Drum Skins - What the greats prefered

[pavloconga]

Olsongo
Many thanks for the info and pic.

Just to clarify one point: are you taking the skin completely off the drum first and soaking it in water? Then wrapping the skin with the rope on top?

regards
pavlo

[caballoballo]

Rumberos,the way I have done it before is to 1-Remove the skin from the conga
2-Deep it in water until soft
3-Fit the skin on the drum,put the crown on
4-Install the lugs and just tigh them a little
5-With a pair of pliers pull the skin up all around until is about 1" from the top(that is the reason to not over tight the lugs),cut the extra skin and as songo said,let it dry,new skin.

It is not that hard because the old skin still has the shape.

[OLSONGO]

I use the string because usually there is not much extra skin to work with and with the plyers the wet skin at times slips .

Paz OLSONGO

[Facundo]

Facundo, that's interesting! Maybe you could tell me if mule skins are ok when dealing with alot of humidity? Regardless of humidity, how do they compare to good cowskin or water buffalo??...thanks


Congamyk, thanks for the reply.

Seisporocho

Seisporocho,

This issue with mule skins being more sensitive to humidity than other skins is new to me. The first time I heard about it was in a conversation I had with Mathew the drum maker. I always thought that all natural skins were subject to changes in humidity but I guess judging from the general consensus that some are more than others.
My memory of mule skins is that they were very sensitive to rainy weather and very humid rooms. For me, it is no big deal since all my playing is folkloric. You guys playing in bands may need your drums to maintain the pitch they are tuned to. I just take the changes as the drum adjusting its' voice to the environment and just keep rolling.

All of this brings up a point I would like to make. You know a quinto, for example, does not always have to be tuned high to sound good. Recently, I have been going back into my old archives of recordings and listening to a lot of real old stuff. In most of the those recordings the drums were not tuned high. That includes both folkloric and band music. By todays standards, they were tuned to what we would call mid to low. However, their sound tend to give an earthly quality to the music than is not heard today. Give a listen to the quinto player in some of the old Alberto Zayas recordings!

I think many drummers have been spoiled by the tuning lugs on their drums and only appreciate their drums in set range. We forget that in many of those old recordings the drums were tack heads! Any of you young bucks know what they were? The heads were fastened with small nails. The only way to tune them was by applying heat from a fire. Many of the old timers used to carry a can of sterno to tune their drums on gigs. The point I am trying to make is that their is a "voice" in the lower range of a conga that is seldom explored these days.

For conditioning purposes and to really build good chops, practicing with the drum tuned low does wonders for your technique. I have seen guys playing drums that were tuned beyond their ability to control and respond to the sound. Almost like someone just learning to ride a horse trying to manage a thoroughbred horse.

Maybe I should have made this a new topic under practice routines. However, I think this is a subtle issue that escapes many and is not often considered; somehow a sound problem gets relegated to being a "skin problem".

I tend to look for the voice in the drum and the character in that "voice". It has been my experience to find that different drums also have different optimum ranges.

This is not to step on anyone's toes about their sound our skin preferences. Again, it is all subjective and a person likes what they like end of story. I just wanted to share my personal observations to add another dynamic to the topic. I would be interested to hear what others on the list think about these points.

Just learning and sharing,
Facundo

[OLSONGO]

Facundo I know what you mean, I do think that the tunning of the drum is a relative thing, I personally like to try different tunnings depending on the genre of music and the instrumentation in the respective band. Also a nice tight quinto brings out the double stroke rolls. When playing rumba I like to tune to the singer, as to what best complements him. I remember at a Jazz festival I opened on the supplied congas, the band to follow was Poncho's band , and he came up to me and asked me for the wrench to tune the quinto down to a C telling me that Mongo also liked it that way.

Paz OLSONGO

[higueraja]

I have spoken to Gumbi Ortiz just the other day and he informed me that for the most part of his playing he uses Evans heads on his congas. I have used Evans heads as well for many years but periodically swich over to calf and bufalo skins to re- evaluate the "feel". I must say that in a close setting or recording gig, there is no otherway for me to play for the essence of "La Cura" (The Healing) than the real skin on skin effect. I love the new technology but as for me, I am still comitted to never replace the core value of the sound of real skins on drums. It is esential to becoming connected in a natural way in wich both the player and the instrument respond to natural changes around them. Jorge

[OLSONGO]

I kind of look at things relative, skin on wood and Plastic on fiberglass. Plastic things when it comes to percussion I can stand with a passion, I have a fiberglass conga and it sits in my backyard with a plate on top as a bird feeder. I leave here in Florida tropical country, abd yes the humidity is high at times thats why I keep some baby powder and a candle. With the candle I place it under the drum and it keeps the humidity out and the drum in tune and the powder keeps the head dry.

Paz OLSONGO

[OLSONGO]

higeraja I know Gumby personally I say about 15 yrs. talented bro, full of humor and down to earth. But have you seen his drums ? full of scratches, chunks of wood missing, that is a sign of laisyness, not wanting to place the drums in bags for transport and no less using a wrench to tune them
up and down. And from what I gather on this site , most of the congueros here are proud of their drums and take care of them, and concerned about the best heads to put on ; which i consider to be the natural skins.
You don't see batas with fiber skins.

Paz OLSONGO



Edited By OLSONGO on 1158607599

[drumba]

Greetings
Just a bit of info that may be helpful.
The way that the hide has been processed has a profound influence on the colour and tone.
I process a lot of goat, cow and game skins for African drums and I have found that the tighter the skin is pulled when it is initially dried the whiter it will be. The less tension on the skin the more translucent it will be. They used to make window panes like this way back.
If you put a freshly dehaired and delimed skin onto a drum and tighten it immediately, the skin will go white.
The yellowing is caused by sunlight. If the skin is allowed to dry away from the sun it will stay creamy white.
In my experience the white skins sound a lot brighter. I have a quinto with a pre-stretched white skin which really cuts.

Has anyone seen the Candido dvd Hands of Fire, he talks about goat skin. I have not tried goat skin on congas and wondered if anyone has?

Olsongo, thanks for your comments on the treatment of drums. Where I come from drums are traditionally considered to be sacred and they are always treated with respect.
Thanks
Drumba

[onile]

Pavlo you will need long lugs to reach the rim, by the looks of it you may have already used most of the lug.
First you wet the skin, when it is soft, place the hoop on top and with a string or rope rap it as illustrated,( this is because you have little hide to work with) next place on the drum and hold it with the lugs and cut the string, then tighten til the head is a bit above the rim, let it dry naturally, if its dirty clean with soap and put a bit of oil and place in the sun, there you have it; a renewed head. I did this with an LP head and I was surprised by the results.

Paz OLSONGO

Alafia Abure Olsongo!
Espero que todo este bien contigo Papa!

Oye! I've been mounting skins on my drums for as long as I can remember, and let me say sometimes it's been a super bitch to get the skin on the drum. This weekend, I put two new heads on my Palladiums (check out the pics on Abure Abakua's post {Palladiums going, going, gone}, I used your technique. Chacho! What a difference, Papa! Mil gracias por la technica! it saved me so much time and effort.

Normally I'm reaching across with one arm, while with the other pulling on the skin and trying to put on a tension rod. This time, using the string, it was all good!

Mil gracias!

Onile!



Edited By onile on 1158613676

[OLSONGO]

Alafia Abure Onile.
Hermano I am glad that the technique worked for you.
And I know what you went through before, I been there and got the t- shirt to proove it. LOL
Todo ese sufrimiento, led me to think that there had to be an easier way. It's quite effortless and also you get to use and take full advantage of the skin. Those commercially mounted skins, have a big lip and before you know it , you don't have much lug to stretch and then you have to go and pile on the washers, never liked that look. Suerte

Paz OLSONGO

[Isaac]

In terms of moisture absorbancy and having to keep re-tuning,
Mule is fact, the least porous and least absorbant of all the natural heads.
It's much denser & durable, which is why it takes so long
to break in and lasts longer. Cow and water bufallo will definitely
go out of tune so much faster.
However, if you're playing in an outdoor gig in Miami,
forget it, and go with synthetics, I like the tucked Nuskyns.
Some drums sound better with the fiberskyns. You can
have the natural set for the cooler season or for
the recording studio. It's good to have both options.
Since I moved from cow to mule, my tuning remains
more consistent for longer periods, but then I don't
live down south. It's hot enough up here in the summer too.

Isaac in New Jersey

[rhumbatumba]

my preferences:

I've given up on real skins...i've had two gigs where the humidity or extreme cold changed the tuning of the drum SEVERELY...it made it impossible to play them. Ever since then...I tried LP Synthetics (which were Evans ones, really), and I hated the little triangle muting thing in the middle...it killed the ability of the drum to overtone when you did open crack hits. I tried Remo Fyberskins after taht...fell in love...tight, high pitch, great tone. Never will go with anything else.

I've played on Custom-made Mule skins from Colombia on friend's congas...I like the tightness and sound of those. My friend Victor Sterling (and respected conguero of Connecticut) uses Colombia-Mule skins on his congas. I prefer synthetic though

I can't completely vouch for Giovanni, but, I'd say that Giovanni prefers synthetics too. I've seen perform with synthetics a lot...although, you give Giovanni a damned card-board box and it will sound better than me on a real conga!

Stay away from the waterbuffalo skins...sound dead and flat, and you can't get anything approximating high-pitch on those. The Sonor Cubanos come with them, and they suck big time (my opinion, of course).

I am going to agree with you my friend. Synthetics are the way to go. I hate having to tune my drums in the middle of a gig. The FIberskin seems to be a very good head. I have learned that I like the Nuskyn a bit better though, they feel and sound beter in my opinion. I have also had the Evans heads and I dont like them at all. I'll probably stick with Remo Nuskyn until something better comes along.

As for real skin, I Cant say that I have played on anything more than the standard LP "Hand Selected" Skins, the Meinl True Skin, and the Skins that come stock on athe Toca Custom fiberglass series... they all sound pretty similar.

[rhumbatumba]

have you seen his drums ? full of scratches, chunks of wood missing, that is a sign of laisyness, not wanting to place the drums in bags for transport and no less using a wrench to tune them up and down. And from what I gather on this site , most of the congueros here are proud of their drums and take care of them, and concerned about the best heads to put on ; which i consider to be the natural skins. You don't see batas with fiber skins.

My drums are scratched all to hell, have gouges, etc. I dont really consider it laziness that has gotten my drums that way, I consider it the hundreds of gigs that they have been dragged to in vans, trailers, trunks... to me the only thing that matters is the sound. And a scratched up drum with mismatched hardware (granted it has good heads on it) sounds just as good as any other.

Skins is all a matter of preference. However, if I am playing at a "rain or shine" show and a storm rolls in and a light rain starts falling, you'd better be sure that I am happy I dont have natural heads.

[Facundo]

In terms of moisture absorbancy and having to keep re-tuning,
Mule is fact, the least porous and least absorbant of all the natural heads.
It's much denser & durable, which is why it takes so long
to break in and lasts longer. Cow and water bufallo will definitely
go out of tune so much faster.
However, if you're playing in an outdoor gig in Miami,
forget it, and go with synthetics, I like the tucked Nuskyns.
Some drums sound better with the fiberskyns. You can
have the natural set for the cooler season or for
the recording studio. It's good to have both options.
Since I moved from cow to mule, my tuning remains
more consistent for longer periods, but then I don't
live down south. It's hot enough up here in the summer too.

Isaac in New Jersey

Isaac,

Thanks for that info about mule. Years ago that is all I ever used. I don't remember mule being more suseptible to moisture but recently someone told me they were. Glad to hear from someone who has done a side by side. I have always like thin skins. Do you have thin mule available?

Best regards,
Facundo