Toca Premiere Congas - All weather congas

Manufacturers, brands, skins, maintenance, stands, sticks, michrophones and other accessories for congueros can be discussed into this forum ...... leave your experience or express your doubts!

Postby congabebe » Sat May 25, 2002 4:16 pm

I saw some goat rounds for sale on Ebay. They said for Djembe, congas..., 18". Still has the hair on them. I have notice most congas don't still have the fir on them. Does this dampen the sound or does it matter? And is it a bad a idea to put goat skins on a conga? These looked stiff, they had a picture of them leaning against the wall. This adds to my list of questions early. I have been seeing some Gon Bops and Valje congas and wondered if I can purchase the premount conga heads on the older drums. A friend of mine at the drum shop had some used wooden congas, I would have bought them, they looked like the Gon Bop, but no bands on the middle, no markings. He said he wouldn't recommend them cause he didn't know if he could find replacement heads. So, If I see something like that again, can't I just buy the skin and do it myself? Or does it take a pro to mount them?

I really appreciate all of your comments by the way. I am taking notes.

Thanks,
Congabebe

:D :D
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Postby timo » Sun May 26, 2002 6:16 am

Hi congabebe.
Goat skin is pretty thin compared to cow, or anything else used on congas, I wouldn't recomend it for the conga or tumba, (my requinto has a goat skin and i like the sound). It gives a different sound to the thiker skins. Hair on the skin damppens the sound, this can be fairly easily removed, or you can just leave it there and it'll ware out in time. For the congas, Buy them!!! if you get them for cheap, putting on a skin isn't hard at all, it's a little trikky at first, but you get better every time.
Propably the cheapest way to get skins is to go to a bucher and see if he's got any skins, they usually have cow, or something, depends...hope this helps.
AXÉ

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Postby JohnnyConga » Sun May 26, 2002 1:33 pm

:D Good day my brothers...Skins...Goat or Kip skin is used for bongos or for Jimbes.Skins with fur still on them are used on Jimbes in Africa and here. It is recommended that u shave the hair off the skin,ever so gently, if there is too much on it. You can get skins also thru Tandy Leather co. We used to by them by the "Sheet", get 4 to 6 heads out of the "sheet". Mounting is tricky,if u never did it before you will need another pair of hands to help you. .Every drum has an inner hoop that the skin is wrapped around when mounting. The skin should be "soaked" for up to 3 or 4 hours in warm water. then when the skin is limp and bendable then beat some of the water out against your bathtub wall. You will need a pair of pliers to help pull the skin thru the outer hoop,so the skin overlaps the outer hoop. once the skin is evened out all the way around the head and the out hoop is placed in position and u tighten the head by tuning,just enough for the outer hoop to hold the skin in place ,then you take a razor along the outer hoop and cut the extra skin off all way around. then let the skin sit and dry for about 2 days. Before actuall tuning. The white head skins you see are "treated" skins. I don't know what they use to do that but it's ok,it doesnt hurt anything,just a different esthetic. If you can see thru a skin just means how thin it is. Even thick skins u can see thru,depending on where there from. You can also get skins from a slaughter house. We used to get them out of Chicago which still has the largest facility for that. I have never heard in my life of anyone "oiling" the inside of a conga. Putting fiberglass inside yes, but not "oiling"..It can't hurt,I figure. The cats today want the "pre-mounted" heads, so they don't have to do the mounting themselves. but it is part of it. Learn how to mount your own heads. An unmounted head is also cheaper. Don't be lazy guys , it feels good when you can do it yourself,and you feel like u've givin birth to the drum. Fat Congas.....good looking sound good but can't hold them between your legs too Fat!. Moperc's GREAT! Sol Percussion I've seen the website haven't heard the drum. Of course one piece drums is the ultimate in drum making. But it is a time honored situation that they are made from the "rum barrel" concept. Staves and Banded. In Cuba the drum was fashioned using "rum barrels",at first,, and then in 1947 Vergara was the first one along with Patato to put the hoop and brackets on a drum for tuning purposes..before that they were just "heat im ups". At your service...did I miss anything??? :D ...JC JOHNNY CONGA....
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Postby JohnnyConga » Sun May 26, 2002 1:46 pm

Thailand has many time honored traditions with there animals and the Water buffalo is one of them . They are used for farming and other jobs in the jungle. they use them like we used horses. I don't know who came up with the idea of Water buffalo,I am not into the slaughter of animals for slaughter sake or profit. But the Thais seem to have no problem with using them for skinning. They do eat the meat and divvy it out amongst the villagers. and they also have whole villages that live ,eat , and breath, Water Buffalo. As an animal of importance. Like the Elephant in Indonesia. Mule skin was very prevalant in the 60's i guesS they ran out of mules. i hope that doesn't happen with water buffalos. I do know that you get a lot of skins out of one buffalo, it's a big animal, bigger than a horse or a mule. I guess the advent of "synthetic" skins has come about because of some form of "activism" against the slaughter of animals. Also to capitalize on an "invention". I did hear that the new Remo synthetic head is better than the Evans synthetic head but I haven't gotten a chance to sample them out yet. the Evans are ok, I just can't get the "feel" of the heads. and in some cases they are selling for like 50 bucks a pop. So it is still up to you to figure out which way you want to go SKIN wise.....good luck...At your Service....JC JOHNNY CONGA.... :D
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Postby congabebe » Mon May 27, 2002 3:15 am

Great information! Thank you, I have more questions. The inner ring. I have the Remo Mondo heads, so I don't have an inner ring, Do you order the inner rings? Can you cut them out of premounted heads if you have an old pair? The local leather shop is Tandy Leather, so this maybe something I can try. I might try it on my friends Cosmic congas, he needs new heads and he might get a hoot out of me trying to do this. I know the article I read on this talks about using the thinner skin on the smaller drum. From what you said it is tricky. What about moisture on the hardware? Should you do anything to make sure it doesn't rust?

Thanks,
Congabebe
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Postby timo » Mon May 27, 2002 5:45 am

You can use old rings from your old skins, saves you the trouble of getting a new one. I make my own heads by welding, but that takes a little more work.
If you go to the leather store make sure you say you want raw leather,(untreated). Otherwise you'll end up making a bag insteand of mounting a conga head ;).
As for the hardware, they should be chromed,(or treated in similar fashion), and shouldn't rust whatever you do to them.
I think you should at least try mounting the heads, it gives satisfaction after you see and hear the work of your own hands,(but it still doesn't beat making the whole drum :p ), but it's out there.
Good luck.



Edited By timo on May 26 2002 at 09:46
AXÉ

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Postby JohnnyConga » Mon May 27, 2002 6:27 pm

Those Remo heads are built with the rubber over the inside hoop,as one piece. You would need the whole new head by Remo. If you mount any other skin on those drums you will need the inner hoop. From another old head or you would have to order it from Lp or sombody. As far as your pliers getting wet don't worry about that. Just dry them off when done,tht's all. At your Service....JC JOHNNY CONGA.... :D
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