by Ivan » Fri May 28, 2004 9:15 pm
Rythmisit,
Everybody has their own techniques for mounting... Another addition to Toca's suggestion is to take a candle and rub the wax on the inner rim of the frame of the drum; you know, the part where the skin touches the frame of the drum...
Anyway, in terms of soaking the skin (assuming it's either water buffalo or cow hide) the length of time you soak the pre-mounted head really depends on how the pre-mounted head rests on the drum with out tunning & tigtening... You can also just try resting the pre-mounted head on the frame of the conga to get an idea of it's inperfections... I recently purchased a pre-mounted mule skin head from my buddy Isaac and because of the thickness of the head - I soaked it for about an hour in almost HOT water (just the playing surface as TOCA suggests). I don't recommend the pre-mounted head be soaked until it's loose & jelly like - but just until the pre-mounted head is still tight but manouverable... (Kind of hard for me to explain).
Anyway, after all of this is done, let the head sit on the drum tightining the lugs until the head has a little tension - not too tight or you'll stretch the head; I would say until you feel the first tension in the lugs by twisting with your fingers. DO NOT PLAY the drum while it is wet or damp - I know it's hard to resist, but you really should wait until the pre-mounted head is completely dry (Along the lines of what Atoe said).
Lotion - I wouldn't just put any loation on a head. I have never put lotion or any kind of lubricant on my conga heads previously, but recently my friend and teacher JC advised bee's wax (I think that's what he said..???)
JC, you care to jump in on this? :O
Or
Isaac, what do you think?
Those are my humble opinions.
Good Luck,
Ivan
P.S. You may want to consider getting heads from Isaac - he has access to some nice pre-mounted and unmounted conga, quinto, tumba and bongo heads. I am very please with a pre-mounted conga head I just purchased from him.
Edited By Ivan on 1085779135
Ilu Ache,
Ivan