How to Select a Didgeridoo

Genuine didgeridoos are only found in northern parts of Australia. It is our company's policy to support the Aboriginal cause by offering only didgeridoos made by the Aboriginal people.

Determining Sound Quality

There are five basic sound qualities:

2nd - 2nd class sound quality
1st - 1st class sound quality
Cl - Low concert class sound quality
Cm - Medium class concert sound quality
Ch - High concert class sound quality

Each didj is tested against other didjs of the same key to ensure consistent quality and standards. While 2nd class didjs are available elsewhere, Omnivos Therapeutics will not carry them because the clarity of sound will not be acceptable to practitioners and muscians.

1st class sound quality didjes

The first class didjes have a good clear sound superior to the majority of genuine termite hollowed didgeridoos on the world market. The 1st class didjes are comparable in sound quality to PVC pipes, except that they have a nice wooden sound rather than a 'plastic sound'.

Note: If you want to learn playing didj and/or circular breathing attempt to do so only on a real didj if you can be sure it's a good one. Many people who believe they cannot learn to play the didj don't realize that the problem is the didj they are trying to learn on.

Concert Class Sound Quality

The Concert Class Didjs are divided into three sub groups as there are still vast differences. All the concert class didjes are of good enough quality to be used on stage or in recordings.

Low Concert Class

The low concert class didjes are guaranteed to be of better sound quality than a PVC pipe and as good or better than most didjes used by didj players around the world. Omnivos Therapeutics does not carry Low Concert Class because the price difference between Low and Medium is not that much but the quality difference between the two is noticeable.

didgeridoo

Lewis (Ewamian tribe) and
Willanjirri, Dunjgar tribe

Medium Concert Class

The medium concert class didges are as good or better than most didjes used in recordings and performances. To be classified as a didj medium concert, it has to rate 4 out of 5 in most sound attributes and cannot have less than a 4 in either clarity or resonance. We guarantee that any professional didj player will be satisfied with their quality.

High Concert Class

These have excellent sound quality and we guarantee that any professional didj player will be thrilled with their quality. They represent the best 1-2% of didjes made. These didgeridoos sell very quickly. If you do not see one listed, let us know. We'll find what you are looking for.

How we Judge Sound Quality

Back Pressure

Some didgeridoo need a lot of air to play and are therefore much more demanding on the player. They are less desirable than a didgeridoo with high back pressure of the same sound quality. The higher the back pressure, the longer you can play between breath and the easier it is to learn circular breathing. This is the most important criterion for beginners.

Clarity

Clarity denotes the clarity of the sound. Many didgeridoos have a dull, muffled or flat sound. They are 2nd quality didgeridoo. For us, this is the most important measure of overall sound quality.

Resonance

Resonance indentifies the fullness of sound and is a measure of the strength of a didjeridoo's vibration. If you have a good sub woofer you can feel it. This is a definite prerequisite for any didj used in sound healing and our second most important criterion for overall sound quality.

Loudness

A measure of the volume of the didjeridoo. We measure this with a decibel meter.

didgeridoo

Lewis (Ewamian tribe) and
Peter, Girramiy tribe

Vocals

The didgeridoo's ability to produce different sound variations and vocal sounds (some didjeridoos are good at reproducing many different overtones, but not so good at vocals).

Overtones

The ability of the didgeridoo to produce different sounds at the same time - referred to as overtones or harmonics. These are usually produced by playing around with the tip of the tongue just behind the opening in the lips while playing the didj.

Speed

Indicates how fast or slow a didj can be played. Some didjes, especially longer ones, have to be played slow while others, especially short ones, have to be played fast. And others can be played either slow or fast.

Finishes

Bells

Bells are didgjeridoos which are flared or tapered towards the bottom. Bells look great and usually result in better sound and/or easier playing. The selection currently online have bottom diameters between 120 and 150mm.

didgeridoo

Bell Didgeridoo

Bark Didjes

Bark didjes are left in their natural bark. Only Ironbark Eucalypts are used for these as their bark is very hard and durable. In order to leave a didj in its bark it has to be eaten by the termites just right as otherwise they would be very heavy. Consequently these are very rare.

Burnt Didgeridoos

On these Didgeridoos artwork is burned into the wood. Aboriginals developed this art form by heating pointed rocks or metal spikes in the fire and then pushing them into wood.

Burnt Didgeridoo

Beginners

To learn circular breathing, you want to have a didj with very good back pressure, so you don't need so much air to keep it going. Our 'cheap learners' are a selection of affordable beginners didjes. All of these Didgeridoos are guaranteed to have a clear sound and very good back pressure.

Concert Learners

Many of our medium or high concert didgeridoos are also good to learn circular breathing. So if you're looking for a didj to learn on - but also want a didj you'll never tire of - these didgeridoos are what you seek.

Fine Art Didgeridoos These are didjes with some of the finest Aboriginal art available. All artwork is by Australian Aboriginal people.

Painted Didgeridoo

Forks

Forks are didjes with two hollow branches going into one trunk. If the junction is in the lower half of the didj, it can usually be played by two people at the same time. All Forks allow a single player to switch between two keys while blowing into one mouthpiece. This is achieved by opening or closing the other mouthpiece of the fork with your hand while playing.

Great Players

This is a selection of what we call medium or high concert didjes. We're certain these didjes are among the best in the world. If you're looking for a Didgeridoo to use for performance or recording - or simply want to own one of the best didgeridoos available, this selection is for you!

Healing Didgeridoos

We select our healing didjes to have a very good resonance and to be light enough to move around with.

Long Didgeridoos

Here you can find didjes which are 6' long or more (over 180cm). Generally these are didgeridoos with deeper sounds, but they are harder to play than shorter didjes. Not recommended for beginners.

Rare Keys

These are didgeridoos in musical keys which are hard to find. We consider high A, high F, high E, low A, low G#, low G, low F# and low F to be rare keys. The Long Didjeridoos play the lower keys.

Travelers Didgeridoos

Extra light didjes to lighten the load without compromising sound quality. Travelers Didjes are also excellent for didj healing work. All Healing Didjes are also great travelers.

Selecting a Note/Key

Below you find MP3 files for the most common keys a didgeridoo can be in. All those files are recorded using PVC pipes of the same 38mm internal diameter. We have deliberately chosen PVC pipes of the same diameter rather than real wooden didgeridoos for these sample files so you can objectively hear the differences between the possible musical keys. For the same reason all sound files have the same structure: a few seconds of just the base sound, then some overtones and vocals and last the hoot. We believe this is the best way to find out for you which musical key you like the most.

We've included the chakra/note relationship for those who follow the chakra system.

Note	Click	Note	Click
A (3rd Eye)		D #
A # (Pineal)		E (Solar Plexus)
B (Crown)		F (Heart)
C (Root)		F # (Thymus)
C #		G (Throat)
D		G # (Zeal Point)

How Didgeridoos Are Made

A didgeridoo is made from a branch or small trunk from one of several Eucalyptus species which has been naturally hollowed out by termites. In the northern parts of Australia are millions of potential didgeridoos spread over thousands of square kilometers, hidden in living trees as well as in dead trees and branches.

Some cutters, especially non-indigenous cutters, just take a chainsaw and cut hundreds and thousands of trees to find a few hollow ones, leaving carnage behind them. An Aboriginal didgeridoo-maker walks for miles through the bush. Some say they can smell the termites, other can see from the shape of the tree, its leaves etc. which ones are well hollowed. In any case, they cut only hollow trees and take only a few here and there without destroying the forest.

A good didgeridoo maker allows the cut 'sticks' to season for a few months. The bark is then removed and the interior cleaned of the dirt the left by the termites. The outside is sanded and any holes are filled and sealed with a proven material that will expand and contract with the wood of the didgeridoo unlike automotive filler, fiberglass and other products commonly used.

didgeridoo

David, Gunninggurr tribe

The whole of the inside of the didgeridoo is sealed with a minimum of three coats of sealer. The outside of the didgeridoo will be protected by at least four coats of sealer and varnish. This treatment minimizes the possibility of the didgeridoo cracking or splitting. Now the didge needs only a beeswax mouthpiece and is ready to play.

Every didgeridoo we carry is finished off with a comfortable natural beeswax mouthpiece which makes playing much easier. Feel free to make the hole bigger or smaller to suite yourself, it can make it a lot easier for you to play the didgeridoo.

Each didgeridoo put through over 25 processes to ensure that it will not crack or split and comes with a 12 month warranty. Each didgeridoo comes with a small attractive tag guaranteeing you its genuine origins and its quality workmanship.

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