This Meinl tambourine has a nice, crisp and loud sound. It has a great quality feel to it and feels good sits really good in my mid-sized hands. It is not too heavy, although I have played some lighter tambourines similar in style. For me, the only draw back of this nice sounding tambourine is that it really is too loud for home recording studio use. It really is a great sound, but I think that many home recorders will agree that a less loud tambourine, probably single-row, is better in this type of situation. However, I am sure this one would be great for live applications!