The ability to hear the differences in the use of calf or cow skins on
percussion instruments is probably lost on most listeners as is the use
of different types of sticks.

When I was in college, a percussionist friend who studied in Chicago
told me that while he liked the sound of natural skins, he felt that the
synthetic drum heads held up better under the daily use in a symphony
orchestra and were easier to tune esp.  on timps.

Aloha and Mahalo,

Eric Nagamine