Remo Nuskyns - to de-tune or not to de-tune

[bingobongo]

Hi everyone - was hoping someone out there could give me some advise as to whether or not I need to de-tune my bongo after playing if I'm using remo nuskyns. I've been told that not de-tuning does not effect the skin itself, but could it potentialy weeken the drum over time??

Thanks in advance.

Thew

[Berimbau]

I keep 'em cranked all the way up. Eventually, all drums will die, then it's simply time to buy new bongos. I do that about once every three decades or so.


Saludos,



Berimbau

[Thomas]

Hi, with synthetic heads, I don't think that it's really necessary to detune them always, but of course it's always better to keep the drums without any tension!
Tom!

[bingobongo]

Thanks for the advice guys.

[Raymond]

Synthetic heads are supposed to help in the tuning, detuning problem but is not true with bongos if you play salsa or a genre that you use a high tuning...

You see, if you play salsa or you have a modern tuning for your bongos, which is higher than your regular tuning, the synthetic heads will give up on you and break...I've had the experience...Those suckers tend to "give up" and eventually "unwrap", in the case of the NuSkyns, or simply break from the ring in the case of Fyberskyns.... So detune my heads after every gig...I am not the only one with that problem some bongo players from top salsa groups have told me they do the same because in this case leaving them as it is will not do...You will get a surprise of a broken head...

For congas, this is not a a problem because the tuning is not high and is "comfortable" for the synthetic heads.

My five cents....

Saludos!

[Berimbau]

Hey Raymond!
I've had what must be the original Remo synthetic head on the macho side of my LP bongos for over a decade. It is NOT a Nuskyn, but some type of Fiberskyn prototype. Some of the cloth-like outer layer has begun to peel off the macho head, but the drum still sounds great, is tuned ultra high, and looks like it will make it for another decade or so. The drum shell is still perfectly round and I have never detuned the head. I also put a Nuskyn on the hembra last year with no unwanted side effects. Maybe I'm just lucky?
Now for the record I've tried most of the synthetics and I prefer the older Remo Fiberskyn heads on quintos, bongos and other high pitched drums. The Nuskyns work better on lower tuned drums like tumbas and congas, and they can actually be glissed (for the moose call) like the traditional animal skins. I find that the Evans heads are completely worthless on any hand drum.



Saludos,



Berimbau

[Raymond]

Berimbau,

From my experience and others, you've been lucky! At the beginning of using synthetic heads I found surprises and even had them break in the middle of a gig...Maybe is a "new generation" of Fyberskins that the ring and/or film is not that resistant. I know LP had some Fyberskins made with their logo back then, when they were using them, now they are using Evans, that I've heard were pretty good. Your "peeling off" from what I heard is normal...Too bad. The new Fyberskins with tucked heads like natural heads / NuSkyns are supposed to compensate for that. However, the sound is not the same as the original Fyberskins with the "drum head" ring....

I've talked to two bongoseros of the two top salsa bands in Puerto Rico, you know who, the ones that are the top, and they recommend detuning because they had the same experience that I had...

Saludos!

[franc]

for the synthetic to break, in this case nuskyn and fyberskins, gee! you must have tuned them way, way up high. i have nuskyn on my bongos for about a year now. i usually tune and de tuned the hembra. the macho i leave alone, even though i have tune them less in half of a quater turn each lugnuts. in some instances at first i used to tune each lugnut a quater at a time looking for the right sound, you know to break them in. i have another pair of bongos with mule skins. these i tune and de tuned a half turn each drum. i am very strict tuning the bongos . i even count the threads on the lugs. the heads of my bongos are even to a surgical precision. i still have tuning to do for a long time :^) with my congas i am not that strict , even though i maintain the heads also even, of course with that beautiful slap and tone in mind, yesssss!!!! ache to all, franc

[caballoballo]

Vaya,
Usually I detune my Bongos after every gig or rehearsal,all them have natural skin on the Hembras and Fiberskin on the Macho. It does not matter what material (synthetic or natural)they will strech and break after some time,that is why I detune them. Also I do not think is a good Idea to keep the tension on the shells which are not easy to replace. One of the Fyberskin have started to deteriorate but it is over a year old. Does any body knows where to buy the new Fyberskin head which is tucket instead of crimped ? The model is M9-0715-F3. Saludos.........

[Raymond]

Caballoballo,

The only stores in Puerto Rico that I've seen bring the Remo synthetic heads in good quantities and most of the times are available are Pure Sound in Bayamon and Music Sound in Caguas..they "cater" to the percussionist and you will find them or he will get them for you.

Everytime Remo has a new product it comes down slow to the market. The NuSkyns took awhile to become "regulars". (About a year after they were announced). So, the new Fyberskins, that I've had the experience of trying them and seeing them, are OK but I found the sound not as good in regards to projection. (I brought some to a local bongosero that I gave him a Pearl bongo..of course, given to me by a Remo endorser that had a pair of heads given to him as a test drive but he uses NuSkyns....The local bongosero did not like them).

Saludos!

[Firebrand]

My guess (and it's only an educated guess) is that

1) all things that are stretched, if kept in stretched position, will adapt to their new position by lessening the tension required to keep it to that stretched position. That means, your head will lose tension (and higher pitch) by leaving it tuned unnecessarily.

2) High tension on drums causes them to warp over time. 1-4 hours at a gig is acceptable...but leaving high tension on drums for weeks or months on end is askign for your drums to warp.

I detune after every gig, synthetic or real skin. It' s agood habit, you learn to mount a head and maintain it properly (all the way around, like my deceased mentor, Freddy Moreno, taught me), and you preserve your head.

My thoughts only, though. My mentor, Moreno, was a stickler for detuning after gigs...and if I tuned sloppily by not tuning evenly around the head, he'd let me know pretty straight.

[Jongo]

I have not been de-tuning my bongo with synthetic heads but I think I will start tuning them down at least a little after gigs. It does make sense and that's what I was always taught. The natural heads I always tune down but I guess I was getting lazy with the synthetic heads. I am going to try the new remo fiberskyn tucked when I get a chance

[caballoballo]

Jongo,Yes I have the same opinion about detunning the plastic heads but what about if the bongo is a wooden one and is left tuned,the tension apply is going to shorten the life of the shell. Before you buy the new tucket fybersking I advice you to take the Bongó with you to the store to see if it fits. I read somewhere that it does not fit all frands.

[Jongo]

Caballoballo, that's good advice. I think I will take my bongo with me to the store to make sure the skins fit. Somtimes they say they do but you never know until you put them on.
I play wood bongo and you are right even if the synthetic head is OK with the tension the shell is having unecessary pressure put on it and it will shorten the life of the drum. So I am going to tune my bongo down just ease the tension off. I really don't like synthetic heads but sometimes they have their place

[Raymond]

The current trend in tuning bongos for the "salsa" or latin genres is kind of high, therefore, it requires more tuning, hence, more pressure into the shells. The mass producers of bongos or heads i.e., LP, Meinl, Pearl, Remo, etc, do not take that in consideration. Everything they claim is applicable for other genres that require a lower tuning.

So what is my point???

My experience with synthetic heads is that their claim for not having to de tune bongos does not stand true if you play salsa.... The Remo Fyberskins, Remo NuSkyns and even Evans heads will eventually give up on you if you have a high tuning like it is used in salsa. So I've done what most people are doing that is to detune them after each gig...If not....I might find a broken head. (Also, your tuning lugs will suffer a lot and you will require replacements more often).

Any kind of pressure into the shell of a bongo will deteriorate the shell making it oval...(I had the experience). This could also be caused with natural heads that are too thick..

Synthetic heads have been great but that is one thing of caution to follow....However, my experience with congas have been otherwise...No problem in leaving tuned since the tension or tuning is not high. For bongos is otherwise if you play salsa....

Saludos!