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I recently aquired this old conga. At first I thought it was a Gon Bop because of the stand mounting bracket, but then noticed the side plates run vertical instead of horizontal and the tuneing rim does not match Gon Bop. The only marking on it is an ingraving on the top band, U S N ( U S Navy perhaps) D T 20. The head is a little out of round but so is the tuneing ring. At what point is out of round, TOO, out of round. Thanks for any input.

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Thanks, Any opinions out there about how out of round is too out of round?

If the wood shell cracks, it was too out of round. Seriously, an out of round drum may have a different sound, but can be fine if you are careful when tuning it not to make it more out of round and crack it. I actually like the sound of some of them better than some geometrically perfect circular heads. On a quinto, it may have less sustain and more overtones, and give a dryer, shorter, faster tone. I haven't listened carefully enough to hear how the out-of-roundness affects the slaps, and have not really listened to out of round congas larger than a quinto.

Mark II Gon Bops conga. There have been some modifications.

Thanks for the feedback, I am going to rehab this drum. Is there any reason to try and rechrome hardware instead of replaceing with modern (Toca) hardware? I was also thinking of putting in an alma, any thoughts? Thanks

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