Lambeg Skins
(c) 2004 Paul Marshall
Much of his article is my own research and is also reflected
in Gary Hasting's Book 'With fife and drum', That great book has also
helped fill in many many gaps in my own information. Many thanks to Gary
and to the lambeggers & drum makers who have spoken with me.
So, what's all this craic about Lambeg skins, a
goat's a goat innit?
I
thought this once, a few years back, but a Lambeg skin is a different
beast entirely. Read about the Lambeg drum.
Most natural drum skins, usually goat, undergo a fairly
standard process. The flesh is removed from the inside of the raw hide
and the hair is removed.
The hair can be removed naturally by shaving or can be removed
chemically by the use of lime or other product. Chemical treatment is
not recommended for any drum as the chemicals can strip the skin of its
natural elements and affect its performance.
The
Lambeg skin is different because the makers use an undisclosed recipe
that not only depiles the skin but also imparts it with particular qualities.
When the skin has been removed, it is then stretched out on a board. In
the nice image above left, you can see where the pins pulled at the skin.
The straight white line is a meter ruler to give an idea of scale.
When
it is on the board it is scraped with a blade that removes all but the
extreme upper layers of skin. This is called fining down and makes the
skins incredibly thin. The image to the left is a closeup of a lambeg
skin side-on, the graduations on the ruler are milimetres. I'd estimate
this one at 0.2mm. That's thin. In the image below the FDG
CDs are underneath the skin
.
In the making of many drums, the skin receives further treatment.
It could be a form of curing or tanning. Usually it involves the application
of some home made product called a recipe. The process is called doping
the skins. There are many theories as to what is in the doping recipe,
Gary Hastings mentions 'alum' (whatever that is) and I have heard of several
other names. I'm loth to share them here because I can't vouch for their
veracity and I'd hate to be responsible for ruined goatskins.
But basically a Lambeg skin is a skin fined down to the
nth degree and has received particular forms of treatment which permit
it, whilst being supremely thin, to be extremely strong; there's reckoned
to be a ton of pressure at the centre of a tensioned Lambeg. It is this
thinness which, in the case of low-tensioned drums, provides the supreme
flex that is so sought after by bodhran players. Because of its thinness
I also find it super-articulate on any high tensioned finger frame drums.
Read here about re-skinning a bendir
using a Lambeg skin
I'm sorry that I can't share my knowledge of the bodhran
makers' skin flex recipes here or privately, it's a commercial edge for
them although there are recipe variations between makers. I hope this
is a useful explanation in any case.