Conga skins - Kip skin, steer skins, Cow hide

Thanks Korman,

Thin is different for each.. dont have a metric ruler with me, but...

Mule - thin can be as thin as thick buisiness card stock, to as thick as standard card board (two ply with zigzag inside)
Steer - thin is like the thickness of a quarter, thick is like standard card board
Cow - thin is like a dime, 1-2 mm thicker than two quarters
Calf is like a dime, fairly regularly
Kip is from a dime to a nickle
Horse is as thin as regular business card stock, and as thick as a dime.
Buffalo is from a dime to a nickle, but the only ones i have expereince with are the ones i take off of LP's when reskinning them. The animal may provide much thicker stock, but i havent purchased entire hides of this animal.

I dont know of any player who uses Mule for his Hembra, but Im sure you can get it to sound nice, with the right thickness. many people use Mule for the macho. Its a bit damp for use on the hembra, for me. I like a bit more punch out of my hembra tones. Buffalo makes great Hembra skins, actually. Its usually just the right thickness.

This is just my experience, and the products i have access to. Im sure it varies depending on the supplier.

There are many types of Cattle, many differing varieties, and im sure the hides vary in thickness depending on the species.

One other thing that may need metioning -

sound irrespective of the drum:

Cow - Medium bright slaps, round full open tones with medium sustain
Mule - bright, crisp slaps, slightly muddy open tones with short sustain
Buffalo - Bright slaps, ringy open tones with long sustain
Kip and Calf - bright slaps, trashy open tones, medium sustain (think gon bops stock skins)
Steer - mid-range slaps, round open tones with short sustain

Hope that helps,

Tony