Once a tabla or baya head has split, or the syahi has chipped and started to buzz badly, the head cannot be patched. It has to be replaced. The single most common problem with replacement heads is not quality but size, so this page explains exactly how to measure, and why the number written on a head is not the number you should be working from.
The best method: send us a tracing
Measurements go wrong. A tracing does not. If you can, do this:
- Take the strap and the old head off the shell.
- Stand the bare shell upside down on a sheet of paper and draw round the outside of the rim.
- Photograph the tracing with a ruler or a coin lying next to it for scale, and send it to us on WhatsApp or by email.
We lay the tracing against the heads in stock and pick the one that fits your particular drum. If you are in Mumbai, bring the shell in and we will do it in front of you.
If you would rather send a measurement
Measure the shell across the top, from the outer edge of the rim to the outer edge on the opposite side. Not the inside of the bore, and not across the old head.
Many shells are slightly out of round, especially older ones. If yours is, give us the largest measurement you can find across it, and be aware that a shell that is noticeably oval is harder to balance when the head is tensioned.
Why the size written on a head is misleading
Tabla heads are built by hand on a shell, under tension. The head on a new drum was made on that exact shell. A replacement was made on a different one, and there is no standard tabla shell size, so an exact match is a matter of finding the closest, not of ordering a part number.
On top of that, skins shrink. A head can lose three millimetres or more between the workshop and the shelf, which means the size written on it is usually larger than what it now actually measures. When somebody asks us for a five and a half inch head, we start by opening the box marked five and five eighths. Please measure a head before concluding it is the wrong size.
We take the diameter of a head from inside edge to inside edge of the skin, never across the top and never including the braid. Because the head is two layers of skin with a crease where they overlap, there is always a little grey area in that figure. It is exactly why the tracing method is better.
Better slightly large than slightly small
If we do not have your exact size we will go up, never down, and by no more than three millimetres. A head that is a little too small is useless. A head that is a little too large works perfectly well, and in fact needs that room: if the head grips the shell before the strap is laced, you will struggle to thread the strap through the sixteen openings, and the braid will not pull down over the edge of the shell, leaving the playing surface sitting too high to be comfortable.
So a head that sits a bit loose on the bare shell is normal. When you tension it, go slowly and work round the drum a little at a time so it settles evenly and does not get dragged to one side.
Ordering from us
We buy our heads from makers we have dealt with for many years and we pick the best of what is in stock for each order. Because sizing depends on information only you can give us, please send the tracing or the measurement before ordering; we will confirm the size in writing before anything is despatched. Within India we deliver in seven to ten days. We ship heads worldwide from Mumbai, which for overseas customers is almost always cheaper and faster than sending a drum to India and back.
See the reheading videos for how the head is fitted, our tabla FAQs for care and repair questions, or browse drum accessories and tabla sets. Contact us with your tracing and we will take it from there.