Hand drum and djembe repair.
Djembe, congas, bongos, and world percussion.
Djembes, congas, bongos, bodhrans, talking drums, and frame drums, rope-tuned or mechanical. We replace heads, retune, and restore, and we take on the vintage and sentimental instruments other shops will not touch. Not near us? Virtual Repair puts a technician on a video call and ships you the parts.
Trusted by directors, players, and programs across Texas and North Carolina
The drums other shops turn away
A hand drum is usually personal: brought back from a trip, handed down, played for years. We treat it that way, and we say honestly what is worth doing before we start.
“Bono Percussion recently helped me replace my worn out Djembe head. I purchased this Djembe in Ghana 10 years ago. And it sounds just as good now as it did the day I purchased.”
Kyle Maxwell-Doherty
Djembe head
“When Rich took the old skins off, one of the drums literally fell apart. For a slight extra fee, he reglued the drum and put the new skin on the heads. The sound is better than it was in 1957!”
Karyn Traut, Perihelion Theater Company
Vintage bongos
“Thank you, Rich, at Bono percussion for your time, care and expertise repairing my instrument yesterday. A huge thank you, and a big endorsement for your virtual repair service!”
Joley Cragg
Virtual Repair
A 30-day guarantee
If the head is not seated right or the tuning has not held within 30 days, we make it right for free, at the workshop or over video.
Anywhere in the country
Drop your drum with a technician in one of six metros, or handle it over video with Virtual Repair - a call, step by step, parts in the mail.
Djembe, conga, and bongo repair
And a lot of other drums with a skin on them. There are world percussion drums we have not had our hands on yet - if yours is one, we are glad to talk it through and work out whether we can help. One drum or a whole collection, the same team handles it. Open a section below for the detail.
| Drum type | What the job covers |
|---|---|
| Djembe | Head replacement and tune-ups on rope-tuned and mechanical djembes, including a full rope re-pull where it is needed. |
| Congas and bongos | New heads, custom sizes, hardware, and tuning for wood or fiberglass shells. |
| Bodhran, frame drums, and talking drums | Head fitting, retuning, and hardware for Irish, West African, and hand-held frame drums. |
| Vintage and sentimental drums | Reglue, restoration, and re-heading for old and one-of-a-kind instruments, after an honest look at what is realistic. |
- You send photos of the drum and the damage, and the make and model if it has one.
- We tell you honestly what is worth doing, and send a clear estimate before anything is scheduled.
- We source the skin, rope, or hardware for your drum.
- A technician does the work at the workshop, or walks you through it on a video call if the drum stays with you.
- The drum is cleaned, the new head tuned, and rope-tuned drums pulled up to pitch before it goes back to you.
- You are covered by the 30-day guarantee.
| Service | Price |
|---|---|
| Djembe head replacement | $175 |
| Djembe tune-up | $95 |
| Conga head (custom-made size $85) | $65 |
| Bongo head (custom-made size $75) | $55 |
| Bodhran, frame drum, or kpanlogo | $165 |
| Talking drum tune-up | $75 |
Reglue and restoration work on a cracked or failing shell is quoted after we see it, and nothing starts until you have approved the plan and the price. The full itemized price list is on the repairs and services page.
A few we're proud of
A set of bongos from 1957
A player brought us bongos she had been given for her 13th birthday in 1957, punctured in one spot. When the old skins came off, one drum literally fell apart. We reglued the shell, fitted new skins, and handed them back. Her words: they sound better than they did in 1957.
A djembe carried back from Ghana
A customer bought a djembe in Ghana and played it for a decade until the head wore out. We replaced it and pulled it back up to pitch. He says it sounds just as good now as the day he bought it.
A repair with no shop in sight
Not every player has a percussion tech within driving distance. On a video call we can diagnose the drum and talk an owner through the simpler fixes step by step - raising the pitch on a djembe, a small frame repair. A full reheading is a lot to do over video and we will say so, but if you have started one yourself and hit a wall, we can jump on a call and get you unstuck. See Virtual Repair.
A cracked djembe shell, made solid again
A djembe came in with a crack running along the shell. We fixed the crack and blended the color in to match - the drum was good to go. Before and after below.
Common questions
A djembe head replacement is $175, and a djembe tune-up on its own is $95. Conga heads are $65, or $85 for a custom-made size. Bongo heads are $55, or $75 custom. Bodhran, frame drum, and kpanlogo work is $165. Vintage or damaged shells are quoted after we see photos.
Yes. Re-heading a rope-tuned djembe means fitting the skin, replacing the rope if it is worn, and doing a full pull to bring it up to pitch, not just swapping the head. Bolt-tuned djembes are more straightforward.
Yes. A set of bongos from 1957, a djembe carried back from Ghana, a drum a family member played - we take the instruments other shops turn away, and we tell you honestly before we start what is realistic.
Drop the drum with one of our technicians in Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, Raleigh, Greensboro, or Charlotte, or handle it over video. Virtual Repair puts a technician on a video call, walks you through the fix step by step, and ships you the parts. We usually steer you away from mailing a drum to us - a skin fitted in one climate can shift in pitch once the drum travels somewhere with different humidity, so it is better to have the head done where the drum lives.
Yes, and talking drums, frame drums, and bodhrans - heads, hardware, rope, and tuning.
Where we work
A technician lives in Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, Raleigh, Greensboro, and Charlotte - drop your drum off with any of them. Anywhere else in the country, Virtual Repair handles it over video with parts shipped to your door. Tell us where you are.
Tell us what you've got
Send a photo of the drum and the damage and we'll come back with an honest read and a clear price before any work starts. You're covered by our 30-day guarantee.