carlito wrote: The bongos I use for playing, I cover only on the skins with a PVC film to protect them from dust and not dry out with fabric.
Chtimulato wrote:If you play them regularily, the dust won't have the time to settle down on them...
Beatnik07 wrote:So you do confirm that covering my bongos with a piece of fabric would dry up the oils in the natural skin.
I was wondering about that.
Chtimulato wrote:If you play them regularily, the dust won't have the time to settle down on them...
carlito wrote:Beatnik07 wrote:So you do confirm that covering my bongos with a piece of fabric would dry up the oils in the natural skin.
I was wondering about that.
That depends on the type of substance.
Thomas Altmann wrote:Sorry for my jumping in the ring, but I feel that one aspect is missing: I think that the discussion about what type of covering to use, or whether cloth is soaking up the grease of the skin, is far over the top. As long as you protect your drums from mechanical damage, like getting hit or falling from a shelf, and from climatic extremes, you are already doing as much as can be done. Cloth will perhaps dry out the skins over a period of 10 years or more, which is when you should replace skins anyway. Detune the drums before laying them to rest, but leave a bit of tension on them; so the skins will not break on the edges when you tighten them again.
I store my bongos in a foam-padded fibre case. A case is nice, because it serves also as a table for the bell when performing.
I used to annoint conga heads with manteca de coco, but I stopped that. On my bongos, I do nothing. I often use a handcream that contains a trace of beeswax. That will rub off on the drum head a bit. To clean the skins, even soap and water are fine (but never under tension). I find that oils and more fluid or softer types of fat give the skins a rubbery consistence and take away some of their brilliance; but that is just a personal impression.
I'm sure, whatever you do with your bongos will be fine, because obviously you love your drums. And whatever you use to cover them cannot be too wrong.
Thomas
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