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Munz&Simonsen Taikos and Accessories – Equipment for Professionals

Taiko originates from Japan, where it is rooted deeply in spiritual rites and in thousands of years old traditions. This fascinating form of drumming is becoming more and more widely known and increasingly popular, partly through the worldwide touring Japanese Taiko groups Ondekoza, Kodo, Wadaiko Yamato or Tao. Despite it taking many years of committed practice to learn this art of drumming a number of professional Taiko groups exists meanwhile nevertheless. They play with a high level of skill and some also offer courses and workshops.

At the heart of any Taiko group are the barrel drums of varying sizes called ‘Miya’ or ‘Nagado Daikos’. Traditionally the drum bodies of Japanese Taikos are fashioned out of a segment of the Zelkova tree (indigenous Japanese elm tree related to our European Elm). The manufacturing process is highly labour intensive, and requires not only a lot of time but also trees with relevant diameter. These are becoming increasingly rare to find. Because of this even in Japan the body is increasingly made in stave construction.

In collaboration with various Taiko groups we developed over the last few years the Munz&Simonsen Taikos, which in look, quality and sound are comparable to Japanese drums. As the originals they are also very durable. We only use high-grade and tested materials from Germany, which are processed with care and expertise in our workshop.

The body of each Munz&Simonsen Taiko is made up of tensionless glued staves of choice elm wood. Tensionless means that the shape of the segments is cut with a band saw from a solid plank thus creating the final shape of the drum being build. With a circle saw flush fitting angles are cut into the seasoned and carefully dried segments. As a result the drum body is so stable that additional stabilising with iron bands is not required. After gluing the raw drum bodies are turned on the outside on a lathe (as long as the maximum diameter is not above 80 cm). Because of this the drum is in perfect round and the bearing edges can be precisely and evenly profiled.

The oiled surface brings out the grain of the solid staves in a naturally. Alternatively we offer the drums in traditional Japanese style red-stained surface.

As drum heads we use high quality hides from indigenous “Rotbunte Allgäuer” cattle and Irish oxen, which will last for years even under most intensive use.

Each drum is an individual item, which will stay being a joy to play even when used intensively on a daily basis over the years. A number of groups already use drums by Munz&Simonsen in their setup.

As a standard we build our Miya daikos in head diameters of 42, 47 and 52 cm. On request we will manufacture other sizes. If desired you can order the drums Japanese red-stained and with specially engineered handles, which are designed to avoid rattling whilst playing. Please don’t hesitate to call us we will readily assist you.

Returns Policy: Should you not be satisfied with your instrument you can return it to us within 14 days. Please note our general Terms & Conditions.

For customers who want to built their own taiko we facilitate Drum-Building Workshops » and also offer with our prefabricated unfinished drum bodies a good base to build your own high quality instrument. More info under: Accessories »

Drum Stands: Matching to our Taikos we offer Drum Stands for various traditional drum setups.

Special orders and spares: Owners of Munz&Simonsen products can rely on personal, direct, quick contact and professional advice. We of course re-skin your Taiko if needed and are available for professional repairs as well.

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