Golden Gate P-198 Flat Goatskin Banjo Head - 16"

perfect for replacing worn banjo drum head, nice natural finish, no defects or unacceptable blemishes, easy to work with

Wanted to used a skin head on my 100 plus year old banjo. This arrived quick and works well.

I was off work and the kids were out of school because of snow. On Monday one boy asked about getting a banjo…. Next thing you know I’m building an 1840’s minstrel style banjo with an improvised octagonal body. (I don’t have steam bending capacity to make hoops) The only parts we have purchased are strings, tacks and this head. It was tightly rolled and bent in half - but I was confident it would relax well. I soaked it in hot (140-150) degree water for half an hour. It flattened perfectly. There was a thinner spot in the skin, but it wasn’t terrible. When stretching it, I used heavy rubber bands to lash it down. I folded the extra back up under a second lash of the rubber band. Then I lashed a wrap of paracord around the octagon. I used the paracord like a hoop and pulled on it to slowly work the rubber band/skin assembly down, stretching it tighter and tighter. I did this for a few minutes, waited and did it again. Being a wooden hoop I had applied titebond to the Unsanded lip of the shell, but I finished by painting a thin layer of glue up under the lap. I placed it face down on my table, weighted and left it to dry. After three hours I drilled and drove my tacks, removing the lashing. Six hours after, it’s getting very hard and the pitch has gone up A LOT! Overall, I think this skin made our project a success. Now all we have left is bridge and tailpiece!!

So despite being one of the cheaper options when it comes to skin banjo heads, I really love these! I've used them on several banjos of my own and for others. Adequate thickness and very consistent quality. They also take various staining techniques very well. I've used coffee and black tea to stain these and they make for some interesting looks! Above all, these sound phenomenal for getting that old school tone with clawhammer and Scruggs style. Highly recommend!

This was my first goatskin banjo head, so I'm no expert, but I like it. It looks nice, it sounds nice, and it wasn't as hard as I thought to put on. Thanks Mr Goat!

It worked perfectly for me.

Do any of us actually know where these goat skins come from? I chose this almost at random from a number of them offered. It arrived promptly in a very small plastic bag. It had been tightly rolled, and folded twice to fit into the small plastic bag. When I started to unroll it, I realized it was dusted with an unknown white powder. I took it outside and brushed it off because I didn't want that in my shop air. I'll soak it and try to use it because I paid $25 for it. I think the folding has ruined it and that it will fail when being stretched. The white powder felt like baby powder on my fingertips. I washed my hands. Back in the day, I used a lot of powdered insecticides. The mystery powder felt and behaved identically. I made no attempt to smell or taste it. I will not purchase from these folks again. I cannot recommend this product based on the shipping method, and the added white powder.

Before starting this project, make sure you have looked at a few of the videos on the net. It's a bit tricky, and you don't want to screw it up. That said, if you want the traditional old-school feel and sound, or if your banjo is a wierd size, this is definitely the way to go. Important: If you are replacing a broken head, make sure you save the wire ring from the old head to use for the new one. If you have to make a new ring, it's a royal pain in the butt.

Easy to réhydrate. Flexible. Make à good skinhead on m'y old 11 1/4 inches tenor banjo.

Replaced the head on a 1931 banjolele and it worked beautifully sounds great and looks great

perfect

Writing this stupid review so Amazon will hopefully stop asking for it I bought this to replace the last one I had in stock. Just to hang on the wall til needed So far it is hanging quite well If I use it in the next decade or so I will write a proper review

Happy with it, all around. No tear through when mounting at all, no thin spots, nice even thickness (relatively speaking... it's still skin). Dropped a single star because it took forever & a day to actually ship, despite being "in stock". Once on it's way, it got here quickly.