new buyer SOLID SHELLS or STAVES?

[s'chopp]

Hi Jerry,
thanks for your input Mantio's drums looksupurb that floating hardware reminds me of some old drums I have a photo of and maybe just what i'm after. Didn't know they're still being made. No holes drilled into the wood! genius ! thank you very much.
As for the volcanos, they sound too good to be true- as if they've doctored the soundfile that plays on their website! The construction process and hardware looks immaculate but I'm weary of the 'lay down a deposit' method of doing business.

[Chupacabra]

At this stage you seem to be "steering" towards staved shells, as opposed to solid shell.

From my experience I can say that this is probably the better, more practical, choice. I bought three shells from Drumskulls a few years back and I purchased and installed Moperc hardware and African cowhide skins. Overall they are good drums, but as Leedy2 mentioned they are pretty heavy, especially with the heavy duty hardware! Rope tuned would be the lighter way to go. I have no regrets in buying them though.

One annoying flaw that I will be addressing this summer when I have time is an issue with my conga shell. The shell is much thicker than the tumba and quinto and it is noticeably heavier. Really heavy. I will be taking it out to my garage this summer and stripping off the hardware and carving out the shell to reduce the thickness. I have been warned that doing this may release stress points in the wood and cause it to crack but I am going to have to take that chance I guess.

One of the shells did crack during shipping and I had to repair it. I didn't have much of a problem because I have a fair bit of experience with woodworking and have a lot of tools available. It's not really that big a job in my opinion.

Where you can run into problems with cracking is rapid and extreme changes in ambient temperature. If I were to take any of my instruments out of the house and leave them outside in the cold Ontario winter (-12 today) it would mean certain death, especially if they weren't down-tuned. I always keep them in cases!

Hand-carved, solid shell drums also require a bit of maintenance as well. In order to prevent the wood from drying out too much over time, which will also cause cracking, you need to apply a film of oil of some type on the inner and outer surface. I use the coconut oil that they sell at Drumskulls but I think there are many other very simple and natural products out there that will do the same thing. I prefer the raw look of a hand-carved drum, which was why I bought them in the first place.

Would I buy hand-carved congas again? Probably not new ones. They are expensive and also not viewed favorably among most of the "traditional" players that I've encountered. In a group setting they frequently get put aside in favor of the LPs, GonBops, etc. in the group. If you can find a set of used solid shells in good shape that might also be an option for you. Remember though, shipping these monsters can be quite costly!

I hope I've provided you with some objective opinion on the subject and that you will ultimately make a purchase that you will be very satisfied with!

[s'chopp]

Hello Chupacabra thanks for your help it's good to hear from somebody who owns some drumskulls - i'm looking at these
http://www.manitopercussion.com/MyCreations.htm
do you think these drums would still dry out or crack with the heavy varnishing and floating hardware?
It looks like Staved is the way to go, i'm wondering, why moperc's drums aren't celabrated as much as mathew smith's. moperc hardware looks flawless, any comments on moperc?

[Anonimo]

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[Chupacabra]

The Manito line looks interesting. I like the concept of the floating hardware. A project that I have had in my mind for sometime now involves floating hardware as well but I just don't have the time or money right now to get the laboratory going!

To answer your question about whether these shells could crack? Wood is a natural product, therefore as a building material, whether it's musical instruments or ships, there are almost always certain variables that are unknown. A Donald Rumsfeld quote comes to mind here:
"There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don't know we don't know." This quote is quite apt in relation to woodworking too!

Slathering on a thick layer of varnish will prolong the life of the shell but if there are any stresses in the wood (working the wood with too high a moisture content, improper drying/curing, embedded objects like nails or lead shot that are not visible to the eye), in time cracks could form. If the shell is coated in varnish it would make it more difficult to repair because all that polyurethane would have to be sanded off!

Moperc drums are slowly getting more widely known. Michel had some pretty strong endorsements out there. I've played them and I must say that I really like them a lot. If I were shopping for a set now I would certainly buy Moperc. Not to mention, Canadian made in La Belle Provençe! And his shop is only a few hours' drive from where I live now so I could just drive over and pick them up myself.

[Psych1]

S'Chopp - Where do you live?

Floatune & African one-piece congas are as available in most of the world as they are in the US, maybe more available. Shipping can be a big problem you may want to avoid.

[s'chopp]

Thanks for your thoughts on moperc it sounds like you could do with getting some yourself So I guess that's decided, I'll go for staved.
Thanks Leedy you were right the first time! Still I'll be looking at something African in a solid shell less expensive though like these goumbes -
http://africandrumservices.co.uk/page38.html
Also thanks to psych1 those meinls look promising too - too many choices!

Rumsfeld left one out; unknown knowns, the things that we are unaware that we know or the unconsious mind if you will.

kind regards

[buckoh]

s'chop, I have 2 DelCielo solid oaks that I don't use any more. PM me if you're interested. Buck