Head Replacement
Use this guide when the dayan or bayan head must be replaced — the skin has cracked, the syahi has delaminated beyond repair, or tuning stability has degraded past what retensioning can restore. This covers confirming replacement is necessary, measuring and documenting the existing setup, removing the old head safely, fitting and lacing the new head, initial tensioning, and the settling period. This guide assumes you have replacement experience or are working alongside someone who does. If you have never replaced a tabla head before, see the Getting Expert Help guide — a first replacement done incorrectly risks damaging the shell, which is far more expensive to repair than the head itself.
Step 1: Confirm Replacement Is Truly Required
Head replacement is irreversible and expensive. Before committing, rule out recoverable causes that mimic end-of-life symptoms. A head that will not hold pitch may have slack straps rather than stretched skin — see the Strap Tightening guide. A persistent buzz may be a gatta, kundal, or environmental issue rather than a syahi fault — see the Fixing Syahi Buzz guide. Tuning instability that correlates with weather changes may be a climate problem, not a head problem — see the Climate and Storage guide.
The signals that genuinely indicate replacement: a visible crack through the skin that extends more than a centimeter, syahi that has lifted from the skin across a significant portion of the edge and does not respond to any tension correction, a head where maximum strap tension still produces pitch well below the target note, or a maidan that has developed a permanent deformation (a visible bowl or warp) that no amount of correction can flatten. If you see one or more of these, replacement is the correct path.
Step 2: Measure the Existing Head in Four Directions
Before removing anything, measure the head diameter across four axes, rotating roughly 45 degrees between each measurement. The skin is not perfectly uniform, and heads are not perfectly round. Four measurements give you the actual size range of the opening, which is what you need when sourcing a replacement head. A head measured on one axis may appear to be a different size from a head measured on the perpendicular axis by several millimeters.
Record these measurements along with the shell type (dayan or bayan), the approximate shell diameter at the rim, and the current head's skin thickness if you can gauge it. This information helps you or your supplier match a replacement head correctly. An undersized replacement will not seat properly; an oversized one will require excessive trimming and may not center.
Step 3: Document the Current Lace Path
Photograph the existing tasma path from at least three angles: top-down showing the full lace pattern, side view showing how the strap wraps around the shell, and a close-up of the tie-off knot. Note the lacing direction (clockwise or counterclockwise when viewed from above) and count the number of gatta positions.
This documentation serves two purposes. First, it provides a reference for reassembly — you will relace the new head in the same direction and pattern. Second, if the strap itself is in good condition, you will reuse it, and the photographs help you thread it back correctly. Relacing in the wrong direction or skipping a wrap point creates uneven tension that is difficult to diagnose later because the assembly looks correct from the outside.
Step 4: Remove the Old Head Safely
Detension the head gradually before removing it. Work in opposed-pair rounds: loosen two opposite gattas by the same amount, then the next pair, continuing until all straps are slack. Do not cut the strap or release tension at a single point — sudden unilateral release can warp the shell lip or snap a weakened strap.
Once fully slack, remove the gattas and note their approximate positions. Free the strap from the head's lace ring, working carefully to avoid bending the ring if you plan to reuse it. If the strap is threaded through eyelets or loops on the head assembly, trace the path as you free each segment.
Lift the old head off the shell. Before discarding it, compare it to the new head to confirm size compatibility. Set the old head aside — if the replacement does not work out, having the old head available (even in degraded condition) gives you a fallback while sourcing another.
Step 5: Inspect the Shell Lip
With the head removed, examine the top edge of the shell where the head seats. Run your finger around the entire lip and feel for chips, cracks, rough spots, or accumulated grime. The shell lip must be smooth, even, and clean for the new head to seat properly. Any irregularity on the lip will create a pressure point that prevents the head from vibrating evenly and can damage the new head's rim over time.
Clean the lip with a dry cloth. If you find minor roughness, very fine sandpaper (400 grit or higher) can smooth it — but only on the specific rough spot, not the entire lip. If the lip has a crack, chip, or structural damage, stop. Shell repair is beyond the scope of this guide and requires a craftsman. See the Getting Expert Help guide. Fitting a new head on a damaged shell wastes the head.
Step 6: Dry-Fit and Center the New Head
Place the new head on the shell without any strap tension. It should sit flat on the lip with the gajara (braided rim) resting evenly all the way around. Check the centering — the syahi should be approximately centered over the shell opening. If the head sits unevenly or rocks, the head may be warped, the shell lip may be uneven, or the sizing may be off. Do not proceed with lacing until the dry fit is clean.
If the head needs slight repositioning to center, adjust it by hand now. Once the strap is tensioned, the head cannot be shifted without full detensioning. Getting the centering right at the dry-fit stage saves the work of discovering misalignment after lacing and having to start over.
Step 7: Lace in the Correct Direction
Thread the strap following the same path documented in Step 3 — same direction, same wrap points, same knot position. If you are using a new strap, follow the pattern of the original. If you are reusing the original strap, thread it back through the same sequence.
Work the strap snug but not tight on the first pass. The goal is to get the full lace path in place with moderate, even tension — not to achieve playing pitch. Thread each segment consistently: same amount of strap pulled through at each point, same pull-through tension. Uneven initial lacing creates tension imbalances that compound when you begin structural tightening.
After the full lace is threaded, insert the gattas at their approximate original positions. They should hold the strap in place without significant pressure at this stage.
Step 8: Settle and Apply First Structural Retension
With the lace in place and gattas inserted, begin the first retensioning. Work in opposed pairs (as described in the Strap Tightening guide): tighten two opposite segments, rotate 90 degrees, tighten the next pair. Make three to four full circuits of moderate opposed-pair tightening, pausing for a minute between circuits to let the skin redistribute tension.
You are not trying to reach playing pitch yet. The goal of this first structural retension is to seat the head firmly on the shell and bring the skin to an even baseline tension. The head will stretch significantly during this phase as the new skin accommodates the shell geometry for the first time. Forcing the head to playing pitch immediately risks over-stressing the skin before it has settled.
After the initial retension circuits, tap around the rim. You are listening for gross evenness — not tuning-level precision, just confirmation that no single zone is dramatically tighter or looser than the rest. Correct any extreme outliers with a gatta adjustment but resist the urge to fine-tune at this stage.
Step 9: Rough-Tune for Playability
Bring the head up to approximately the target pitch — close enough to play, not precisely in tune. Use the opposed-pair method from the Tuning guide, but expect the pitch to drift flat within minutes as the new skin continues stretching. This is normal and not a sign of a problem.
Play softly for five to ten minutes. Open strokes (na, tin) and gentle bayan work (ge with light bends). This playing helps the head settle by working the skin across its full range and revealing any seating issues while the head is still adjustable. Listen for: areas where the skin sounds dead or choked (possible centering issue), points where the rim gives a dramatically different pitch than its neighbors (lacing imbalance), or buzz from the new head-to-shell interface (debris or lip irregularity).
If you hear problems that indicate a seating or centering fault, it is worth detensioning and correcting now rather than playing through. A fault in the foundation will persist and may worsen as the skin settles into the wrong position.
Step 10: Allow the 24-Hour Settling Period
After rough tuning and initial playing, set the tabla aside for 24 hours in a stable climate environment (see the Climate and Storage guide for target conditions). The new skin will continue stretching and settling over this period. The pitch will drop — sometimes by a significant amount. This is expected.
After 24 hours, retune using the full method from the Tuning guide. The head should now hold pitch with more stability, though it will still require more frequent retuning over the first one to two weeks than a fully settled head. If the head drops dramatically (more than a full tone) within the first 24 hours and does not recover after retensioning, the strap may not be providing adequate structural tension — see the Strap Tightening guide for a retension pass.
Plan a second follow-up tuning 48 to 72 hours after installation. By this point, the head should be approaching stable behavior. If it is still drifting significantly after a week of regular playing and retuning, the head quality may be poor, the lacing may have an imbalance, or the shell lip may have an issue that was not apparent during fitting. Reassess before assuming the replacement was successful.