Bands, inlayed or overlayed?

[BMac]

For whatever it's worth, I just spoke to Michel Ouellet of Moperc several days ago and we discussed bands as I ordered a Salsa Club Series large tumba. He has consistently characterized bands as an aesthetic option when I have ordered my drums from him over the years. The tumba will be my third Moperc. In the recent discussion he raised the issue of the radically different material properties of wood and steel, and characterized modern congas without bands as more stable. I keep using the term "characterized" here because I did not record his exact quotes, but I believe I am relaying his thoughts somewhat in my own words. The bands cost a little more from Moperc. They're an option that requires extra material and manufacturing steps ... and so you have to pay for them if you want them.

Now some here may say that their favorite maker, Matt, or Tom, or Mario ... or whoever you prefer ... has mastered the stable union of steel and wood, like some drum world equivalent of old world alchemists who wanted to make gold from lead. But I don't believe in that. Over and over and over and over we see discussions about loose bands, and moving them around and tightening them and getting them to stay put and inlay versus floating and on and on. Certainly I won't deny that inlaid bands will likely stay put better than floating bands. Doubtless as well is the likelihood that a skilled hand can craft a more stable band arrangement than a beginner, and none of the guys I've named here are beginners. But the evidence seems overwhelming that in this age of the world, bands are an aesthetic choice that costs a little more and may one day cause you some inconvenience.

Bands have apparently kept the staves of some old congas together in so far as the staves weren't lost in a few examples I've seen online of really old (and not well maintained) congas found in estate sales and such. In those examples, as the stave bonding in old congas has failed, the bands kept the overall drum together to the benefit of someone who may one day want to restore the instrument to a playable condition. That someone is going to want all the necessary pieces in one place. In that context, the bands work better than just putting a collapsed stave set away in a bag in your attic, because you can stand the old banded conga in a corner and it looks cool and reminds you of the restoration project you're supposed to pursue. But I just don't see that fate coming to my congas. If disbonding occurs one day, I won't likely want to play the drum until I get it repaired ... after all ... I have other congas I can play.

My eyes agree with others here ... Moperc bands look inlaid ... and Isla bands look like they sit on the wood surface. But I wouldn't worry about weakening a conga by inlay, especially not Mopercs ... they are some beefy drums.

If you like the way bands look ... get bands ... but don't kid yourself that they are needed to preserve the drums integrity. It's an aesthetic thing, and as many discussions on these boards have demonstrated, you may find yourself fiddling with them one day if they loosen up or move around. But so what? People fiddle around with their body jewelry, why not fiddle around with the bling on your drums? You want the bling ... get the bling ... but you don't need it.

Cheers,
BMac

[Joseph]

Hey Dende,
I wrote about homemade band fabrication awhile back.
View it here: http://www.mycongaplace.com/forum/eng/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=5577
Lots of photos to help visualize the process.

[dende]

Hey Dende,
I wrote about homemade band fabrication awhile back.
View it here: http://www.mycongaplace.com/forum/eng/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=5577
Lots of photos to help visualize the process.

Thank you so much, this definitely simplifies the method for me (i was about to work out some formulas)