Animal Skins vs. Synthetic World Percussion Heads:

Historically, traditional drums such as a djembe, conga and bongo heads are made with animal rawhide skins. These have worked very well for many years and are still used on many manufactured drums. Listed are a few main drawbacks when using animal rawhide skin drumheads.

1) They are very sensitive to moisture; at the beach, on a rainy or foggy day, they get loose causing the sound of the drum to drop in pitch.

2) When it’s hot and dry the animal rawhide skin will tighten causing the pitch to tune up and can sometimes split the head.

3) Maintenance is needed to preserve the head and must be loosened after playing.

4) It also can be frustrating having to continually re-tune drum(s) when exposed to heat or moisture.

5) It is very difficult to find superior quality animal rawhide skins

6) Playing the various quality animal rawhide skins can cause hand pain when striking drum to achieve a quality tone.

7) It can also pull the hands natural oils drying cracking skin of the fingers.

 

REMO® Inc. is continuing to break new ground in drumhead film technologies and head replacements for the traditional drum set as well as the revolutionary discoveries for congas, bongos, djembes and a multitude of other hand percussion instruments.   The worlds’ top percussionists’ use REMO drumheads for the sound, feel and benefit of the low maintenance.  As the Latin Jazz Legend Poncho Sanchez says, “I don’t have to play as hard to get the big sound I need.” It stands to reason if veteran conga, bongo and djembe players use and endorse REMO drumheads, then aspiring drummers can benefit too.

Features and Benefits

Remo Synthetic                                                                                Rawhide drumhead

  • Superior sound quality                                                             Detunes losing pitch
  • Weather resistance                                                                  Sensitive to moisture
  • Durable construction                                                                Prone to splitting
  • Easy maintenance & tuning                                                      Continually retuning

Sound Qualities

Remo Synthetic                                                                                Rawhide drumhead

  • Lively overtones                                                                      Muted tones
  • Easy Slap tones                                                                       Pounding drum to get tone
  • Easy on your hands                                                                 Hands can blister
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