ozrivera wrote:bongo wrote:Now the quinto matched with that drum lost its skin at about 26 years, not from losing its sound, but because my hands had worn a hole through it along the bearing edge on one side. I made the mistake of always playing on the same spot, the other sides of the skin were still good.
Saludos Hermanos
Bongo
Man, you must have some ruff, and tuff hands. or that may have just been an inferior head leather. i have never heard of anyone wearing a whole through the skin from just playing. i have drums ive had for 10 years with the same head and played on the same spot every single time and the head has absolutly no wear. not saying its not possible. i just never heard of that happening to anyone before.
Oz
windhorse wrote:...If longevity of the head is your reason for detuning, let's add another factor more along the lines of Bongo's analogy of the engine. The lugs. What happens to the screw and nut under repeated detunings? Isn't this an area of stress and wear? And what about the bearing edge and seating of the head against the edge?...
...I would guess that the difference in detuning and not detuning on the longevity of a head is negligable, and that the added headache of having to turn the screws more every time you play isn't worth the possibility that you might have to mount a new head a few years before.
mjtuazon wrote:Even more importantly, you help maintain the roundness of the drums, especially those drums which are most tightly tuned, such as the quinto, requinto and the male bongo ("macho"). And by relieving the continued stress on the rims (both traditional and comfort style) and the points where the v-shaped ears are welded to the rim (for traditional rims only), you help maintain their structural integrity.
Particularly for drums with wood shells, not detuning could help cause or, worse, accelerate the premature cracking of the
stave(s).
windhorse wrote:I have seen drums out of round before, and my guess is that these were non-detuned drums as you suspect, but I think the cause wasn't non-detuning, but by inconsistent tension around the head.
windhorse wrote:So, you're saying that taking the stress off the head and adding that stress again and again in weather changing conditions when moisture is added to the bearing edge - more then less - as the head compresses on the bearing edge, then, decompresses on that edge, is better for the longevity of stave shape than keeping the head under tension?
I don't agree.
Too many variables changing by constantly adding, and taking away stress. Too much opportunity to screw up the tension slightly each time you tune it up. Also, the added inconsistancy of uneven moisture cloistering under the head against the bearing edge...
...I have seen drums out of round before, and my guess is that these were non-detuned drums as you suspect, but I think the cause wasn't non-detuning, but by inconsistent tension around the head.
bongo wrote:So ... every time you detune and retune you are creating uneven tuning for the time it takes to go around the lugs. You can't tune all lugs equally at the same time, you have to put the shell under stress while you attempt to get the tension even all the way around the shell.
bongo wrote:So ... every time you detune and retune you are creating uneven tuning for the time it takes to go around the lugs. You can't tune all lugs equally at the same time, you have to put the shell under stress while you attempt to get the tension even all the way around the shell.
mjtuazon wrote:So to reiterate, IMO, the bottom line is: There's obviously a much greater probability of a conga going out of round WITH TENSION rather than WITH NO TENSION at all. In addition, there's obviously an even greater probabilty of a conga going out of round under SUSTAINED TENSION (no detuning for long periods of time) rather than NO TENSION (detuned).
Most woods are capable of withstanding large amounts of compression and tension. It is sustained loads over time that usually result in permanent deformation.
mjtuazon wrote:We can all argue the pros and cons of detuning or not detuning until we all turn "blue in the face". In the final analysis, it's all a personal preference or "religion" or "ritual", if you will.
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