Where do you folks like to purchase your drums? I am fairly new to drumming, but getting to the point where quality makes a difference. I won't be able to go to Pennsic anytime soon. And I have learned to be very wary of Ebay. Any suggestions on suppliers that you guys favor? And also, what to look for (and look out for!) in doumbeks and other drums? Basically what I'm asking is, if I had a decent little wad of money and you were going to take me shopping, where would we go and what would we look at? And what would we avoid? And why?

Purchases I am considering in my future (1-5 years):
A) Doumbek/Darbuka with great resonating sound and tonal range. Synthetic head that can handle humid summer SCA camping. Sturdy construction. Looks matter somewhat, but sound is more important than looks. Needs a responsive head that will still satisfy me as I progress in skill.

B) Riqq. Same basic requirements. Needs to have good quality heavy jingles. (I currently own a piece of worthless crap that has "jingles" that were stamped out of a used "Tiger Bond" adhesive can. So much for "handmade" quality from the middle east) Again, great sounding synthetic head is a must, unless a tunable skin head will be able to keep up with humidity.

C) Frame drum that has all the same qualities again. Something that I can use alternately as a bodhran with a tipper for irish stuff and as a tar/def for hand-drumming ME stuff. I dig a deep resonating bass note.

Are the Fiberskyn and Skyndeep heads by Remo considered to be good heads for SCA use? Can a "tunable" drum with a natural skin manage to stay tight on a humid night outside? For fixed natural heads (like I currently have), is there a way to keep them tight? Or should I leave them at home and just invest in the drums I have mentioned above?

Any advice is welcome,
Juan Diego