I know this has been asked a dozen times...

[busyflyin]

I'm new to percussion and was lucky enough to find an older set of CP congas with the chrome hardware and welded ring instead of stamped.. you know the ones I'm sure. The heads are original and in good shape. I'm not exactly what a conga should sound like ideally, but these ring a bit.. I think you call it "overtones". And I'm not sure they are as lively / responsive as they could be. Second to that I picked up a used set of LP Performer Series bongos that are like new. The heads are original best I can tell and they definately ring a bit and are not very responsive.

The big question; what can be done to improve the tonal quality of these instruments? Thanks for your help (providing I get some.. lol!)

[Ernesto Pediangco]

Performer series drums are cheap student drums, not designed to be authentic in sound but just lower cost to produce and aimed at buyers who are entry level & thus may not realize they are getting a cheap product. The ringing over tones is evidence of heads that are to thin. A thicher head will mute the ring & sound more authentic. The stamped metal comfort designed crons are not rigid enough for the tuning tensions & will warp and make future head mountings difficult. I suggest a traditional cold rolled steel crown at least. These entry level Asian made drums are to toy like & actualy are a rip off to the consumers ! The sizes are not correct for true conga sound. The small head sizes with thin heads & thin hard wares are not up to par. Like I said ~ they are a rip off. The Perf. Series bongos use the low grade heads, that are like dog chew toy raw hides, not of quality for use as drum heads. You are better off w/ plastic heads but if the crown rims are prone to warping & bending...you are screwed, they will always be problematic.

[Madlatin]

Hey Busy,
The older CP's are great drums. I actually have two sets of the 9 3/4" and 11" drums. One set from 1993 the skins are sounding good. The set from 1996 did a lot of ringing though. Just different quality of skins used. I ended up buying new skins (steer) for he ones that ring (which are thicker now). They sound great. Those congas are very close to the old Classic series without the fiberglass on the inside. Don't give up on them, you'll appreciate them later! As far as the bongos go, there is a lot to read about on this board. Lots of advice and a lot of preference. I am going to try new skins on my bongos pretty soon as apposed to the originals for the same ringing problem. I will soon find out. Try to get as much info as possible first, before spending and that will help.

Madlatin