You can't get dependable drumdial readings on a natural hide head because its not perfectly uniform in thickness

Just use your ears

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Originally posted by ChunoTheDog

You can't get dependable drumdial readings on a natural hide head because its not perfectly uniform in thickness

Just use your ears

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Ah, thanks, I did not consider this.

So I follow Big Bang Theory: Tighten up until it says 'Bang' and then back up again. ;-)

If you are starting from slack, work up slowly to around 86. Quarter turns (or less) on the nuts, slowly and evenly all around. At that point, play it in, then let it rest for a day or so. Next, work up slowly to 87 or 88. Take it easy, you don't have to get there in one go. Once it gets up to 88, be very careful about going higher, and only if necessary. Generally I wouldn't go higher than 90 on a 12" goatskin in any case.

I use a drum dial on all my skin heads. It's a great tool.

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Originally posted by Silver_Falls

If you are starting from slack, work up slowly to around 86. Quarter turns (or less) on the nuts, slowly and evenly all around. At that point, play it in, then let it rest for a day or so. Next, work up slowly to 87 or 88. Take it easy, you don't have to get there in one go. Once it gets up to 88, be very careful about going higher, and only if necessary. Generally I wouldn't go higher than 90 on a 12" goatskin in any case.

I use a drum dial on all my skin heads. It's a great tool.

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So do you think that the unevenness of the skin compensated by the variance from 87-88?

Even tension is your friend my friend. Not necessary to get perfectionist about it. Just use the drum dial to give you useful information.

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Originally posted by Veit Doehler

quote:

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Originally posted by ChunoTheDog

You can't get dependable drumdial readings on a natural hide head because its not perfectly uniform in thickness

Just use your ears

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Ah, thanks, I did not consider this.

So I follow Big Bang Theory: Tighten up until it says 'Bang' and then back up again. ;-)

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That's my philosophy also... tighten the head until it bursts then back the nuts of 2/4 turn.

My two cents:
If everything on the drum dial is between 80 and 90 all around, that’s fine.
You might end up with the same value all around, but that’s pretty unlikely, so leave yourself a margin of about 10.
What’s more important is that the tension ring is straight and that the screws feel equally tight.

Another thing to consider is the sound—there’s a point where the head sounds best; if you tighten it any further, the sound starts to deteriorate again.

If it tears, just take it easy—that’s what they call learning the hard way.

If the drum dial is giving readings that vary by as much as 10 units, it usually indicates a problem somewhere.

Such problems may include things like a tear in the skin under the tension hoop, tension hoop slipping over the flesh hoop, or a cracked head on one or more of the hooks.

Best to inspect for those as soon as possible, and fix before the problem worsens.

Oh yeah, sorry, I thought there were 10—it looks like there are actually only 5.
In any case, natural skins vary in thickness, so a DrumDial is only suitable to a limited extent.
Search for posts by “John Balch” He knows what he's talking about.
For example: https://www.banjohangout.org/archive/384015
Good luck.