I had a friend ask me the other day where to purchase a good Djembe. There are ton's of auctions for Djembe's on Ebay, but I don't recommend this as a source since the quality of Djembe's can be so varied. There are very few sources from which I will purchase a drum site unseen. However, of those sources here are my recommendations:
Drumskull Drums (in Santa Cruz, CA), which also has a great listing of classes/workshops in Northern California.
Mountain Rhythm (in Canada), which feature a unique/patented drum tuning mechanism. Note that you can find Mountain Rhythm drums for sale on Ebay, probably a good choice. They don't make any bad drums.
If you have the opportunity to travel to Santa Cruz, you can also visit Rhythm Fusion (downtown Santa Cruz) and play their inventory of drums (and other wonderful world instruments). This where I bought my first Djembe. However, if you're going to make the drive, make sure that you give the guys at Drumskull a call as well and stop by their place (it's not really a store...).
Finally, if you live on the peninsula, I recommend contacting Richard Saasta of Rhythmic Intentions. I met Richard through the Peninsula Pulse Drum Circle and he makes wonderful drums. I also had him make a custom Djembe stand for me (pictured in the image to the left), so that I can play standing up at the drum circle. Richard takes the a basic shell (which he buys wholesale from Drumskulls) and then finishes and carves the shell before skinning it. He has a nice inventory of drums available and is happy to let you "try out" a drum at the monthly Peninsula Pulse drum circle before you purchase a drum. (Tell him Mike sent you...) :-)
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