Posted: Wed Apr 18, 2007 4:40 pmThe Yellow Drum
So I just got this drum for a price ($75) that was cheap enough to take a chance on. I'm under no illusion that it's anything special (or will even sound like something I'll want to play), but it certainly is intriguing. I bought it half-blind (one fuzzy polaroid and a seller who didn't know anything about it), so was actually quite surprised when it arrived that it might have some potential. The question is, what is/was it? One thing is for sure - it's very, very old.
More pics:
http://picasaweb.google.com/taikonoatama/YellowConga/
(It's actually a little fatter in the belly than the pics show.)
Height:
29.75"
Diameter:
10"
Shell:
Much thinner than any modern conga - perhaps half as thick, if that. There are no holes in the shell (filled in or otherwise) for the normal placement of side plates.
Wood:
There are so many layers of paint and who-knows-what on the outside that it's impossible to tell. The inside is burnt/charred. There's one place inside where a burnt chunk has come off and though I don't recognize the wood, it doesn't appear to be super dense. The grain is relatively tight with long evenly spaced intervals - it's not mahogany, that much I can say. Overall the drum is not so heavy, but with all the paint and funky hardware, it's hard to really make a call on the wood.
Hardware:
I have to think this is just a one-off - some guy in his workshop just using whatever he could find or repurpose - but who knows. The rim appears to be from a snare/tom rim. Anyone recognize it? 6 lugs and there's a place where it was obviously welded together (after a section of the rim was removed, it would seem). As for the rest of the hardware ... well, it works, even if the tension lugs go straight into the drum. I might want to plug up those holes or something, though. There are 5 bands. No alma.
Skin:
It's trashed, so I really have no idea what this thing might sound like. I've ordered a new one from Stern Tanning.
So that's it.
Here's my best guess:
The profile and thin-shell are classic old-school Cuban, but that obviously doesn't mean it was made there - it is in that style, though.
The fact that there are no holes for normally-positioned side plates tells me one of two things:
1. In the days before Vergara, when mechanically-tuned hardware was not standardized, people tried out all sorts of approaches and this was one that never really caught on.
2. It was originally a tack-head drum (pre-mid-50's?) and the hardware was added at a later date by someone using whatever they could find.
I could find no evidence of holes around the top or the shell where the tacks might have been, but with so many layers of paint that's not surprising. No holes inside, either.
How common was the charring of the inside? I had some Dominican congas where this was done. Was this done in Cuba? I assume it preserves the wood.
Thoughts? Questions?
~Taiko
Edited By taikonoatama on 1177112252
Attachment: http://mycongaplace.com/forum/eng/uploa ... drum01.jpg
So I just got this drum for a price ($75) that was cheap enough to take a chance on. I'm under no illusion that it's anything special (or will even sound like something I'll want to play), but it certainly is intriguing. I bought it half-blind (one fuzzy polaroid and a seller who didn't know anything about it), so was actually quite surprised when it arrived that it might have some potential. The question is, what is/was it? One thing is for sure - it's very, very old.
More pics:
http://picasaweb.google.com/taikonoatama/YellowConga/
(It's actually a little fatter in the belly than the pics show.)
Height:
29.75"
Diameter:
10"
Shell:
Much thinner than any modern conga - perhaps half as thick, if that. There are no holes in the shell (filled in or otherwise) for the normal placement of side plates.
Wood:
There are so many layers of paint and who-knows-what on the outside that it's impossible to tell. The inside is burnt/charred. There's one place inside where a burnt chunk has come off and though I don't recognize the wood, it doesn't appear to be super dense. The grain is relatively tight with long evenly spaced intervals - it's not mahogany, that much I can say. Overall the drum is not so heavy, but with all the paint and funky hardware, it's hard to really make a call on the wood.
Hardware:
I have to think this is just a one-off - some guy in his workshop just using whatever he could find or repurpose - but who knows. The rim appears to be from a snare/tom rim. Anyone recognize it? 6 lugs and there's a place where it was obviously welded together (after a section of the rim was removed, it would seem). As for the rest of the hardware ... well, it works, even if the tension lugs go straight into the drum. I might want to plug up those holes or something, though. There are 5 bands. No alma.
Skin:
It's trashed, so I really have no idea what this thing might sound like. I've ordered a new one from Stern Tanning.
So that's it.
Here's my best guess:
The profile and thin-shell are classic old-school Cuban, but that obviously doesn't mean it was made there - it is in that style, though.
The fact that there are no holes for normally-positioned side plates tells me one of two things:
1. In the days before Vergara, when mechanically-tuned hardware was not standardized, people tried out all sorts of approaches and this was one that never really caught on.
2. It was originally a tack-head drum (pre-mid-50's?) and the hardware was added at a later date by someone using whatever they could find.
I could find no evidence of holes around the top or the shell where the tacks might have been, but with so many layers of paint that's not surprising. No holes inside, either.
How common was the charring of the inside? I had some Dominican congas where this was done. Was this done in Cuba? I assume it preserves the wood.
Thoughts? Questions?
~Taiko
Edited By taikonoatama on 1177112252
Attachment: http://mycongaplace.com/forum/eng/uploa ... drum01.jpg
