remo nuskyn for a PATATO DRUM? - congas set and accessories

[michael rosario]

i gig about 2 or 3 nights a week and i get tired of tuning up my congas i was thinking about get a set of remo nuskyn for my congas. i have patatos fiber-glass congas how will they sound with remo nuskyn? i have a conga and a tumbadora. i also have a set of wood congas, quinto, conga and tumbadora with mule head skins.. how different will my fiber- glass conga drums sound with these synthetic heads i have a latin jazz band... how good will these synthetic skins sound with these Patatos drums in a latin jazz situation?


mucho ache
michaelangelo

[120decibels]

michaelangelo,

This is just my opinion, but I think that the nuskyn heads might sound a bit bright on the fiberglass drums. I think that the nuskyn heads are the best synthetics out there, but they still have a bright sound with a lot of overtones. The fiberglass drums tend to ring more than wood drums, so putting a synthetic head on them will just amplify all of that stuff.

In a band situation, it will depend on how you are miced. If the microphones are close to the drums, they will pick up all of the brightness, overtones and ringing. If not, then you might be in better shape.

Bottom line, I wouldn't put a synthetic head on a fiberglass drum. I have played the nuskyn heads on a wood drum. They sound pretty good and they feel better than any synthetic head I have seen.


Zach

[rhythmisit]

I have NuSkyn heads on my Poncho Sanchez Remo congas - these congas are not Fiberglass but they are made of material called Acousticon. These heads work fine with them. I agree with Zach, they may sound too ringy on Fiberglass shell. But they are so easy to tune and keep them in tune. Also when you play soft or hard, they respond accordingly to produce crisp clear sound. Hope this helps.

[congabebe]

Hi,
I have fiberglass congas and remo fiberskin on mine. The Toca rep said that if I want to change heads the only thing that would fit would be the Newskyn or the Evans,... Be careful, make sure that what you buy heads thar are made for your congas. Not all of them fit. You may know that already, but I found out the hard way.

It is true you don't have to tune them like real skin. It is also very true, you get alot of overtones. Right now, I still have the Fiberskin on mine, but to cut ringing/overtones down, I have taken electrical tape and made an x on the back of each head, and I took some 7/8 inch foam insulation strips that you use on doors and windows and ran a strip inside the drum straight up from the bottom rim to the middle of the conga. I haven't played them on the stands in my house, so I can't hear to much difference, but they seemed ok when I mic'ed them for our last gig. I am experimenting so not sure if this is working like I want it yet. I want to add real skins to my congas, but I will have to tuck them myself and don't have the funds right now. I have to admit, I like not having to tune them, but I want that warm sound and that is why I have tried these different things to see if I can adapt the heads I have to make the sound I want.

Anyway, good luck shopping. I hope I have given you some info to make it easier.

chow,
Congabebe

[j.Peters]

When i want to get rid of the overtones on my nuskyns, i'm using the little sticky moongel pads (the one drummers use on toms etc.) easy on, easy off

[congabebe]

News flash.
I busted my first conga head. Not sure what happened. I had problems getting a 4th between the conga and quinto. I adjusted several times and still the interval was not right. I kept adjusting up and down, lowered the other drum, finally I thought that is a half step and I just adjusted... then I noticed the rippled of the head and the tear away from the collar. I don't know if the head just gave out cause they were a year old or I adjusted them to tight and they gave up. But I got an LP skin on them. Sounds better and I am thrilled. The skin of the head sticks up about a 1/4 inch above the collar but the sound is worth it. Technically the LP's are not supposed to fit, but the Remo head they had didn't look right, I saw overlapped staves and some places that looked untucked in the ring on the underside. So I am converting as soon as I can get the rings and the skins. The fiberskyn is ok, but I want the warmer sound. And my slaps are so much more responsive on the skin. I may try the Evans or new skin down the road, but I am hoping this is going to resolve all my issues with ringing, etc.

Chow,
congabebe

[congabebe]

Weeks have passed. I have been using LP hand selected premounted head on my quinto. The skin flips up out from under the easy play hoop rim. This is a killer on my hands. My conga head is separating from the ring, rather than wait for it to break when I go to tune it at a gig, I went shopping. I tried some Remo Nuskin's for both quinto and conga. I didn't read Remo's tips for mounting and one is not even, so I am going to try and mount again. I had to really tighten almost all of the lug nuts to get any tension on the head. But after tuning and trying some open slaps. Not to bad, it is not has easy as the real skin to get a good pop, but it is much easier than the Fiberskyn. The sound of open tones is much warmer and it really sounds better. So, when looking around, the Nuskyn looks like a premounted head. To compare to Evans, Evans looks like the Fiberskyn except in color. Meaning the rim is staves connected to a rim with the synthetic head covering it. However, I don't know how they sound comparatively, but I would recommend the Nuskyn at this point.

At this point, I am aborting the 'true skin' conversion. One reason is I would have to have rings made and then when I mount the head there is a good possibility that I would end up with the skin coming up out of the easy play hoop and not being able to trim it back enough to be comfortable. Since, now one has comments to support it can be done, I am chickening out of the adventure for now. The Nuskyn looks like it will be the best solution and I really liked the sound it is alot warmer than I thought they would be. I hope this helps anyone shopping.

Peace,
congabebe

[Raymond]

I have Evans in my Galaxy fiberglass (which in essence are Patato's with kevlar on the top of the conga). It does not have overtones but have to watch out because like all synthetic heads they tune quick and if tuned high....overtones.....

NuSkyns (like I posted before) are very thin and tune very quick too because of their traditional rim. So you have to watch out because you might over tune them. Remo Fiberskyns are supposed to be the ones with overtones.

I have noticed that with synthetic heads, the sound you hear could be different than what people hear or what the instrument projects...That is another thing to consider. Just to let you know.....Eddie Montalvo, Kachiro Thompson and Jimmy Morales...three of the outstanding congueros in the salsa field use fiberglass congas with Fiberskyns which give excellent projection and I do not get any "strange sound" in their live performances.