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I mounted a thick Cuban cow skin on this Matador fiberglass conga in December
and it is still difficult to handle when it comes to tuning: the pitch drops about a note
anytime I hit the skin in center with my fist - not as playing technique, but to make sure
it sits evenly and the tone is stable. So the skin does not hold the pitch constantly.

Now I wonder if this somewhat instability of the desired pitch is due to the construction
of the drum or is it rather the skin that needs more time?
Should I perhaps even crank the conga up for a while and leave it at a higher pitch?
Or would it be wise to unmount the skin, wet it for some time and mount it again?
I am not really sure what to do.
Other than that, I like to play this Palisades park & Matador combo very much.

Sound like it is still breaking in to me. I only hit the skin with my fist after I have untuned
the drum. Never after I tune the drum. Why don't you try playing it without hitting it?

I seem to remember leaving my fiberglass drums tuned most of the time. You can give that a try.
Did you try waxing the bearing edge of the conga to help the skin move along it?

Thanks for the quick reply, Geordie!

bongosnotbombs wrote:Did you try waxing the bearing edge of the conga to help the skin move along it?

Yes, I did.

bongosnotbombs wrote:Why don't you try playing it without hitting it?

I will do that and be a bit more patient...
It seems to me that the skin needs this summer to break in - I just played the conga on the roof terrace and it sounded very fine - got the look from my Ghanaian neighbour from the garden below
Hey, it´s Friday evening after all...

Hi there

I do not know if this will be helpful, but I use a rubber mallet after tuning the skin. I gently hit the rim with it in order to make sure the skin is tight.

Then, if I need to adjust the tuning I hit the rim again. It is very useful when playing in a damp atmosphere (out door when wet for example) or during gigs in between sets (make sure the mics are off

Then, after playing, I detune and then hit the center of the skin to make sure that that the skin is nicely rested.

This might help a bit.

One thing is sure, it doesn't take 6 months for a skin to adapt to the shell.

B

akdom wrote:I use a rubber mallet after tuning the skin. I gently hit the rim with it in order to make sure the skin is tight. Then, if I need to adjust the tuning I hit the rim again.

Forgive me if the question is stupid, but which way do you hit the rim? From above? If so, dont you have to readjust the lugs after that?