How Much Does a Didgeridoo Cost? The Factors Behind the Price

Didgeridoo prices cover a wide range. A buyer browsing online can find one instrument listed at around a hundred dollars and another at several thousand, even though both are made from the same kind of wood. This explainer sets out the main factors behind that range, drawing on a short video from a free buyers guide series in which Benny from Didgeridoo Breath, a didgeridoo retailer, compares two very differently priced instruments.

The material is usually the same

Most traditional didgeridoos are eucalyptus trunks that have been hollowed out by termites. Both instruments in the video fit that description, and both come from the Northern Territory. In other words, the raw material alone does not explain the difference in price. The difference lies in what happens before and after the tree is cut.

Factor one: time and craft

How much time a maker puts in is the first major factor. In the video, the lower-priced instrument (listed at $99 when the video was made) came from a group of makers near Katherine who live close to termite country and can easily find suitable trees. The higher-priced instrument (over $2,000 at the time) came from a maker who may spend a day or two searching deep in the forest for the right tree.

That extra effort continues once the trunk is cut. Work that raises the value of an instrument includes:

• cleaning out the base so the instrument is more resonant
• tuning so the toot, the higher note players can sound above the drone, sits in a perfect octave
• general refinement of how easily and evenly the instrument plays

Factor two: artwork and finish

The second factor is artwork. Some didgeridoos are left plain, while others carry dot artwork or traditional paintings applied with ochre, sometimes using a chewed piece of grass as the brush. How the instrument has been reinforced also plays a part. These details are what can turn an instrument into a special artefact.

The finish affects appearance rather than sound, a point made in a separate video in the same series. A painted instrument costs more because of the artistic work, not because it plays differently.

Sourcing and fair trade

Where and how a retailer buys also shapes the price. Benny explains that his company describes itself as fair trade, buying directly from the artists, with the listed price reflecting the work each artist has done. Prices set this way tend to track the maker’s effort and skill.

Why the differences become easier to see

Benny notes that the factors that push a didgeridoo’s price up become much more obvious the deeper someone goes into playing. To a newcomer, two instruments may look and sound alike. An experienced player will notice differences in resonance, tuning and playability that justify the gap.

Summary

The cost of a didgeridoo mainly reflects the maker’s time in finding and refining the instrument, the artwork on it, and how it was sourced. The full buyers guide series, which covers other topics such as length, mouthpiece and finish, is published by Didgeridoo Dojo.