Conga Makeover Questions

[Cangrejero7]

Hola Congeros y Congeras Just wanted some opinions and advice
Kind of like a consulta for my conga makeover....
The plan is: 1) to buy a cheap set of congas
2) sand 'em down, stain 'em, etc
3) paint original art work on them and engrave some sections
4) put fiberglass inside,
5) and of course switch the heads

Any advice in the following areas would be great:
1) Are certain Conga brands or lines easier to work with (Sanding, durability, etc)?
Im striving to have this set more Rumba oriented so I had the toca traditionals in mind for their price as well. Good choice? no?
2) in terms of FIBERGLASS, I had this in mind being that Tocas (or whatever set I buy within my pricerange may not sound the best)
Any tips in application or sanding? Also on how far and how much fiberglass to put inside the congas? dont want overtones
3) Good skins????
Any other advice would be appreciated! Thanks guys

[jorge]

If you don't want overtones, and don't want to add several pounds to the weight of each drum, don't put fiberglass inside. Fiberglass is a big PITA to work with, you need good ventilation, the dust makes you itch, it is hard to get all the air bubbles out, etc. If you live in a cold climate with a lot of indoor humidity variation between summers and heated winters, the wood will expand and contract seasonally and the fiberglass inside can cause the wood crack or can separate from the wood, depending on which season you put in the fiberglass. Try to get used congas that are structurally sound so you can leave the inside rough and unfinished. Where do you live?

[Cangrejero7]

Thanks for the advice! I live in NY
I actually used fiberglass in a Bomba Drum I made last year and good Lord it was a mess!!!!!!!!!
You're right, It ain't easy working with! I was pleased with the overall sound though.

[jorge]

In NYC you have large changes in indoor humidity from winter to summer. Polyurethane or varnish on the outside of the drum would help reduce seasonal expansion and contraction of the wood with humidity changes. Danish oil looks great and touches up very easily, but both of my Watco danish oil finished oak SOS drums cracked within a few years and had to be repaired and refinished with polyurethane.

If you want to play folkloric music on congas, I suggest avoiding fiberglass on the inside of the drum. Overtone ringing is not such a problem with barriles de bomba, which have goatskin and ring alot anyway. On some congas having a hard smooth surface inside the drum can produce a loud noticeable ring. Some congas are more prone to ringing than others, it may have to do with the shape as well as other variables, and is hard to predict. I don't happen to like the ringing but some people don't mind it because it is not very noticeable when playing loud over a band. Also, fiberglass inside can make cracking from humidity changes worse, and can add a lot of weight to the drum.

PS In NYC Tremenda rumba hoy 6-9 pm at Alvin Ailey Dance School, 405 W. 55th St @ 9th Ave. Roman Diaz, Pedro Martinez, La Mora, and others; highly recommended. More info at www.oyuoro-afrocuban.com

[Cangrejero7]

Thanks Jorge! And true, fiberglass is usually very ringy
the idea came from some LPs that I've seen and since alot of cheaper congas are drilled through the seams which eventually crack I was hoping fiberglass would reinforce the structure
and Pedrito y Roman are AWESOME!
Damn the only thing is that I'm in class or working for their wed or fri classes
Hmmmm I think it's time for a sick day......

[jorge]

You don't even have the drums yet so don't worry about it, take it one step at a time. You may luck out and not have to refinish them at all. If you do, finish the drums the best you can, leave the inside unfinished and rough, and if it cracks, then fix the crack. The whole idea of wood drums in 2012 is to get a natural sound and avoid the "fiberglass sound", ie the high pitched ring that you get on most fiberglass drums.

Roman teaches percussion Tuesdays 6-7:30 pm at the Harbor Conservatory, 104th & 5th in El Barrio. Great classes. The Wed & Fri classes are dance classes taught by La Mora, but I don't think Roman or Pedrito play for those classes.

[Mike]

I did fiberglass the inside of my vintage mahogany Gon Bops in order to prevent further cracking
(I had mended the cracks before) and to strengthen those brittle beauties.
OK, there is slightly more overtone ringing, but I have never regretted the fiberglassing, and
it gives me the feeling at least that the shells will last longer.

Just my 2 cents

[Cangrejero7]

Damn gift and a curse....
Reinforcement good = Overtones bad (for me at least)

[burke]

My theory is the overtones have more to do with the texture of fiberglass than the nature of the fiberglass. I too glassed the inside of an old gon bobs quinto but have no overtones as a result. The reason I believe is because instead of using fiberglass cloth I used fiberglass matt which is a very different animal than glass cloth. Also working inside a cramped little quinto means the result was very rough and wrinkly.

I strongly suspect its a smooth surface that sound can bounce around in that is more to blame for overtones. See the recent thread about a bata restoration where the nature of the inside [and how leaving it rough was good] was talked about at length. I also think this is why the hanging cloth trick works as well.

2 cents

Darrell

[Cangrejero7]

Yea i was actually speaking with a drum maker here in the city and he suggested having it textured like u saud if I were to put it in although it may not be necessary. What he actually does is put bondo and resign on the rims of the drums to prevent future cracking but not on the inside of the shell. Another guy I spoke to puts resign only in the areas where he drills in the gear. Both told me the more fiberglass or resign the more sustain so it depends what im looking for, salsa sound, rumba sound.

[Cangrejero7]

Is there anything that helps remove the varnish without messing with the glue?