Thin cow skin or thick goat skin

[rachelnguyen]

Hey e2c, the skin definitely makes a difference. My first goatskin was very thick and had a very different sound than my current one, which is more ringy. But both were less responsive than Sidy's cowskin drums. I just love the way they play!

R

[e2c]

it sounds like the skins he's using are very high-quality - where does he get them? (or is that a trade secret? )

[rachelnguyen]

We just bought a couple from goatskins.com. Shorty has some nice cowskins! We got the kip, which is much thinner than a regular cowskin. I asked for a medium thickness on that and it is really nice. Shorty is wonderful to deal with, incidentally. I needed to return a couple of the rounds he sent because they were too thin for me. He packed up a second box and got it in the mail the next morning, without waiting for me to return the first rounds. That was really nice of him.

[Djembe-nerd]

I know its difficult to interpret thin and thick, but since you have them already, it would be nice to measure the thickness and post for reference.

[rachelnguyen]

Hi Adam,

Unfortunately I sent the thin ones back already and the one I have is now on my drum, LOL. I can see if my teacher has a scrap left, though.

[e2c]

Rachel - you might want to try either Drumskull, Wula or both for goatskins. I know theirs are more expensive than the ones Shorty carries, but they're very high-quality. A good skin could make all the difference in the world for you as far as liking the sound and feel and wanting to play the drum.

Muddy is definitely bad.

Also, great to know about the cow and calf that Shorty's selling - thanks!

[bops]

You have to adjust your technique a bit to get a really good sound on cow.

Maybe what I meant was that you have to adjust your technique to get the same volume on cow as on goat. But you don't really have to change it at all if you don't want - if you're getting a nice sound on goat, you'll get a nice sound from cow skin also. As always, I reserve the right to contradict myself at any time .

I tried a kip on my new (since Nov.) DSD drum. It lasted about 3 months, which is relatively very short. Usually a goat skin will last me at least 6 months, while a cow skin can last anywhere from 1-3 years. After about a month of heading up the kip skin, it developed a small tear around the outside of the bottom ring. It was a little suspect, since I hadn't even shaven that area of the skin. It just weakened and tore. Fortunately, the skin still held out for another couple of months, but it wasn't worth the $48. It also never really got that "played-in" sound, which is when a skin reaches its peak performance IMO. I ordered a regular pre-shaved cow skin round from DSD... they're asking I think $35 for them now. They sent me a nice medium-thin round - very even thickness all around. Hopefully it will last longer. In the meantime, I've put a goat on that drum... looking forward to hearing what it sounds like.

My other reservation about using calf skin is that it is very unsustainable. I really wish my deer skin would have worked out better. Maybe I'll keep trying.

[michi]

My other reservation about using calf skin is that it is very unsustainable.

What makes you say that? Over here, most skins that come off animals at the abattoirs, whether that's goat, sheep, calf, or cow, are thrown away and end up in a land fill. If you go to an abattoir and ask whether you can have goat skins as they come off the animals, they will give them away for free because it saves them having to dispose of them. So, I'm not sure why using calf skins is unsustainable.

Cheers,

Michi.

[Djembe-nerd]

This beauty is on the way to join the family.

13.75" dia , american thin cow I can't wait to hear it. Per DSD was the best in the store.

[michi]

Looks awesome! I really like the grain pattern, especially with the wavy carving. That one is truly beatiful!

Can I ask what you paid for it?

Cheers,

Michi.

[rachelnguyen]

Yeah, that is a sweet drum. Very nice.

Bubudi, I sure hope this cowskin lasts longer than 3 months. Jeesh. That is a ton of work for not much use out of it.

I just tuned the cowskin today and it is very high pitched. And LOUD, LOL. They are going to hate me at the drum circles....

R

[Djembe-nerd]

Can I ask what you paid for it?

$ 680, $635 + cow skin 45.

BTW I also told them about the hardcase djembe case from UK, they have no distributer here in USA. I am getting one and suggested them to get in touch with hardcase Uk.

They are going to hate me at the drum circles....

ear plugs makes loud djembe sound good

[michi]

$ 680, $635 + cow skin 45.

Not cheap, by any stretch. But it's a very beautiful drum and, knowing Drumskull, will have been finished to perfection, so I suspect it's fair value for money.

Cheers,

Michi.

[michi]

I just tuned the cowskin today and it is very high pitched. And LOUD, LOL. They are going to hate me at the drum circles....

Any chance of a sound sample? I'd love to hear it!

Cheers,

Michi.

[Djembe-nerd]

Not cheap, by any stretch. But it's a very beautiful drum and, knowing Drumskull, will have been finished to perfection, so I suspect it's fair value for money.

I have good djembes from others too but have to try one of theirs, everyone says thats the benchmark, will see first hand

I will probably get rod of 1 or 2 I have already. Too many djembe cause playing confusion ...today this one or that one