the manufacturers, but in general one can say: aluminium timbals weigh less than wooden timbals, but nevertheless are able to sustain the impacts created by extremely high tuning.
  • the sound of aluminium timbals is sharp and rather dirty. Wooden timbals have softer overtones and less sustain.
  • aluminium timbals always have a polished, shiny finishing.
  • wooden timbals are offered in various colors with a shiny or matt surface.
Which rim?

The most timbals are equiped with a rounded comfort rim. With a good playing technique you will also get along with a simple rounded 4-6mm iron ring, which on the other hand is not applicable for higher tuning.

2 comments:

  1. How do you play the ginga timbau as it looks as though you are hitting directly on the metal ring ?

    ReplyDelete
  2. How do you play the ginga timbau as it looks as though you are hitting directly on the metal ring ?

    ReplyDelete