Interesting how many opinions can be possible with such a simple (at first glance!) instrument. I used to feel the same way you do when I only worked with Agave and plastic. Both of which can be very similar to an Epoxy coated leather stick(in my opinion!) Having spent many years working with wood, my perception has changed. Though again, it is only my perception and I do not wish to convince you that my reality is more valid than yers!

As a buffer to anyone who might read this and not know me.. I am routinely baffled by what causes some sticks to play the way that they do. I have played thousands of sticks and stared down the bores of almost everyone I have ever touched. Many of them play in ways I never would have expected. Chuck Wilson has a leather didj that plays like it should be made out of a super dense hardwood(to my ears). I have no idea what causes it to play the way it does. I regularly create sticks that play in an unexpected manner and I fully believe that the surest way to not know anything, is to think you know everything!

Would be nice to see some other crafters jump in with their two cents.

Anyway, the most striking anecdotal experience I can offer is from some Wild Cherry logs I got hold of a few years back. They were growing in a large grove that was cleared by the homeowner. Trees growing right next to one another had completely different characteristics. I made sticks with nearly identical bores and wall thicknesses with the same finishing schedule.

I use calipers to measure my wall thickness and the bore diameter, so I know they were virtually identical. They would play the same pitch, but have (to my ears) completely different tonal qualities. The 'playability' was similar, the sound was not. I also found that I used them for different songs. The weight of the finished instruments was different. The disparity in how my tooling worked the woods was evident. The soil is all I can imagine would cause this, as the trees were of similar maturity and harvested/cured at the same time. I suppose wind/gravity could have affected the trees in different ways as well.

I use lots of different woods and this is a fact(in my world!) - A didj made out of Elm (with a virtually identical shape) is nothing at all like a didj made out of Cherry Plum. The Cherry Plum stick would weigh almost three times what the Elm would weigh with the same wall thickness. I know this from having made sticks to examine this very trait. I hope that this is not coming off as combative? If so, I can assure you it was not my intention!

I will take this on as a project for next years JT. I will bring a didj made from Balsa and a Didj from Ebony(or similar wood). They will have the same bore profile/diameter and the same wall thickness. Then we can play em! I think that sounds fun and I thank you for the inspiration!

I know similar debates rage in the world of guitars involving 'Tone" woods. Some say it is meaningless, to others it is all that matters... is there a right or wrong? Who knows!

As an aside and out of curiosity, how long have you been playing/how many sticks have you made and from what materials?