Deer hide for skins? - Has anyone tried this before?

[TomInVA]

I'm hoping to combine my two passions - conga playing and traditional bowhunting. I wonder if deer hide is suitable for conga heads. Maybe it's too thin, but since I've never hunted cows or mules, I'm not sure how the hide compares.

Any thoughts?

[ralph]

I'm hoping to combine my two passions - conga playing and traditional bowhunting. I wonder if deer hide is suitable for conga heads. Maybe it's too thin, but since I've never hunted cows or mules, I'm not sure how the hide compares.

Any thoughts?

i am under the impression that they would be too thin, maybe comparable to goat skin, which is used more for bata...as far as congas are concerned a thin skin will not sound good, and may not be able to take the tension, although maybe i'm wrong...mule skin and cow skin are the best...

[JohnnyConga]

Deerskin maybe used for Djimbe drums along with goat. I have seen deerskins heads with the hair on them, also used for different African drums...but for Congas , I think not.."JC" Johnny Conga....

[ABAKUA]

Yep, as others have said, Deer skin is too thin for congas.
Maybe for djembe, candombe drums etc, but definately not for congas.

[Sakuntu]

I use deer skin alot in making drums. I recently put some on my bongos and they sound great. The skin is thin enough to get the macho sounding nice and high and its also thick enought to give the hembra a nice full sound. An older buck will have a thick enough skin on its back and neck to probably work good with a 9-10" requinto. A doe shot during early bow season will have a thin skin that will work good on some bongos. As for a Djembe, my experience is that deer skin is to thick to get it sounding like it should -nice and tight. However deer does work good for Ghanaian Kpanlogo drums which are traditional headed with antelope. Try it out. See what happens and then post it so we can learn from your experience. If it works for you you may have found a way to save yourself some money on new heads! Good luck!

[Sakuntu]

Some new info on the deer skin thing-I stated above that deer skin doesn't work well with Djembes however I think i'd like to change my opinion. I tried a fairly thin doe skin on a Djembe and it sounds really good. Its a little thicker and stronger than Goat skin so it gives a better open tone but still stays true to the sound of the Djembe. Its definently not as easy to stretch and tune up like goats skin. I don't have the appropriate tools like a djembe rope puller etc...to tighten the Drum ( i use a old drum stick wrapped around the rope) but if you can get the skin tight enough, the drum should sound pretty good. anybody out there re head Djembes or other african drums? (kpanlogos, ngomas etc...)

[oneleven1]

For what it's worth, I've seen people use deer skin on bombas, with very good success... Tonal characteristics ar very much like a thick, male goat skin, or sheep skin, and I plan in the near future to try one on one of my drums.
This is not a traditional option, as there weren't Antillean deer, but deer is traditionally used on very similar drums used on the carribean mainland - e.g. garifuna drums from C.A., kasseko drums from French Guiane...

[Attilio]

For the use on Djembes, apart from Goat which is the traditional, I personally can recommend the Deer to get a slightly different sound, but still having a good allround Djembe sound. I know several Djembeaddicts in Switzerland, that prefer Deerskin. I'd say, that deer is too thin for congas, but try it, always believe your ears (unless the congahead does not break before you can play).

[Sakuntu]

Well, i tried the deer skin on a Toca Player series 10" fiberglass conga. It was a the back neck of a older doe. Tucked it, Centered it and let it dry for 3 days. Tuned it up and I must say it sounds pretty darn good. 5 times better than the water buffalo that was on it originally. The opens were full, the slaps crisp and even got a little bass-which is rare from a fiberglass drum. I personally don't like playing cheaper model drums that size but the good head made it much more enjoyable. Im interested how it would sound on a bigger drum... deer season is almost here! :;):

Attachment: http://mycongaplace.com/forum/eng/uploa ... quinto.jpg

[tactikal]

Wow, that looks really nice with the mottled skin.... quite different.

Does the skin have to under-go any treatment or tanning before it's used?

Or is it literally rawhide?

[caballoballo]

Good job Sakuntu,good job

[Sakuntu]

Thanks caballoballo.

tactikal, the skin is straight up rawhide. My buddy shot it last year in PA, I fleshed it, took the hair off and and stretched it out to dry. The whole process takes about a week. My buddy thinks i'm nuts to do it! :laugh:

[Garvin]

I was wondering about deer for djembes myself. I live in a very "hunting-intensive" area and I know there are a lot of extra skins around here during hunting season. I've re-headed my djembe a couple times with goat, and am happy with the sound but I wouldn't mind trying deer just to see what it does to the voice of a drum I am familiar with. Good idea, nice work!

[Sakuntu]

I highly recommend deer for Djembe...its a lot more work to tune, but the sound is fuller - not as dry as goat-yet still true to the djembe sound. i read that traditionally, dejembe was skinned with either goat or antelope...for those of us living in "non antelope" geographical locations, white tail or mule deer is the closest substitute. shoot me a PM if you ever have any questions...

[Whopbamboom]

When I get to the point where I'm ready to try out some deerskin, I'll have to ask you guys for some!