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Hi all,

I was doing a little recording this past week and found that my quinto was kind of "ringing", almost the point where it's like my LP Compact Congas (which I rarely play these days partly for that reason).

So my question for you is, what causes that? I thought it might be the tuning being too high, but when I tune it anything lower it doesn't sound much like a quinto (lol). Also, sometimes when it rains (I live in FL where it's real humid) my drums sort of "de-tune themselves", lowering their pitch almost to sounds like pleneras (lol). I'm thinking the 2 occurrences might be related, maybe having something 2 do with moisture in the air... idk lol that's why I'm asking.

Thanks in advance for your help,
Miguel

PS - scored a tambora drum on ebay dirt cheap and can't wait 2 add that 2 my repertoire

Welcome Miguel,

If the shell is the source of yoiur ringing, then this pervious posting is a possible solution:

Report this postReply with quoteVIDEO How to neutralize overtones in a Conga drum
by Roka » Sun Feb 06, 2011 5:15 am

Just found that idea.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYQujazVBQQ

The poor stock quality heads with LP drums can be improved by dampening the head on the underside. I use clear duct tape and I play with how much I use until I achieve the tone I like. Others use for dampening purposes: foam weather stripping, silicone, rubber cement and anything else that will reduce overtones. Afterwards, you may be able to achieve favorable tone.

Enjoy! The journey for better tone can take time but it is rewarding. Please share what you find when you find what works for you. There are so many different unique solutions to the same issues. When you find this, you might find that this can improve the tonal quality instruments you presently have or my own in the future.

In a humid enviroment I reccomend the Remo heads. The Fiberskyn and Skyndeep heads are great. They have heads specifically sized for the LP Aspire line that will work perfectly and improve the drums significantly. The Remo heads may need some dampening too to achieve the tone you may desire. The synthetic heads will be much more stable with their tuning than a natural skin in a humid enviroment after the heads settle in.