Remo HD-8508-00 Fiberskyn Frame Drum, 8"

I ordered two of these and have been using them for about a month and a half now. I purchased them to do neurologic music therapy (NMT) and imitation exercises with our son. Our son receives NMT services at this time to support regulation, motor skills, and hopefully the long term development of his expressive language skills. Although we do spend a great deal of time working on encouraging the latter, for me, as his mom, I know he can still function effectively as an adult given his ability to communicate with his speech device. So I actually consider his overall ability to regulate to be the most important of the things we're working on right now when it comes to helping him function in the world outside of our house. But I spend copious amounts of time encouraging both, and this is one of the things we use. I purchased these specifically because they are more similar to the ones used at his clinic, and I thought the visual similarities would help him adjust to them.So these don't see heavy use, because we also have a Remo Lollipop drum that we purchased at the same time which he surprisingly prefers despite its different appearance. I think the reason there is the handle allows him to hold it easier and you can produce a quieter tone on it. For this, how we use it looks like this: I might have him in his swing, and I'm swinging him and singing "The Ants Go Marching..." as I march, and then we bang the drum on the "Boom, Boom, Boom" part. The swinging and the drumming simultaneously increases the impact to his vestibular system, which is one of his black holes of sensory seeking needs. And I will move the drum a bit each time so he has to track it with his eyes. Or I might have him imitate me hitting it while he's spinning on his chair, again for the same reason... that sort of thing. So we use these a couple of times each week, the Lollipop drum is the one he wants to use most days.Thus far we have no condition issues of any kind with them. I do think the sound is fine for what we are doing with them. The top can be cleaned easily enough, although it will stain. One of them already sports a baked Cheetos colored fingerprint stain. Doesn't just about everything in this house by now? ;) I got the 12" because I figured the surface area would be a good size for him to hit, but it wouldn't be too big for him to carry (he's 5), and that's working out well. So overall, we haven't had any problems, and they are working great for what we need it to. I can't say how they would hold up with longer durations of use. For that, I might be worried that the top vellum looking material might separate and crack come from the plastic, but that is only a hypothetical area these could potentially break down based on heavy use. At this point 1.5 months in, everything still looks great and sounds the way we need it to.

My music therapist has a frame drum with a lot of sustain and resonance. So I decided to buy me a frame drum to add to my musical instrument collection. I’ve taken it out by the river and played it out in nature while singing along with the drum. I also use it in my music therapy sessions at home. I haven’t brought it into the clinic yet.

I use small percussion in my recordings of classical guitar and ukulele music and bought the 12" and 8" frame drums to add a little color and drive. I play them with lightly with bare fingers and hand and it sounds great: plenty of overtones and endless timbre possibilities. With a close mic I get a conga to bongo like tone and surprisingly deep tones in the center of the head with brighter higher tones on the rim. Both are well made, an easy carry and goes well with temple blocks, claves, chimes and other hand percussion. The the higher pitched 8" drum mixes better with guitars and ukulele and I can play it actively like bongos. The 12" is deeper pitched, like the tom on a drum kit, and must be used sparingly as it has falls square in the guitar's main range. Both are great little drums.

I like the sound and the feel of the drum. I like that it is Remo brand, as this is a brand of drums that I trust. The biggest thing I dislike about this product is the size. I got the smallest one because it was obviously the least expensive, and on top of that, it was on sale, but it is a little smaller than I might prefer. It can be fairly loud, which I like. You can use just one finger even, and the sound is still great. I already had the Remo Paddle Drum, and it is not as sensorily reinforcing as that drum, but it is also a lot cheaper.

My 10-month old grandson was going around drumming on everything. When he got this, he is drumming with drum sticks just like a drummer would do on it. It’s like he was born to do this and he is drumming on it everyday and especially when music is playing.

I used acrylic paint markers to decorate it and the surface took them well. It produces a really nice sound. Overall, an affordable solid drum that’s great for shamanic work

I wanted a good beginner bodhrain for my young cousin. He enjoys playing mine, but it is a bit too large for him, and given that he has a tendency to hit it rather hard, I was afraid he might tear the animal skin. Ordered this one for him for Christmas and it is perfect! He is six years old and this one is just the right size for him. Also, the fiberskyn is more durable than a true animal skin, which is a good idea for a child. The sound quality is surprisingly good and I enjoyed playing it myself! Would be a great drum to travel with if you didn't want to take your larger drum on trips. Great value for the price. Highly recommend!

This is great value for the money. The synthetic head offers a solid, fairly loud, ringing tone when struck. I first used it outdoors with a drum group on a 45-degree (F) evening, and it held its own. Other drummers who gave it a go liked it.The drum cannot be tuned. Mine arrived with an approximate C# pitch, which might be a factor only if you are insistent that all your drums are tuned to each other (for whatever reason).