drum heads?

[trotsky]

So I was thinking about making a djembe but goatskin is too damned expensive? I head xray film was good but I dunno if there'll be enough friction to make that work. anybody tried out Tyvek for drum heads?

 

[wildboy860]

it wont last too long, if at all!!!! for hand drums goat skin is the way to go! your best bet would be to go to a rainbow gathering, specifically trade circle and somebody there will have a goat skin drum head that they will trade you for something or might possibly just give it to you. or maybe you could talk a goat farmer into giving you a goat skin...

 

[LeeevinKansas]

ive made alot of drums out of old tin cans, or like plastic paint buckets.....take and cover the open side, with electrical tape. or duct tape if you can get the tightness right. i notice putting the tape across the opening like a asterik or star, or 8 point chaos star thing. etc..... works better than putting the tape straight across in parallel strips. it takes practice getting the ...taught..tight? the boncyness...its hard to eplain a lil what im saying. if the tape sags obv theres gonna be no sound. it needs to bounce and rebound from a hit, recoil from a hit, u see what im trying to say ? like a real drum.

i used to own a djembe. the head or watever was actually metal, not skin.
but u can see that just about anything with the right like...recoil-ness, u kinda gotta fuck with shit stretching it out hitting it. kinda using like mechanical skills of some sort in ur head to imagine what the sound would be like over a drum. or bucket. or tin can. etc.

if i was going to make a djembe or if u already own one id recommend heavy duty electrical tape. just get it thin. if u can. plastic can work too but it has to be something like . a pool cover. thin pool covers work great.

also if you do a sandwich of tape, sheet(experiment with papers, plastics), tape....u can find different sounds and shit.

 

[Joni]

So I was thinking about making a djembe but goatskin is too damned expensive? I head xray film was good but I dunno if there'll be enough friction to make that work. anybody tried out Tyvek for drum heads?

tyvek will work. tested some stuff and its wicked strong for tension. xray film i would try but be careful with.


well anything will work if it doesn't blow apart when you string up the head. mylar or the like is the way to go if you're traveling. goatskin is a funny material to work with. it takes lots of water to string one up. like pool, lake, large bucket. the drum head material is just plain old raw hide of whatever animal really. remember you're making something that is made in africa/third world country. they even reuse tire treads for shoes that come of big trucks for sandals. everything gets recycled. i digress... drums... yeah.... i have made a few, drummed for belly dance troupes etc. the thinner material you use the more responsive it will be. if i could get my hands on a fish skin big enough, i would go with that for sure! it has a crisp clean sound for things like finger rolls and the like. hmm shark skin... ok i have a new drum to make! this kind of drum with a fish skin is a traditional belly dance drum. now a cowhide drum, not calf, is a bass drum material for sure. cow is usually use on big barrel drum that need low head tension deeeep bass. like dubstep! On the flip side of the spectrum fish skin/thin plastic/mylar heads are very high tension. like you'll need a crowbar to tension the diamonds in the strings and tighten them up once a year or so.

hope this helps... drums are fun but a lot of work!
-joni