The Hides I Work With

Not all hide drums are the same. The animal the hide comes from shapes everything - the sound, the feel under the hand, the way the drum responds to weather and touch. Here is a guide to the hides I work with and what each one brings.

A note that applies to all my drums: the lacing is always cut from the same hide as the face - one continuous strand, beginning and ending in the same animal.

Kangaroo

Kangaroo is the hide I work with most and the one I recommend most readily, particularly for those new to hide drums.

Kangaroo hide is exceptionally thin, strong and lightweight. It produces a bright, articulate sound - responsive and alive under both hand and beater, with a clarity that carries well. It handles humidity and temperature fluctuations reasonably well compared to other hides, which matters in the variable Australian climate.

Deer

Deer hide has a warmer, more open quality than kangaroo - rounder in tone, with a sound that feels more yielding and less defined.

There is a meaningful difference between younger and older deer hide. Younger, thinner hide is more sensitive and reactive - lighter in tone, more responsive to humidity changes. Older, thicker hide has more depth and body - a warmth and groundedness that comes from the animal having more life behind it.

Deer drums are less common from this studio than kangaroo, which makes each one a little more particular.

Goat

Goat is rare from this studio. The hide has a visible grain and a tactile quality that feels different to both kangaroo and deer - earthier, more textured under the hand. The tone is warm and rounded, less bright than kangaroo, with a settled quality that suits slower, more intentional playing.

Each goat drum I’ve made has felt like its own thing entirely.

Calf

Calf hide is the newest material I’ve worked with, and it has surprised me.

I’ve worked with it both dehaired - pale, smooth, with a quality similar to deer but with its own distinct character - and with the hair still on. Hair-on calf is something I’ve rarely seen in frame drums and it produces something genuinely unusual. The tone is earthier and more grounded than a standard hide drum, with more rumble than ring.

Cow

I haven’t yet offered a finished cow hide drum for sale, but I have worked with the hide and feel a deep connection to it. It has a particular weight and presence that is unlike any of the other hides - grounded in a way that is hard to describe until you’ve held it.