Conga Heads - How thick should conga heads be

[Héctor]

Congueros/as of all countries, be greeted!

Could anyone please help me? I am a bit confused. I got my first set of congas , Meinl Fibercraft (new), in June 2003, which means I'm still a (advanced) beguinner. The guy who runs the store where I bought them, a experienced Conguero himself, had the heads specially changed for my as a kind of extra service. He substituted the ones which came with the congas with thicker ones, also original unused Meinl ones. He preferes thicker ones. So far I am happy with them. In March 2004 I bought at the same store a LP Classic Conga which is, here in Europe, an expensive thing to do. I just wanted to have a wood conga as well and thought, "LP, the best of the best", you can go wrong", etc etc. My LP Classic Conga has a thinner head than the Meinls. I have also compared mine with several other LP Congas and realised that they all have somehow thinner heads in general. I know that it is all a matter of individual taste etc but, is the maybe a sort of unofficial rule or tendency? I have also heard that the thikness of the heads should be: thin for the tumba so that it can vibrate, thicker for the conga, and even thicker for the quinto as this one is tuned higher than the other ones an has therefore the highest tension. Is this true? I would really appreciate your comments on this matter. Muchas gracías!!! Héctor.

[Raymond]

My understanding is that thinner heads will give you more volume and more overtones. Thicker heads will give you less volume and less overtones. (The difference is minimal...). Overtones is something that goes unnoticed by the untrained ear but it will be "felt" because the "tones" are "felt" different.

Is a matter of likes. Personally, I do not like my heads too thin. I like them "mid".

In my experience, it has been a trial and error and been aware of what I like... You need to decide what you like here...

Saludos!

[Johnny Conga]

For each drum the thickness is different.. for the quinto it's thin, for the segundo it's medium thick and for the tumbadora, thick. Also the use of "water buffalo" heads is another reason, they are usually thin in comparison to mule or cow. I would recommend Mule if you can get it. I just put a new mule head I got from JCR in the Bronx(which my buddy Ivan got me) and it's GREAT!....I miss the feel and the dry sound it gives out....so experixmetnx with different heads until you find the ones you like...... :;): JC JOHNNY CONGA...

[Ivan]

Saludos Hector,

I would have to agree with both JC and Raymond.

My added opinion is that the sound you like from your conga comes with getting to know your drum and getting to know your own playing technique as well. Some guys don't even like real skin as heads, some like the fiberskyn (made by remo of fiberglass materials). I agree the bigger the head, the thicker the skin should be and vice-versa... :;):

The mule skin I got for JC and myself was thru a good friend, Isaac in NYC. In fact, Isaac has posted some information on how to get in contact with him here in the Conga Board. Go to: CongaSet and Accessories then look for the topic titled Cowbells. He has posted a flyer there. He is extremely picky about what he passes on to us consumers. He has access to various conga heads and more and he will always pick the best he can find based on what you are looking for. It wouldn't hurt to get his take on this - you should give him a call or e-mail him.

Again, what you want all depends on what you are comfortable with - we all have our own opinions and we all have our own playing styles as well. As long as you keep playing, the more you will begin to know what you like more...

I would recommend getting together with other congueros in your area - sometimes it's good to play on someone elses drums, just to see the differences between each one...

I will be replacing all my conga heads with mule skin heads from Isaac. On the other hand, I really like the way Remo's Nuskyn's sound on my bongos :;):

Good Luck.
Ivan