New heads - new hopes

[Mike]

Today I finished the refurbishing of my Supercussion bongos I mentioned a few posts earlier.
Incredible mule skin (from Isaac/JCR, of course) on macho,
a recycled LP handpicked quinto skin on hembra.
At the weekend, when the macho skin will have dried I´ll tell you more about the sound. Here are some pics first:

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[Mike]

More pics didn´t upload I posted some at the Yahoo bongogroup though.

BTW due to the wood (must be something like cedar) the bongó is rather a lightweight.

Mike



Edited By Mike on 1197639901

[Tumbatimba]

Mike nice work . They remind me of the gen 1 LP's from the 70's . Solid drum but a little heavy .

[caballoballo]

Hola Mike,feliz navidad. Good Job, Do not put any oils or creams on those skins. They will end up been too soft as I found after taking a skin off 1 of my Bongos. That recycle quinto skin should be ready anyway. I am planning on mounting a skin tomorrow if I have the time & rest, I have a gig tonight so should be home about 0400 hours.

[blango]

Nice work man,

I like this set up.

Mule and horse are may favorite for the macho, and the buff. skins are really nice for the hembra. I also like buff for some bata skinning use as well. Worthless for congas however!!

Tony

[Mike]

I want to thank everyone for their kind words.

They remind me of the gen 1 LP's from the 70's.

Tumbatimba, it´s no wonder that the bongos remind you of the LP generation I, because Alberto de Hond, its Dutch builder, was an associate of Martin Cohen until the 1980s when he started his own business in the Netherlands!
It´s exactly the same shape, the same hardware design.

Solid drum but a little heavy .

Not this one, It weighs only slightly more than 4 kilograms due to its rather light wood.

Feliz navidad to you too, Caballoballo! Enjoy your gig on YOUR marvellous bongos! Well, the mule skin is perfect as it is. I don´t really apply any oil to bongo heads anyway. The skin has almost dried and it is as gorgeous as the mule on my LP generation I I have told you about. I wonder how much time the new mule takes to break in?
The hembra is playable right now. By the way it took quite some elbow grease to mount the ´recycled´quinto skin on the hembra and sand off the LP Logo.
On water buffalo:

Worthless for congas however!!

You are SO right, Tony!

Mike



Edited By Mike on 1197925448

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[Tonio]

Hola Mike,
Nice job !! BTW, why was the recycled quinto buff skin hard to mount on the hembra?

T

[Mike]

BTW, why was the recycled quinto buff skin hard to mount on the hembra?

Hi Tonio!
I guess I didn´t soak the water buff long enough, that´s why.
Because I feared oversoaking, i.e. a too thick skin, I guess I didn´t soak the LP skin long enough (just 2 hours). My mistake, for it didn´t slip under the rim and crown as easily as the thin mule skin which I soaked for 2.5 hours.
But now that it´s done,everything´s fine.

Mike

[No.2-1820]

I think that mule on the macho is going to sound perfect, it's that creamy, powdery colored variety that I have on my JCR's, they have the driest old school sound. Very different from the reddish brown mule skins and perfect for bongo. I find it sounds best tightened as far as it can go and then backed off just a touch to allow the note to sing some. You commonly see people advising to tune the macho as tight as possible, but there's a point at which you close the note off to any vibration, in my experience anyway.
They look like very well mounted heads, great job. Don't forget to allow them to dry thoroughly, when I mount skins that nice it's always hard to resist firing them up, but even a little trapped moisture under the skin on the macho can be a problem.
Isaac picked you a beauty there !

Barrie.

[Tonio]

MIke - I see, you were too excited about the mule skin and give too much thought into the hembra(buffalo) I didn't soak a thick cowhide for a LP Comfort curve II, and had to resoak in mid way - talk about muscles. I never reused a skin before, does the previous mounting crease actually come out after soaking?

T

[No.2-1820]

I don't think those mounting creases ever come out, I have only ever re-mounted a skin on a much smaller head and cut off that part. I did the same as Mike once and used a nice worn in steer from a quinto for the hembre on my timba bongos, a good thick skin on the hembre is great, you can give it good tension and get nice punchy, solid tones without any ringing.

Barrie

[Mike]

Yes, Barrie, I agree with you. The previous crease came off completely - finally by the sharp blade. :;):
Thick hembras are fine - this one shouldn´t have been thinner, but not thicker either. There is a point where the tone might get dead. I once had this with a 5mm steer skin on a cheap conga.

Isaac picked you a beauty there !

Yes. Y.E.S. Yes!!! I´m really grateful.
The sound is already awesome when you tap very lightly on the macho.

Don't forget to allow them to dry thoroughly, when I mount skins that nice it's always hard to resist firing them up, but even a little trapped moisture under the skin on the macho can be a problem.

I´ve got a question: Do you think 36 hours of drying at normal room temperature (21 degree celsius) are enough?
No haste, man, I keep telling myself - but I´ve got those itchy fingers...

Mike



Edited By Mike on 1197708436

[No.2-1820]

I would be very careful, probably even around a week depending on the room temp etc, I leave mine a few days at least and that includes some spells in the California morning sun which dries them much better than room drying in a damper climate. With proper care now that macho should last you for years, even the real thin mules are very strong. The hembre's not so much a worry as it's so thick and doesn't take the same tension as the macho. The mule will sound great right away but even the thin ones sound better and better as they break in and seat snugly on the rim.

Barrie.

[Mike]

Given our cold European winter climate, I´ll have to wait a tad before playing the macho hard... :;):

[Tonio]

Definately let it dry out real good. Its hard siting there not being able to play em

so the crease doesn't come out, I will have to rethink my stratagy then. Guess its time to call Isaac for some mule ,and use a nice Bill Confer cowhide I've been saving up.

T