My advice would be to get the calfskins. Because if you don't and buy the goat, instead, you will always wonder if there was a difference. Goat was made as a cheaper alternative to calf...."similar"

I can't comment on goat, but I have heard other people say that it is similar but NOT the same as calf. I don't know if it's because Earthtones are mounted on a metal hoop...There are some obvious differences in construction right off the bat. Calf is mounted to wooden flesh hoops.

As far as harder/softer, etc.....I don't know. I do know that I have a few drums with calfskins and they are absolutely unique -the feel is unique.

And, IF well cared for, calfskins can last for years and years and years and still sound great.

But...they DO cost ya!

I have been wondering the same thing. Where are you getting the calf heads from?

http://www.rebeats.com/store/index.php?cPath=4&&page=1

If you've never played on skin heads before you may want to try just a snare head (batter only) first to get the feel of playing with them.

They do have their problems (humidity) which can be overcome as needed.

Skin heads are more suited for acoustic work (jazz, orchestra) than for Rock Clubs as such. Are you a heavy hitter? Then they're not for you, you'd kill the heads and waste your time and money.

Unless I was reading that wrong, I didn't see anything bigger than a 16".

Correct. They can make up whatever size you need. These are the standard sizes they sell.

I've ordered up enough of both calf skin and goat skin heads for the batter and reso sides of two 14 inch snares, a 13 inch tom, and a 16 inch tom. When they come in I'll experiment with the different combinations and such. If you want, I can video the tests so you can see an A-B test. Should be fun. I'll use the Slingerland thin shelled kit and see what happens. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has been curious about this. I checked YouTube and found diddly on animal skin heads for the drum kit. There just isn't anybody out there putting up data on this.

Well......things haven't played out too well.

First, Earthtone contacted me and said it would be over a month before they get stock back in. Obviously that's not gonna work for me.

Second, I spoke with Rob Cook today. Had some issues with the calf heads not fitting the Slingerland toms and snare. Dang. He stated that it's been that way since the fire. So, be careful when you order the heads. If your drum is the slightest bit wide mouthed, it won't work. I ended up putting the heads on the Standard kit and the little jazzer kit I'm working on. Two of the three drums sound ... icky. One sounds great. Strange. The feel really isn't there. I figured I'd be playing INTO the head but that's simply not the case. They just sound and feel off. It's not my ears because I'm enjoying the 14 quite a bit. It's just not working well on the larger 16 and the 13 tom. I honestly don't understand it. The 14 is a Ludwig Standard floor tom and the 13 and 16 are Ludwig Standards. Odd.

I'll play with the reso heads a bit more and see what I can see. If you have any recommendations, speak up. I don't know whether to tension them tight, loose, or somewhere in between. I want them to sing out and they just are not. The 14 sings like a bird. No issues there.

I picked an old 13" calf head at a music store near me for $10. It was old, water stained and had a tiny hole in it. I put it on a 50's slingy tom I have and it sounded like s#*t. I tightened it up real good and let it sit over night. The next day I tuned it up and it sang!! Did you try the earthtone as a batter?