Name: Pithecellobium Saman (Saman, Raintree, Monkey Pod, Dormilon, Locorice, Algarrobo, Cenicero, Tamarindo, Samaguare, Mimosa, Lara, and Carabali). Belongs to the Leguminosae family.

Growing Region: Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, Guatemala, Peru, Brazil and Bolivia. It has been introduced in the West Indies and Hawaii.

Availability: Readily available.

Weight/Hardness/Density: Raintree scores 1375 on the Janka hardness scale. Maple scores 1450, walnut 1010, and white ash 1320. The Janka scale is a measure of how much force is required to drive a .44” steel ball ½ of its depth into the wood.

Cost: Twice (or more) the cost of maple.

Habitat concerns: Not endangered. Hawaii is attempting to control this invasive species.

Comments: The tree grows to heights of 100 to 125 feet with a trunk diameter of 3 to 4 feet. Raintree is used in making stringed instruments. The pods (fruit) have been used for illnesses such as colds, diarrhea, and headache and have also been used as a sedative. The extract of the leaves has been used against mycobacterium tuberculosis, and the leaves to make tea for a laxative.

Timbre/Tonal Color: Raintree has a lower fundamental pitch than maple, but the length of the note is the same as our maple comparison drum. It has more body than maple with an “open” resonance giving it a smooth sound. Maple sounded more “brittle” in comparison.

Dynamic Range : Very consistent with no change in the sound character from pp (very quiet) to ff (very loud).

Tonal Range : Raintree has a bigger sweetspot than maple and is more consistent in sound from the center to the edge than our maple drum.

Tuning Range: Based on the Janka scale score and the open grain pattern, we expected it to tune lower but not as high as maple. Surprisingly, the numbers were identical to maple for a high head tension as well as a low head tension.

Resonance/Decay: The high frequencies decayed faster than the low frequencies. Raintree had nice highs for attack, then the highs decay leaving a cleaner sounding note that carried a short time longer. It is more “open” in sound and resonance.

Cross Stick: Lower in pitch than maple. Raintree has less of a metallic hoop sound and more shell vibration than the maple comparison drum. The real estate on the Raintree is also larger for getting a good cross stick sound than on the maple drum.

Volume: Equal to maple.

Sensitivity: Equal. We got good response all around the drum.

Comments: “Feels and plays well. Raintree has a smoothness and musicality that maple lacks.” (Robert).

By Greg Gaylord & Robert “Tree Hugger” Bowler.

Photo credit Frankie Frost