Upside-down skin - oops!

[deerskins]

I can't believe it, after mounting around 100 skins over near 20 years, I finally put one on upside-down (hair side down). I didn't even notice this until after I trimmed it. I started the work last night as a favor for a friend around 1am and I guess I was a little (lot) tired. I know I won't be able to remount wet, but I'm wondering if I might be able to just re-wet the surface and the sides and flip it without pulling it off the ring. Has anyone tried anything like this before? Has anyone else made this stupid mistake? WOW!

[yambu321]

HONESTLY BRO,

JUST CALL IT YOUR SKIN, AND ORDER A NEW SKIN FOR YOUR FRIEND. MICHAEL OF L&H PERCUSSION, HAS SUPERB SKINS, AND, SHIPS SUPER FAST.

A FAVOR IS A FAVOR. BUT, A FOUL UP MUST BE REMEDIED. THAT SKIN, FOR THAT PARTICULAR DRUM IS TOAST.

THINGS LIKE THAT CAN HAPPEN TO ANYONE.
BUT, DO THE RIGHT THING, AND GET YOUR FRIEND A NEW SKIN.

CHARLIE

[vinnieL]

Charlie is right the skin is done if you flip it you end up with the trimmed excess skin side on the inside which won't work at all.

[jorge]

You may call it a stupid mistake, but some of the best Afrocuban folkloric players recommend putting the skin with the rough side up and the smoother side where the hair was down. I haven't done it yet, it has been about 7 years since any of my drums needed skins, but I plan to try it next time. Initially they say it feels rougher, but they say it sounds better and the skin lasts longer. Makes sense, the denser epidermis part of the skin (hair side) is where most of the strength is, and this is protected from the wear and tear of playing by the softer flesh side of the skin that is the playing surface. Also, I would think the softer rougher flesh side would make a less slappy sound when you hit a tone than the harder shiny hair side. I wonder if it makes more ring, with the shiny side inside the drum. Don't change it for now, leave it like that and try it out at least until it is broken in, if you don't hate the rougher feel. Let us know how you like it.

[OLSONGO]

Jorge just re-wet the skin, and try my technique on mounting, you should have no problems.

Paz
Olsongo

[taikonoatama]

You may call it a stupid mistake ...

I did this accidentally once a couple of years ago with a skin on my old oak Gon Bops quinto, and because I didn't notice it until after I'd trimmed the skin, I left it like that. Sanded out some of the rough patches with some very fine sandpaper. Very smooth and soft on the hands. I have to say it sounds great - best-sounding rumba quinto I have (very dry, woody sound, not ringy at all) and other players are always saying how much they like it. It may be that the skin was so great to begin with that it didn't matter which way it went on - who knows - I know I'd do another drum like this on purpose.

James

[seisporocho1]

That's happened to me once. Unfortunately it was while doing drums for somebody else! It's the worst feeling cause you ask yourself what in the world were you thinking of to mount the skin insided out...
The first time on an LP fiberglass tumba. l used a Bison Buffalo skin and very much to my surprise, the drum sounded incredible. So we left it like that and that drum is still one of my favorite tumbas in Miami.
The second time was on a LP fiberglass quinto. I used an El Greco mule that cost almost $90 (with shipping etc.). You can imagine my face when I realized I had put it upside down!!! Tremenda cagada!! So I sanded down the rough part as much as I could and yet the sound sucked. It was ringy as all hell and the slaps weren't the sharpest. I know mule tends to need a beating before you get the true sound of the skin, but I was not happy with it after 2 weeks of trying it. The person came to pick it up, I didn't get a chance to replace it and so I charged him $60 for all the other work I did to the drum : replaced all 6 hooks & made a flesh hoop for him. The skin was on me! Given the opportunity again, I would simply replace the skin RIGHT AWAY unless it sounds good immediately like the tumba I mentioned.
One thing is to mess up on your own drum but it's a different deal when it's a friend's or client's drum...ever since then, I make sure I put it the right way.

"Initially they say it feels rougher, but they say it sounds better and the skin lasts longer. Makes sense, the denser epidermis part of the skin (hair side) is where most of the strength is, and this is protected from the wear and tear of playing by the softer flesh side of the skin that is the playing surface. Also, I would think the softer rougher flesh side would make a less slappy sound when you hit a tone than the harder shiny hair side."

I'm not sure about that Jorge. It seems to me that a porous side like the inside of the skin is more vulnerable to things like dirt and weather and less likely to protect the skin. The smoother side works as a more impermeable layer that can really minimize that. Plus, the animal wore the skin with the smooth side on the exterior its whole life and that has to be for a reason. Even though it had hair on it before, that side of the skin is used to dealing with the oustide world and it's changes. That is why it's tougher and stronger.
I would think the clean slaps would be harder on a rough surface. The tones might be still be ok as I proved with the tumba....

[caballoballo]

6 X 8 , I'm not sure about that Jorge. It seems to me that a porous side like the inside of the skin is more vulnerable to things like dirt and weather and less likely to protect the skin. The smoother side works as a more impermeable layer that can really minimize that. Plus, the animal wore the skin with the smooth side on the exterior its whole life and that has to be for a reason. Even though it had hair on it before, that side of the skin is used to dealing with the oustide world and it's changes. That is why it's tougher and stronger.

6 X 8 I found a lot of logic on your thought.

I made the same mistake while mounting a skin many, many moons ago, the sound was very dull and the skin did not lasted enough. But I believe you can rewet the skin and reverse it. I find no problem in doing so. Many times when the skin on the macho stretch too far down I usually rewet and pull it up with pliers.

[jorge]

Over the years, most of my skins have died by ripping at the bearing edge when the upper surface cracks. The force of tuning is maximal at the edge. Tuning and untuning cause more wear on the skin than your hand ever could, that is why skins turn opaque at the bearing edge before other parts of the skin. Putting the toughest part of the skin, the epidermis smooth hard outer layer, against the bearing edge would seem to make sense for maximizing durability of the skin. That is the theory, the test has been the passed down experience of folkloric drummers over the centuries, and more than one master drummer from Cuba has told me to put the smooth side down. James, could you ask Sandy Perez what he thinks about this at one of your classes?