Overtones and ringing

[CPercussion]

Has anyone ever done a study to determine what part of a conga the ringing comes from? And is ringing less of a problem on expensive congas?

[taikonoatama]

Has anyone ever done a study to determine what part of a conga the ringing comes from? And is ringing less of a problem on expensive congas?

Ringing is a big topic here. I don't know about a formal study, but in rough order, some main things that might cause a conga to ring are:

1. Tuning (unevenness of tuning around lugs or tuning up too high for a given drum's sweet spot)
2. Skin (animal type, too thin, uneven-ness of thickness)
3. Shell material (wood, wood type fiberglass, etc.)
4. Shape of shell (profile, bearing edge, out of round, etc.)

You can't do anything about the shell material. If it's wood, you might be able to do some adjustments to the bearing edge if it's really badly done, but it's not real likely this is a major issue. That really leaves the tuning and skin as the easiest and most adjustable variables here. So, obviously, you shouldn't be cranking a conga up way past its prime tuning range - they don't like that, even the best congas. Assuming you're not doing that, make sure that the tension is even. There are several ways to do this but a basic way is to put a finger in the middle of the head, pressing down to mute it, and then tapping with a wrench or drumstick on the skin a little ways in from each lug and going around the drum. You'll be able to hear which lug(s) need to be tightened or loosened to bring the whole skin into even tension.

After you do the above you'll still likely find you've got some ringing. The culprit is likely those lame Asian water buffalo heads that the big factory drum companies, based in Thailand, put on their drums. The cure - and this makes can make a HUGE difference in the sound of your drums - is to put on cow skin (cow, steer, bull) or mule. There are several threads about skins here on the boards, so you might research it there. They're US$40 - $75 per head, and some places sell them in standard sizes, pre-mounted, and others as flat rounds which you'd need to mount yourself (very do-able).

The more expensive drums, especially the hand-crafted ones, do in general have less of an issue with ringing - none of these craftsmen put Asian water buffalo skins on their drums. Top of the line big factory drums sometimes use cow skins instead of water buffalo, and this make a difference.

Good luck,

James

[akdom]

Hi

excellent reply.

But it would help to know what is the king/brand of drums you are using.


B

[windhorse]

How far the outer "crown" ring is located away from the bearing edge, and how thin it is seems to be a factor in ringiness as well..
I've noticed on many CPs, Tocas, and some LPs with comfort rims, that when the crown is an inch horizontally away from the bearing edge that the drum will ring like a big church bell,, but the same drum with regular crown a 1/2 inch closer to the bearing edge, doesn't ring near as much..

[umannyt]

How far the outer "crown" ring is located away from the bearing edge, and how thin it is seems to be a factor in ringiness as well..
I've noticed on many CPs, Tocas, and some LPs with comfort rims, that when the crown is an inch horizontally away from the bearing edge that the drum will ring like a big church bell,, but the same drum with regular crown a 1/2 inch closer to the bearing edge, doesn't ring near as much..

This is precisely my objection to comfort rims in general. Comfort rims provide a hollow soundchamber underneath the crown.

[taikonoatama]

How far the outer "crown" ring is located away from the bearing edge, and how thin it is seems to be a factor in ringiness as well..
I've noticed on many CPs, Tocas, and some LPs with comfort rims, that when the crown is an inch horizontally away from the bearing edge that the drum will ring like a big church bell,, but the same drum with regular crown a 1/2 inch closer to the bearing edge, doesn't ring near as much..

Good point, Dave. We had a thread about this some time ago but I forgot to mention this. One thing you'll notice in most of the quality handcrafted congas (Skin on Skin, Juniors, Valje, Matt Smiths, JCRs, King Congas, to name some) is how tight the metal rim is to the shell. They all use traditional rims (well, Kings have their own style, but it's closer to a traditional rim in this respect), which by their design generally allow for keeping the skin much closer to the shell as it wraps over the bearing edge, and they all keep the rim diameter to a minimum.

[CPercussion]

How far the outer "crown" ring is located away from the bearing edge, and how thin it is seems to be a factor in ringiness as well..
I've noticed on many CPs, Tocas, and some LPs with comfort rims, that when the crown is an inch horizontally away from the bearing edge that the drum will ring like a big church bell,, but the same drum with regular crown a 1/2 inch closer to the bearing edge, doesn't ring near as much..

Then how about stuffing foam into that space, wouldn't that deaden the ringing?

[bongosnotbombs]

You can do what trap drummers do and put tape and stuff on the
bottm of the heads of their drums.

[taikonoatama]

You can do what trap drummers do and put tape and stuff on the
bottm of the heads of their drums.

Something else that can help is putting a piece of soft foam inside. Experiment with different sizes and positions. When done right it can really cut down on the ringing without impacting the volume or tonality overly much.

[taikonoatama]

double-post - please delete