Electronic Darbukas, Pads, Apps and Sample Libraries

PER-087 Is there an electronic darbuka I can practice on quietly? #

Not as such: there’s no mainstream dedicated “electronic darbuka”. What people use instead is a hand-percussion pad, most often Roland’s HandSonic HPD-20. It has 13 pads and around 850 onboard world and ethnic percussion sounds, and it lets you import your own samples, including recordings of your own darbuka. It responds to hand techniques and will trigger virtual instruments in a DAW. The other route is MIDI finger-drum pads with a darbuka sample library.

PER-088 What darbuka sample libraries and plugins are there? #

A few to look at:

• Best Service Arabic Percussion Darbuka: about $49, VST3/AU/AAX. Clay and metal darbukas, with MIDI grooves by Bassam Ayoub.
• Volko Audio darbuka-nut: a darbuka instrument plugin with several styles and MIDI rhythms.
• Free: a SoundProps darbuka for the full version of Kontakt, a free Egyptian darabuka Kontakt library, and free darbuka multi-samples from Coyotus.

Broader world-percussion packages such as Drumwavy include darbuka as well.

PER-089 Are there darbuka rhythm apps for practice? #

Yes. Darbuka Beats (by Sonic Market), for iPad, iPhone and Apple-silicon Macs, is a rhythm machine with 30+ traditional rhythms including maqsoum, saidi, baladi and chiftetelli. It has intros, fills and endings, plus AUv3 plugin support, MIDI and Ableton Link, and it’s free with inexpensive in-app purchases. An app like this is genuinely useful for practising your fills and solos over a groove that refuses to drift.

PER-090 Can I use samples of my own darbuka live? #

Yes. Load your own recorded strokes into a pad like the HandSonic or into a sampler, or fire them from triggers mounted on your acoustic drum. It’s a good way to add a huge bass dum, an effect, or another instrument entirely in the middle of a set. Plenty of modern fusion players mix acoustic playing with triggered samples and loops like this.

PER-091 Will practicing on an electronic pad ruin my technique? #

It can change your touch, because a pad doesn’t respond the way a real head does. Rolls, split-hand work and the subtle finger sounds don’t transfer across properly. Use a pad for quiet practice, for composing and for live effects, but keep putting regular hours in on an acoustic drum. That’s where your technique and your sound actually come from.

PER-092 Can I use a loop pedal with darbuka? #

Absolutely, and a lot of solo performers do. You build it up in layers: a dum-tak groove first, then fills, then maybe a frame drum or a melody, and you solo over the top. You’ll need a mic or a pickup going into the looper, and solid time, because everything sits on that first bar and a sloppy one ruins the whole loop.

PER-159 Is the Korg Wavedrum good for darbuka players? #

Many hand drummers love it, because you’re playing a real head and rim with your hands and fingers. Korg made a limited “Oriental” edition loaded with Arabic percussion sounds. Go in knowing the practicalities, though: the Wavedrum is discontinued, so you’ll be buying used, often imported from Japan and possibly with customs charges on top. Owners on DFO also mention limited MIDI, a daunting editing system, and some head delamination on older units.

PER-160 What do HandSonic owners complain about? #

The HPD-20 is widely liked, but a DFO reviewer reported occasional unintended full-volume hits when you strike a pad with several fingers at once, brush sounds that don’t respond to pressure, and some features lost compared with the older HPD-10. That first one matters for darbuka players, since our technique is all multiple fingers. Try one with your own hands before you buy if you possibly can. Adjusting the pad sensitivity settings reduces the volume spikes, but may not remove them.

CMP-040 Is there an electronic darbuka? #

Yes, in a few forms: dedicated electronic goblet-shaped drums with built-in sounds or triggers, hand-percussion pads such as the Roland HandSonic, and apps or plug-ins that play sampled darbuka sounds. None of them matches the feel of a real head, but they’re useful for silent practice, recording and live sound design.

CMP-041 Can a Roland HandSonic replace a darbuka? #

It can cover a darbuka’s job, but it isn’t the same instrument. The HandSonic HPD-20 is a pad-based hand-percussion controller: about 850 built-in sounds from around the world, silicone pads you play with your hands, a headphone output for quiet practice, MIDI, and the option of loading your own samples by USB. It’s excellent for a gig that needs a dozen percussion sounds out of one box. What you can’t do on flat pads is learn real darbuka rolls, head muting or tone.

CMP-042 Can I practise darbuka silently with headphones? #

Only with an electronic instrument or pad: a HandSonic, a MIDI pad controller, or an electronic darbuka with a headphone jack. An acoustic darbuka can be dampened, but it can’t be silenced.

CMP-043 Are there darbuka apps for phones and tablets? #

Yes, plenty, on both iOS and Android: tap-pad darbuka apps with recording, loops and a metronome, some with MIDI and AUv3 support for production work. They’re good fun for learning rhythm names and sketching grooves. Just be clear with yourself that tapping glass builds no drum technique at all.

CMP-044 Are there darbuka sample libraries or VST plug-ins for producers? #

Yes. Volko Audio, for example, released a free darbuka instrument (“darbuka-nut”) with multi-sampled articulations and preset MIDI grooves in VST, AU and RTAS formats, cleared for commercial use. Commercial world-percussion libraries usually include doumbek or darbuka patches too. If you want it to sound real, program the dum, tek and ka as separate articulations and vary the velocity.

CMP-045 Can I trigger samples from a real darbuka? #

Yes. Some players fit acoustic drum triggers or contact microphones to a darbuka and send the signal to a drum module or sampler. It works, but tight, fast finger strokes will double-trigger if the sensitivity isn’t set carefully, so budget some time for that.

CMP-117 Are there darbuka VST plug-ins recorded by real darbuka masters? #

Yes. Wizoo’s Darbuka plug-in (reviewed in Sound On Sound) features real performances by Suat Borazan and Mohamed Zaki, and alongside the darbuka it gives you doholla, bendir, riq, sagat and other percussion, plus a groove engine for arranging patterns. Best Service/Engine Audio sell Arabic Percussion: Darbuka, with clay and metal drum tones and pre-made MIDI grooves. Both are in addition to the free Volko darbuka mentioned above.

CMP-118 Is there a finger-drumming pad that feels better than a phone app? #

Hand percussionists liked the Keith McMillen BopPad, a 10-inch round pad with a smart-fabric sensor under a rubbery surface. It reads velocity, position and pressure across four zones, and reviewers rated it for hand and finger drumming. Some retailers have since listed it as discontinued, so it’s mostly a second-hand find now. MIDI pad controllers and the Roland HandSonic are the other common routes.

CMP-119 Has the Roland HandSonic HPD-20 been replaced by a newer model? #

No. When we checked in 2026, Roland still listed and supported the HPD-20 with downloads and updates, and there was no announced successor. A 2023 Drum Forum thread reached the same conclusion: it’s a niche product, so users didn’t expect a new version any time soon. Check Roland’s site for the current status before you buy used.

CMP-120 Can I put a mesh head on my darbuka to practise quietly? #

Probably not. Mesh heads such as Remo Silentstroke, Evans SoundOff and the RTOM low-volume heads are made in drum-kit sizes (10, 12, 14 inches and so on), and we couldn’t find a mainstream mesh head made for the roughly 8.75-inch darbuka size. Some players experiment on a Turkish-style drum with a standard head size, but it isn’t a common product. For quiet practice, a towel inside the drum or an electronic pad is still the usual answer.