Floor Tom as Bass Drum
The hole in the middle of the Molton allows the stick to strike the surface of the skin, giving more attack to the sound.

Drummers such as the Velvet Underground’s Moe Tucker have often experimented with damping drums with towels and cloth, but Jaki took this to a more sophisticated level. Traditionally, many African drums have the animal hair left on the skins to produce a similar effect.

The two drums shown here are a standard 16-inch tom, and smaller 15-inch that Jaki was particularly proud of. He had managed to get it directly from the manufacturer without the usual holes drilled into the shell for fittings and hardware. This meant he could lace the skins using his own method.