My Brand New Custom Congas Finally Arrived! - Drumskull Drums Hare Wood

[Garvin]

Finally, they are here. Back in August of last year I ordered a set of three Hare wood congas. These were hand carved in Mali and then headed at Drumskull Drums in Santa Cruz CA, where they also added the rubber bottoms. These are amazing drums and have completely exceeded all of my expectations. The dimensions are 10, 11, 12 and they are 30" tall. The heads are thick guinea cowhide and as expertly headed as anything I've ever seen. They play beautifully and I hope to have a decent sounding video up here in the next week or so. I was originally a little concerned with the rope tuning, but they have held so far without any perceptible change in pitch and I've been playing them pretty much non stop for the last two days. I was confident in the craftsmanship as well since I've only ever seen the highest quality instruments come from the guys at Drumskull.

They are indeed quite heavy, but I expected that and actually prefer a heavier drum since I tend to hit hard and knock em' around a little. As far as the rims go, they are comfortable and extremely forgiving. I have played other African congas and absolutely destroyed my hands, but these guys really know what they are doing. The heads feel and look great and sound incredible. You can really see the pride these guys take in their work. The 7 month wait was well worth it. I would enthusiastically recommend doing business with these guys. Here are some pictures.








Edited By Garvin on 1203270695

[bongosnotbombs]

Those look great man.

A friend of mine has a tumba just like those. It has a
phenomenal sound, which I'm sure those do too.

[Gallichio]

Really nice. Enjoy them!

[burke]

Those are fine, fine lookin drums!! I'm just wondering how you adjust the tuning though...

[Garvin]

they tune like a djembe, but seem to hold really well. the guys tuned them as I asked and I was surprised that I didn't have to adjust anything after they arrived, and I tend to be a tuning fanatic.

[Chupacabra]

You won't have to worry about tuning those beautiful drums for awhile. All the drums I have from Drumskulls still sound as good as the day they arrived. They seem to be tuning fanatics too! I think it could also be one of the endearing qualities of African cow hide - correct me if I'm wrong on that.
You must have had quite a pile of styro-popcorn to deal with after unpacking them!

[Changuiri]

THOSE LOOK REAL NICE MAN!

[randyc]

Very nice indeed!
I really like the wood grain. I think you have something very special to hand down to your little one...one day.

Cheer, Randy.

[GuruPimpi]

Waw! First time see congas like that!
Waiting the video to see and hear those Unique Sistas!

Take care of them!

Primoz

[Garvin]

Okay, heres a short video. I could spend the next few sentences being self-conscious about my playing, but I really just wanted to get a good recording of the sound of these babies. What do you think?

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[Chupacabra]

From me... they 4 "hell yeah's"! Awesome sounding congas!