Cheaper set sound? - can one make them sound good?

[Bataboom]

Ok I did what I said I bought a quinto and conga set for home practice I had to spend as little as I could, but I wanted at least something I could hit on to keep my hands in shape and practiced up at home.

Anyhooo... I got a cheap verve fiberglass set 10 and 11 set, please hold the laughs and slander. I do notice the difference in these from the Meinl I play at church "which I expected"... just wondering If I change the heads to say some remo fiber or evans, can I get a 1/2 decent sound outa these things?

Right now they have the stock heads on them really ruff cut and dead sounding. I can get a good slap outa the 10, but yu can get a good slap outa a 2 by 4 as well right? But the 11 all I get for bass is a dead sounding gumpf!

I figure new heads would give me a least a better sound but just wondering anyone elses take on this, also how would I know the fit, I have been reading about remo and evans fitting differently on different congas so how would I know if I will get the right size for these cheap congas?

Also if you got a good site with good prices on these heads would help, I have been to music123.com wwbw.com drumworks and a couple more just wondering if there is anymore online stores out there with some good stuff ans decent prices.

Thanks for yur help and advice !

[Raymond]

Definitively, a change to heads will improve the sound. Synthetic ones could do the trick. If I were you I give it a try.

Saludos!

[Ivan]

Definitively, a change to heads will improve the sound. Synthetic ones could do the trick. If I were you I give it a try.

Saludos!

Yes, this is true... It "could" improve the sound... I am not laughing at you bro, we gotta do what we gotta do... I'm glad you started some where - that's the important thing.

Remember that sounds is not all about the playing surface of the drum (the head) it involves the structure of the drum as well. Because these drums are a lot smaller in size compared to the meinls you are talking about - you will naturally get a much "higher" tone out of these drums.

I'm not sure that Remo makes heads for these size drums... To make it easy take the heads off of the drums and measure the the loop inside the skin. That's the size you should go by.

Good Luck with your new drums.

Ivan



Edited By Ivan on 1106839049

[Bataboom]

thanks for the response guys! So thats how you measure the head size? The inside of the loop? Not the bearing edge where you hit?

[+pablo+]

Bata, sometimes livn’ in a high humid area (Louisiana) will make a skin/drum flat. I’ve found that you need to loosen up the tumba all the way (not just tweaking it slightly down to relieve stress on the skin) and then tune it up to the bass you want. Not sure why, but it seems that ‘exercising’ the skin with a good stretch it brings on a better timbre…IMHO. Also, if your playin’ on carpet at home, get a nice thick piece of ply wood to rest the drums on. Nothin’ kills the sound quicker than carpet…..+pablo+

[rhythmisit]

Bata - don't be discouraged, if I were you i'd give some playing time to the drums. Also tune up and detune the heads few times and keep playing more, to get them to respond. If the heads are too dead looking rub some palm oil to give some moisture. Last resort is to invest in new heads - some good quality natural set of heads will cost you close to 100 so keep that as last option. Also make sure the new heads you buy fit with your rim. Some heads are only made for traditional rims and your drums may have comfort curve and they just won't sit right. There are some heads on Ebay from time to time - look for 'conga head' as keyword. But first give them some playing time - I'm sure they will respond to you. Good luck.

[Bataboom]

good deal I will play on these a while and see what happens. I figured sense it was a cheap set that the heads would have a less quality sound then some remo or evans or LP heads. But I will play on these and tune / detune a while and see how they respond. But if they dont seem to get better how do I go about getting the right heads? My measurments are 10 & 11 on the edge of the playing serface of the drums.



Edited By Bataboom on 1107006711

[rhythmisit]

First of all you have to decide if you want synthetic or real natural skin. Synthetic skins like Evans & Remo may produce volume that cuts thru but lacks the natural warmth of sound. If you like natural skin then you can go with LP Raw hyde heads (the once they use for Aspire) considering you need 10 & 11. Not all manufacturer make 10" head, while 11" is easy to find. Also make sure that they are made for your rim on the existing drums (comfort curve v/s traditional). Good luck

[Bataboom]

thanks I thnk I got comfort curve, is traditional the square kind that looks like it can really hurt yur hands? LOL