amiel's blog

About Us...

ECDC is a drum company founded on a passion for the the creative process of designing and building percussion instruments. Much like a musician writes, plays, and performs their music as an integral part of their lifestyle, building is my creative outlet. I approach my workshop and tools with the same passion a musician approaches the stage and their instrument. 

Developing, testing, and refining products is part of the everyday process at ECDC, not a one time event. You can see this in the progress of the product line, rarely will you see a model one year that isn't even better the next. Some great designs have come out of the workshop, but there is no such thing as a design that can't be improved - so I keep it fresh.

It is an honor to have the opportunity to build instruments for musicians who have the same passion for their craft as I do mine - it's hard for me to imagine a more complimentary pairing of skill sets. If you own an ECDC product, you own a signed piece, and you know who the builder is, what his principles are, and you most likely worked directly with him to find a drum that is your perfect match. An that's the way I intend to keep it. Thanks to all those across North America and beyond who have supported my work and enabled me to do what I love. 

-Amiel Leblanc

 

 

ECDC drums are constructed using stave lamination, an ancient art used in barrel making that remains on the cutting edge of manufacturing today for stability, consistency, and strength. There is no wood movement, cracking, or going out of round using this method if you start with good materials.

The workshop is always full of ongoing projects at various stages. Wood is allowed to rest for a period in between each stage of machining to ensure accurate assembly. We build with only the highest quality kiln-dried woods.

Hand drums are where I started out as a builder, and I remain fascinated with instruments of wood and skin. Turning wood is as much a creative outlet as playing music, and I love to build interesting and unique pieces. The large lathe has a capacity of 28", with a 4 foot bed, I had it custom built for drum building. Shoot us your ideas!

Our stave shells are built from rough kiln-dried lumber right in our shop, giving you the ultimate in custom options. You're limited only by your imagination, we cut, glue, and turn your shells to your desired specs.

One of my favorite parts of hand drum construction - the final lacing and fine tuning. Now it's time to hear it's voice!

Final finishing is done on-site in our spray booth, with your choice of finishes. All ECDC nameplates feature our proprietary logo in solid locally cast pewter attached with brass screws.

 

About our hand drums...

Sun-dried natural African goatskins are hand picked and mounted on beautiful lathe turned wooden shells. The shells for this series are crafted using our unique "Fatbelly" design, which is much more complicated to build but gives a more traditional shape with a noticeable improvement in the definition between high and low range sounds. The bearing edge is turned perfectly on each drum, for comfort and purity of tone. The finest low stretch cord is used and the 1/4" steel rings are hand rolled in-shop to match each drum. Woods used are listed beside the pictures, as they will always change. These drums are a pleasure to feel and a joy to play.

We offer a full line of hand drums, from 8" ashikos to monster 14" Fatbelly Djembes. We use the best rope, kiln dried wood, and skins available. If you can dream it up, we'd love to build it for you!

Gallery of recently sold hand drums

The market is flooded with low-quality Djembes these days, with builders cutting corners on rope quality, skin quality, finish, and detail to be cheaper than the next guy. Importers are underpaying craftsmen in less developed countries and lower quality drums are the result. ECDC's Craftsman Series Djembes offer the finest in North American quality. Combining art and craftsmanship, these Djembes are custom made by drumcrafter Amiel Leblanc.
 

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