Reheading your own drum...

[Carl]

Just out of interest, how many of you rehead your own drums?
One of the guy's in my band rarely reheads his lead drums and pay's major cash to have it done.
Just wondering if anyone else does this?

?

C

[michi]

The majority of people I know don't re-head their own and have a drum maker do it for them.
I sort of can see why: without a press, using only a hand crank, it's quite hard work and also quite difficult to get the skin to come down evenly. And, let's face it: not too many people are keen to have a smelly goat skin in their bath tub and wet goat hair all over the garage floor

Cheers,

Michi.

[Carl]

And, let's face it: not too many people are keen to have a smelly goat skin in their bath tub and wet goat hair all over the garage floor

Well, that might explain the looks I get from my wife!


C

[bops]

I re-head mine. And if your band mate wants to pay me some major cash, I'll do his too.

[michi]

Well, that might explain the looks I get from my wife!

Yeah, wet goat hair on the garage floor explains many things...

My wife has resigned herself to my djembe obsession... She argues that it's much better to have a happy husband and the occasional goat skin in the bath tub than it is to have a grumpy husband and a spotless bath tub. Sensible position, if you ask me!

Cheers,

Michi.

[Dugafola]

i skin all my own djembes.

there's a zen about doing one's own instrument...i love the fact that when you skin your own drum, you are completely responsible for how that thing sounds when you play it.

on the other hand, i'll pretty much pass on doing someone else's drum.

[bubudi]

if, like me, you are fussy about how it should be done, do it yourself

it's important to try it at least once. there is no better way to bond with your drum. the more you do it the better and quicker you will get at it. i know plenty of good players that will always pay someone to skin their drum who they know does a really good job. they don't want to spend the time and energy and would rather play their other drum while they wait for their first drum to be ready.

[dleufer]

I rehead my own drums (although that is stretching it a bit as only one of drums has needed rehaeding so far) and I've reaheading a few drums for others. I agree that it's a great way to bond with a drum, I really get obsessed with making it sound and look good and then really enjoy playing it when it does sound good.

I thought that an additional question could be added to this topic:
Does anyone skin their own goats/cows?

I'm making my first trip to West-Africa in JAnuary and I've been really considering buying my own goat and killing and skinning it. I'm a vegetarian and the issue of using goat-skins on drums is a bit tricky so I figure that unless I can actually kill a goat and skin it and feel good about having done it then I shouldn't be using goat-skins or cow.

(For some reason the idea of killing and skinning a cow seems much more daunting)

[Carl]

I've thougth about the killing and skinning issue myself. However, skining an animal is HARD. When I was a teenager, I went deer hunting with my dad. We never did get anything, but I studied how to skin the deer, and there were lots of issues to look out for. Granted a lot of the concern was in the initial cleaning of the animal to preserve the meat, but after that, there is definitly a skill set needed to sucessfuly skin an animal and end up with a usable hide.

Special tools make it easier, but if you only plan on skinning one or two animals, is it worth getting the tools? The impression I got from reading about it, is that you ruin a few hides before you get the knack of it.

I think it would be different if you had a mentor to help you on the way, and to lend to you any special tools needed. In my area, I'm sure I could find someone who processes deer, and they might be convinced to help me (for money I'm sure). But it will be at least a year or two before I get goats (need to get the chickens established first.). Then a few years for them to reach the end of their life... So I don't really see it happening in the forseeable future.

C

[Beerfola]

dleufer,
I hope you don't enjoy driving your car. You might get an itch to go mine some steel ore. I don't want to form that deep a bond with my drum. Leave that stuff to the professionals and enjoy the fruits of their labors.

[bops]

Life is too short to do it all ... so you have to specialize in something. I'd rather be a drummer than a hunter.

[Rhythm House Drums]

I always have a professional head mine

Really... I've headed well over 100. I've got 3 right now I'm working on, one shipped it in from another state.

What is major cash? I've never charged over 65 for a simple rehead... now if they need new rope/rings or some work on the bearing edge, than I make that suggestion and charge a good bit more.. but just a skin and tune, never takes me over 2 hours total (not including waiting for the skin to dry). People are surprised I charge so little, but I feel like I'm ripping someone if I charge more. I know quite a few people that charge upwards of 100 bucks... why?? I'm good at what I do, and always get compliments on my drum when I'm out drumming. In my last class with Fode Camara, he played mine before and after class.

I took another drum-builders workshop to try and learn some more, was charged 100 bucks for a skin and "the know how" to head my drum... turns out that 100 bucks was invested in the knowledge that I know what I'm doing. Disappointed in the workshop, but 100 bucks well spent in my confidence and security knowing that I do a good job.

It seems some re-headers aren't taking the time to actually tune the head, and just pull some more verts to tighten up the skin. Another thing I'm seeing, and use to be concerned with was making sure everything was just right, and concentrating on the look of the new skin, and not the sound. Thanks to DrumSkull for setting me straight a while back on that. Lots of help in this drumming community... it's a cool thing to be a part of. I take time now to actually tune the head not just tighten it. I don't tune a specific note, but I tune the head with itself... to make sure the sound is consistent around the head... it helps give a clean sound and minimizes overtones.

I've never skinned an animal... although I've seen deers be dressed, I've never jumped in on the activity. I got a skin one time that had so much blood on the fur I felt like I had skinned the thing myself. Funny part is I'm ok with this, but I'm vegetarian. Guess I'm vegetarian more for the health benefits rather than the animal rights.

[Carl]

What is major cash? I've never charged over 65 for a simple rehead... now if they need new rope/rings or some work on the bearing edge, than I make that suggestion and charge a good bit more.. but just a skin and tune, never takes me over 2 hours total (not including waiting for the skin to dry).

I used to think that way myself, until I did the following math...

Betweening shaving and stringing up the skin it is usually 1 - 1.5 hours. Not so bad.

But, how long did it take you to get the skin ready to soak? 15 min.?

Did you tune it all at once or over a period of time? I don't like tuning all in one session, so I usually tune a drum 3 or 4 times before handing it of. When it is done, it is completely playable (maybe not for a dance class, but I don't have too many people with that need) So ad another 30 min to 1 hour for that.

Now, think about the setup time for everything. Clearing a space to work, storing drums before work, durring work, drying space, storage for pickup etc...

I figure if I add in the time it takes to meet the person/pick up their drum / setuptime as above etc. it is at least 4 hours of my time per drum. Of which mabye 2 hours are actively reheading the drum.

Oh yeah, I also offer to re-pull the verticals after they play the drum for a month or so, which allows me an oportunity to check the head, see how it is settling in, and check that the head is in tune with itself. (I think that's what you talked to drum skulls about?)

Now add the cost of suplies.

The way I see it, in order to make it 'worth my while' $100 is fair. However, I think it is too expensive for something that you should be able to do yourself! It was actually one of my students who convinced me to raise my price from $60 to $100 (skin included, rope and rings extra if needed)

Now, keep in mind, I only do 2 or 3 drums a week at my busiest. If I was doing this all of the time it would be much cheaper for me and I'd be able to lower the price! (Each day you soak tomorrows skins, rehead todays drums and tune yesterdays drums... you get the idea)

It took me a long time to raise my price, but remember, if you do not know how to rehead a djembe then it is a mystery! that knowledge is worth a lot. Personally I think you would be better off to take a couple of reheading classes at $100 ish a pop and then be able to do it on your own. But not everyone wants to do that.

C

[Rhythm House Drums]

Nice points Carl.

I now charge $95.00

J/K

But you do have some good points. Just the fact that there really aren't many people that can head a drum... and even fewer that can head one properly.... it's a skill worth few bucks in itself.

I def. agree that people serious about their drums and playing should take the time to learn how to head it themselves... Especially if you are like Bops and go through one every 6 months! As good as a really good drum-reheader is, only you know what type of sound you like. I think know how to head my own drum, has actually helped my playing technique. I just get to know the djembe better.

Another point I've wondered about... how many of you heading djembes ever get to head really nice shells?? 98 percent (could be a bit off) of the drums I get in to rehead are cheaper drums. Either rough carved (splintery on the inside), wobbly bearing edge, shoelace rope, 10 verticals, filled cracks... you get the idea. One I'm doing now has a lip on the inside of the bearing edge... Never seen that before. It's Iroko wood, but seems like it's been sanded on the outside, and the inside of the bearing edge has a lip... Hard to explain... picture, from the outside the drum looks standard, but the inside the bearing edge is fatter than the rest of the shell with the thickness of the wood going down about an inch from the top, then the lip dips in about 1/4" and the rest of the shell is that thickness... make since?? Anyone ever seen this before?

[Dugafola]

Another point I've wondered about... how many of you heading djembes ever get to head really nice shells??

100% all the time.