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Mr. Issac, i was wondering if the "tradicion cubano" bongos that you were playing in this video,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgwGv2f55z0
are actually tuned up all the way, well atleast the macho, was it tuned up really high?
they look very nice, but the sound really didnt convince me, my question was it the way you tuned them?

Those were a smaller sized bongo with brand new of mule skins I put on.
It takes longer to break them in, and this was only a one week old set
at that time in 2008.
They were too thick so I replaced them with a thinner set
for a much better sound.

Perhaps I can post a quicktime movie file of a similar
set.

ISAAC

Re : To Thick Bongo Heads, I often come across the same problem, my solution has been, to use an orbital sander ( like what auto body repair shops use ), I use coarse grade sanding disk and care fully remove excess material from the under side of the head ( when it is off the bongo of course ). Eventualy when it feels thinner, I test it on the bongo again. I had great sucess in this , saving heads that I did not want to waste. Good Luck !

I liked the video, My original JCR bongos were also a small size similar to the old Gon Bops size. They came w/ a thicker head on the macho drum and I used a disc sander to thin it to my liking. My shells were the solid wood model. I sold them unfortunately, since i was selling JCR products to friends & showing the products to stores while I toured the west coast & Rocky Mt states at that time. Now, I have some nice solid wood shells from Colombia that had cheap poor fitting hard wares so i will send them to JCR for a new bottom base ring , hooks & crowns. JCR is a great shop to do this even though its clear across the country from Seattle ! So....bongoseros w/ good bongos & weak or broken parts, this is a great option ! JCR does solid work ! The smaller Bongos sound easier to get a crisp macho sound and a wood like hembra tone. Larger bongos require more tension on the small drum to get the same sound and a large hembra tends to have over tones. I believe the size of a drummers hands, should dictate the size of his bongos ! Asian bongos all copied Lp sizes w/ some slight variations. Then, adding the comfort crown rims require the bongos to be more widely separated. Size matters & in this case, smaller may be better & more comfortable. I suggest if you have a non standard sized bongo set, that you have spare replacement heads or at least skin wires if you or someone else you know has the experience to custom mount your bongo heads.

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