nuskyn head for odd size palladium tumba.

[Callao]

Hello everybody, Ive been trying and it is hard to find a NUSKYN TUCKED head fo my PALLADIUM TUMBA 12.50 which has the extended rims and the actual mouth of this tumba is not 12.50 but 12" insteed. I need help.. thanks in advace...

[RitmoBoricua]

http://issuu.com/remopercussion/docs/re ... og_2010/33

If you look at thet link it does not look Remo makes a Nuskyn Tucked for Gio Palladiums, looks like they only make crimplock for them.

[Callao]

Gracias ritmoboricua....ive tried fiberskyn,,,,but i would like to know which one sounds more like the real thing, nuskyns or skyndep.

[RitmoBoricua]

They both sound good to my ears. Is basically what you like. Check out this link: http://vimeo.com/2937867.
This videos should give you a pretty good idea of how the head sounds.

[Jerry Bembe]

I have found that not all of the Remo Conga heads are 100% true sizes. A 10" Aspire head will fit a 9 3/4" requinto or Gon Bops 9 3/4".

If a head fits the bearing edge well then it can often be modified if necessary to fit your crown. I have shaved the aluminum retaining ring to fit Valjes or Gon Bops crowns. Also I have cut the aluminum retaining ring in 10 equal segments to fit under a crown of a vintage drum. The bearing edge fit is vital and the crown fit can be adjusted. (This depends on your risk tolerance of course)

Nuskyn is nice for a better bass response.

Skyndeep is a good all purpose head.

Fiberskyn has a sharper attack.

They all work nicely but muffling on the underside with foam weather stripping, tape or other methods can further shape the tone of the head per your taste.

The heads do sound different on different drums. I like Fiberskyn on my old CPs and I like Skyndeep on my Gon Bops. I have Nuskyns on Afro Bongos.

What I am saying is there is trial and error here. No cookie cutter approach will meet everyone's expectations. Natural Skins are the same way too.

Enjoy your drums and drumming.

[Ernesto Pediangco]

Check Remo for the exact available heads for those drums. Paladiums & Gios, are different crowns than original standard Lp sizes. Some of the crowns are similar to Toca sizes ( over sized crowns stand off the shell more than usual ). I think its Ironic that Lp Paladiums were designed by copying a Skin on Skin drum of same height for Giovani Hildalgo, to have the OLD school banded look like Gon Bops and Ritmo Studios etc, but putting plastic heads make them sound as generic as any cheap import drum using same plastic head. Those heavy duty, over built shells are so heavy & dense that the shells do not resonate and do not have much bottom end tone. I always compare them to sewer pipes w/ drum heads mounted ! Now...the rage is plastic heads that have no elasticity, have lots of over ring and if not tuned well adds dis harmonic over ring to the sound making for an obnoxious conga tone. Weight and density are enemies of drum tone in all cases ! If the resonator drum shell is not vibrating, then it can not amplify certain frequencies. 80 percent of the drum sound is in the head and the shell is just a resonator. Plastic conga heads are not elastic like skins and do not vibrate the same...or have the natural ability to muffle out the annoying ping and ring of high frequencies. But...have you tried Remo NuSkins which are thicker and heavier than the others as far as I recall and sound more natural. In any case...usualy natural heads tend to be slightly thicker as drum size increases which dampens some unwanted thin over tones and adds to low tones which is part of balancing a set of drums. Plastic heads are one thickness per type and you can add thin foam rubber adhesive tape or paint on rubber cement to underside of head...to add weight and act as sound control to tailor each head per size of conga. Young congueros are following this plastic trend, aiming at volume instead of musical tone ! When I was a young beginning percussionist, we regarded plastic headed congas and bongos as cheap toys, not refined musical instruments. The world is changing, every one is catering to the lowest common denominator it seems ! ??

[Jerry Bembe]

Ernesto,

You have many fresh ideas based on your vast experience and I respect that. Please add to your posts that some of your postings are your opinions though. Also please refrain from condeming language for some may take what you say personally.

I agree that 80% of the tone is the head but bad shell can make or break it. Some "bad shells" actually produce beautiful unique tones and so do some "sewer pipes" as well in the right hands. I have found a sweet folkloric tone from some of these that you might consider trash. Some trash can be polished an be golden. (As coal to diamond and manure to a beautiful flower.)

Plastic film technology has come a long way since you started out. The Mondo, Fiberskyyn, Nuskyn and Skyndeep heads are equal if not better to skins when they are properly matched and tuned. Remo is the only manufacturer to achieve this feat. Sometimes the head is fine as is and others will need muffling to take the ring out. (Some ring is from the shell.)

Some plastic heads are garbage but not all of them are not. This is an opinion only and there are people on both sides of the fence and that is fine.

There are a wide range of a mix of fact and opinion out there and that should be promoted and not condemed. I would rather make some mistakes than follow the herd like sheep with no will of my own.

Peace and Happy Dummin'