On Sunday I reached the final stage of another 12-inch composite frame drum. This one’s for me, not for passing around at a drum circle.
I tried a different lacing method, and was very methodical about it. The head skin was not perfectly round, and the frame flexed to accommodate it. It looks even more lopsided than it is in the bottom shot because of the camera angle. Note the double edge binding that distributes the stress more evenly, preventing hole tearing. It isn’t extremely tight; a little moody in cold weather, but because of that it’s less likely to pop from heat.
The leather-wrapped cross handle is very comfortable. One leather strip was wound each way, the ends fastened by tucking under. I added another bit in the middle with one end cut into two narrow strips and pulled through with my trusty hemostat.
Here’s how it sounds:
Third recording test (MP3) — Simply whacking away with a padded striker
Hand-doodle (MP3) — My right hand does a little dance
Yes, I finally dragged my minimal gear over to the computer and futzed around until it worked. The new mike and the old boombox pre-amp go well together. 🙂