What A Day

I spent the day with a great great great old school cuban trumpet player.... music pores from this mans skin...

I have some nice calf skin that can be used for Timbales. I have 2 big rounds one 18" and one 22".

I just cut up 2 hides. One mule and one Steer/Cow. Ive got a big supply of Bongo Heads and Conga Heads for the next few weeks. Any one who needs Bata Drum skins Ive got some great stuff for you too..

Why some skins are ugly

Some mule skins you see are pretty gnarly on the underside and give the top a bit of a beaten up look. I have spent long hours looking at the nicks and scars on hides and some are bad and some not. Mule hide is very dense so many of the things we think are issues will never become issues.

Some hides are splits....
This is a very important thing to understand . Splits will more times than not look like a perfect skin and very well may be but its from a thicker animal and "split" to make a thin hide. I have done many test with hides from 3oz up to almost 9oz. I am of the opinion & for my personal taste 4-6oz is the way to go. I also like to use relatively the same weight on all my drums. I strive to make sure I have top product and that once mounted that same care in selection comes through in the tone of the drum.