Superficial sonic similarities with the djembe relate to the goatskin head it has in common with it, but the longer, cylinder form of the ashiko drum makes the bass tone “deeper” than that of the bowl-shaped djembe, while in general the sounds – most speak of three different tones of the ashiko – are different (a bit softer) when compared to the djembe. That is especially true of one uses traditional technique to play the drum. Some percussionists argue that the ashiko knows more "middle tones" when compared to the djembe.