Hello everyone,
Here’s a little rundown of the Didges I’ve played in chronological order and what I think of them.
1°/ It all started at the end of 2017 with a Crystal Didgeridoo in D# 432Hz, 170 cm long, which I had made by my crystal bowl supplier (I’ve actually still got some to sell!). The one on the left in this photo:
It’s beautiful, it has a really interesting sound, nicely conical with very comfortable back pressure that makes it super easy to play. The hardness and density of the crystal pushed me towards faster playing with heavily accented percussion and really big lip buzzes. Excellent for busking as long as you’re careful with knocks (the crystal is thick but still, it wouldn’t appreciate hitting a paving stone).
I then felt the need to complement it with another instrument, cheaper, lightweight and easy to carry so I could play everywhere and most of all play as often as possible.
2°/ And there I was in 2019, living the Aboriginal dream and buying a Bamboo Kan Ar C’Hoad in D.
This instrument brought me so much because I spent pretty much the whole summer of 2019 playing. Wherever I went, my lightweight and portable bamboo didge came with me. That’s when I really started playing the didgeridoo and wanting to journey with this instrument. Before, I only used it for deep interventions in a sound journey with crystal bowls. But there I really wanted to journey with it and that’s when the great love story begins.
3°/ The months pass, I slowly develop my playing and start playing with other people. Then comes the desire for a slide didgeridoo and I fall head over heels for one on Didgeridoo passion: this Carlidooscope in apple wood that goes from F to C# (it’s also the one we see on the right of the photo above).
I took great pleasure in playing this instrument and even today I use it to play in groups or accompany Kirtans for example. Its adjustable side is really nice!
But here’s the thing: as Gauthier explains very well, slide didgeridoos are more flexible but have less character. And the toots aren’t always well in tune depending on the note. And when I was blowing, my mouth was in contact with metal which was much less pleasant for me than blowing into wood.
4°/ Also added at that time was a travel didgeridoo with the idea of being able to take an instrument on a plane. The choice was obvious: an Air Didg to complete what was starting to seriously look like a collection. Even today, whenever I go somewhere (camping, hiking, festival, trip) the Air Didg comes along and while it certainly doesn’t have as good a sound as a wooden or even crystal didge, it’s still frankly respectable and its around 500 gr and approximately 40 cm when folded are just perfect. It’s also with this instrument that I discover with immense pleasure deeper notes like A which speaks to me enormously.
5°/ A new crush arrives with this HempStone in hemp stone in C, 196 cm. It’s beautiful, it’s extremely solid, it couldn’t care less about hydrothermal variations (and when you move around a lot and transport your instruments in a converted van that’s a very important quality), it has its mesmerizing and powerful low end, a conical shape and the hardness of the material gives it exceptional responsiveness. Its bass, power, 1st hoot at the octave, depth and speed. It has everything. A real love at first sight that I very very warmly recommend.
6°/ I got a taste of quality and I can sometimes be quite determined. I want to get into playing a didge with an open air column. This time I decide to really empty my piggy bank, I want an instrument that will travel far and long with me, custom-made by an accomplished maker who works with local woods, in low A, in wood and thus with an open air column. And that’s how I order an Evoludidg from Chris at Didgelement with a low A in open column and a B in conical, in service tree:
And there, it’s just another dimension! An exceptional instrument! A key in low B but yet extremely dynamic and responsive. A key in open A with a sound of such richness and depth it’s just mind-blowing and once it’s warm it handles accelerations really well. Playing with this instrument is making me progress a lot and when I go back to the hemp or the conical B, it feels like I’ve progressed as much as after a year of work in just one month. A real joy! That one too I very very warmly recommend!
There we go for the « little » tour of what I’m blowing into 
