I am interested in trying out a synthetic head on the dagga side of my dhol. I've seen photos of plastic heads that are rope tensioned, but I have not been able to find anybody (online or otherwise) that can tell me how this is done. Any info. regarding the issue, or as to how I might be able to do this would be greatly appreciated. Here are a couple of photo examples of what I'm talking about:
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ropes on synthetic head?
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Dholi harsh
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You take the synthetic head you want to use and poke holes through the edge. When i was experimenting with different sounds, i took a hot phillips screwdriver (use a stove or a lighter to heat the tip up) and i stuck it through the actual head. Makesure you don't poke too many holes, when you rope it just slide the rope through like u would for a skin head and tension it the same way.
Dholi Richie
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Good luck. Trying to do this properly at home sucks. It's nothing like poking holes through a skin head. The plastic can rip a lot easier than a skin head which has been soaked in warm water. If you decide to do this, I recommend using a thinner rope. It'll make your life a lot easier when sending the rope through the holes of the plastic head.
Thanks very much for the advice so far (it has given me some good insight into how I might go about doing this)! I only really have two more big questions on this subject that I cannot find answers for online:
1) In the photos I posted above, both dhols clearly have some sort of "retaining ring" to help hold the head onto the drum.. Is this something that can be purchased? And if not, does anyone have a clue as to what sorts of materials these might be made from, or how to go about trying to make one?
(In the event that the ring could not be procured, is it actually possible to mount a bare plastic head on the end of the drum with nothing but ropes and not have it break the first time you try to tune it up?)
2) Can anyone give me any sort of info. on recommended head models (or at least head thicknesses) to try on the dagga side? (I assume it should be thicker than what you would put on the tilli side)
***If I can collect enough info. on the subject, I will photo document each step in the process of changing out the heads, and make a tutorial to be posted online. As of yet, there is no reliable source of information regarding this issue. So I'm asking everyone to PLEASE reply with ANY pertinent information that can are able to provide!***
1) In the photos I posted above, both dhols clearly have some sort of "retaining ring" to help hold the head onto the drum.. Is this something that can be purchased? And if not, does anyone have a clue as to what sorts of materials these might be made from, or how to go about trying to make one?
(In the event that the ring could not be procured, is it actually possible to mount a bare plastic head on the end of the drum with nothing but ropes and not have it break the first time you try to tune it up?)
2) Can anyone give me any sort of info. on recommended head models (or at least head thicknesses) to try on the dagga side? (I assume it should be thicker than what you would put on the tilli side)
***If I can collect enough info. on the subject, I will photo document each step in the process of changing out the heads, and make a tutorial to be posted online. As of yet, there is no reliable source of information regarding this issue. So I'm asking everyone to PLEASE reply with ANY pertinent information that can are able to provide!***
Dholi Richie
New Member
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- 32
1) The "retaining ring" can actually be made out of any old heads you may have laying around...simply cut out the plastic with a knife or whatever you choose, and voila, brand new ring. Should you not have an extra head laying around (understandable as not everyone does), I suggest just going out and buying a new head to cut (or use the new one and cut the old one, your choice) and using that for the ring. Unless you live in India or the UK, I can't see it being too simple to find the ring. However, you never know, you may have better luck than I did.
2) The thickness I have on my tilli side is about 7 mm. Keep in mind that I've never used a synthetic head on my bass side (personal preference, I hate the sound) but I would assume that an ideal thickness for the bass side would be anywhere from 10 mm to 12 mm? Surely someone who has actually done this before can help you out more, but maybe this can get you started. Good luck and I can't wait to see the tutorial. I'd love to help with it whenever you decide to make it!
2) The thickness I have on my tilli side is about 7 mm. Keep in mind that I've never used a synthetic head on my bass side (personal preference, I hate the sound) but I would assume that an ideal thickness for the bass side would be anywhere from 10 mm to 12 mm? Surely someone who has actually done this before can help you out more, but maybe this can get you started. Good luck and I can't wait to see the tutorial. I'd love to help with it whenever you decide to make it!
JupMasterG
New Member
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hot screwdriver always works, but personally find using a soldering iron as the best method to put holes in a dagga side, im sure that would be even easier to do through a synthetic head instead of normal goatskin. Also when using a soldering iron with skin, it kinda burns the edges around the hole making a neater hole and less of a chance of ripping it at those points - i would think the same would happen with a synthetic.
Gabbah Shareef Bhalwan
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