About the service
I make frame drums one at a time, starting with the shell. I bend it from layered veneer around a form of exactly the diameter you want, glue it up and let it rest before the edge is shaped, so the rim stays round and the bearing edge is smooth under the head. Depth and width are chosen with you: a shallow shell speaks quickly and brightly, a deeper one gives a longer, rounder hum.
Then we pick the head. Natural skin sounds warm and alive, but it answers to the weather: in damp air it sags, in dry air it tightens. Never dry it by a fire or a radiator, and bring the pitch up gently rather than forcing it. Skin is a material of animal origin, so if that matters to you I fit a synthetic head instead: it holds its tone in any season and needs almost no care beyond a wipe. Tension is set either with traditional lacing on the back or with tuning screws, and I tune the drum to the register you ask for, from deep and dark to crisp and high.
If you like, I add jingles or a rattling inner ring and paint the head by hand. The painting is my own design built around your wishes; I do not copy sacred images or the symbols of particular peoples. Before the drum leaves the workshop I record how it sounds, so you hear exactly what you are getting.
What you get:
— bent veneer shell in the diameter and depth you choose
— natural skin or synthetic head, with honest advice on care
— lacing or tuning screws, tuned to the pitch you want
— optional jingles or rattle ring
— optional original hand painting of the head
— a matched beater and a padded bag
— an audio recording of the finished drum before shipping
— usual lead time 10–14 days, painted drums a few days longer
Then we pick the head. Natural skin sounds warm and alive, but it answers to the weather: in damp air it sags, in dry air it tightens. Never dry it by a fire or a radiator, and bring the pitch up gently rather than forcing it. Skin is a material of animal origin, so if that matters to you I fit a synthetic head instead: it holds its tone in any season and needs almost no care beyond a wipe. Tension is set either with traditional lacing on the back or with tuning screws, and I tune the drum to the register you ask for, from deep and dark to crisp and high.
If you like, I add jingles or a rattling inner ring and paint the head by hand. The painting is my own design built around your wishes; I do not copy sacred images or the symbols of particular peoples. Before the drum leaves the workshop I record how it sounds, so you hear exactly what you are getting.
What you get:
— bent veneer shell in the diameter and depth you choose
— natural skin or synthetic head, with honest advice on care
— lacing or tuning screws, tuned to the pitch you want
— optional jingles or rattle ring
— optional original hand painting of the head
— a matched beater and a padded bag
— an audio recording of the finished drum before shipping
— usual lead time 10–14 days, painted drums a few days longer
