Mounted mediterranean mule = magnificent!

[seisporocho1]

Mike, so how is the sound!!

Any diference between that and the JCR??

Thanks for the pics. It looks like you should oil the corners. Manteca de corojo does wonders for reviving it and adding color.

Seisporocho

[seisporocho1]

By the way, that's a VERY thick hide!! I hope you're not losing any tone. Your slaps are probably good though.

peace

[Mike]

Mike, so how is the sound!! Any diference between that and the JCR??

Full, but dry. Resonant, but little overtones. Again, that is partly due to the thickness, and has got
nothing to do with El Greco or JCR mule differences.

By the way, that's a VERY thick hide!! I hope you're not losing any tone.

No. I´m not! I´m winning
Honestly, each day the congas sound more awesome. Great, great, great!

I wait with some oil treatment until I receive further notice from El Greco.
Better to follow the ways of the expert on this matter I guess.

[Mike]

Now I am NOT a sales rep of El Greco, just a happy customer,
so here´s another quick sound review of the two reskinned congas:

I have just played the Matador conga a lot which is still tuned rather low (something like f sharp) and I was blown away by the crispness of the slaps(what ease!),
the open tones] which DO sound exactly like I wanted them to -
compare old Mongo recordings...

The Afro conga has an incredible bass tone and also a round, mellow open tone with real body
( no, I am NOT writing about wine - the scent would be different apart from the taste.. )

SO, these two taken alone are practically a set on their own. You cannot tune them much apart at the
moment though, but once they are finished drying, that would be possible.

Now I can combine my other quality-hide congas with them for many different setups:

Folkloric - each on its own - both are fine as conga or tumbadora in Rumba

Two drums - my preference: LP Classic quinto with thick cowhide + Matador conga with thick mule
or any other two
Three drums - e.g. LP Classic quinto + Matador conga + Afro Conga as Tumba => old skool sound

Four drums - LP Gio quinto + LP Classic quinto + Matador conga + Afro Conga
all in a Latin Jazz setup in diamond shape => Great melodic playing with beefy open tones suspected

Yep, I know, a colorful mixture - well my conga bunch does the trick for me at least.

[seisporocho1]

You sure do sound like a happy camper!!!

Very cool to hear the skins have definitely stood up to the reputation!!

I just received mine today They look great.

The conga head is thicker than I thought and that's a GOOD thing!

The bongo head is going to be excellent.

El Greco prepared them with care and love. They are smooth and even in thickness.

Tomorrow I will work on the bongo. The conga head will have to wait until I fully kill my current heads!

[Mike]

Yes, 6/8,
yours are looking very good too! Perhaps it´s the lighting in the pic, but mine seemed a bit on the darker side.
Never mind, each skin is unique
The 19.50" Conga flat skin is 2.7mm you said? - well, that´s just perfect for conga I´d say!
You´ll see it will turn out very fine.

Enjoy the stimulation of anticipation

BTW "Happy camper" - nice expression

[traumtyp]

Mike, excellent job of changing the cueros de mula samples to us.

I doubt arises, Is it advisable to mount mule skin or synthetic skin (REMO, EVANS) for greater clarity and loudness?

Mexico has become popular in much of the nuskin REMO and in my quinto Meinl I have assembled a synthetic EVANS, doubt appears to use more synthetic or opt for the mule.

Saludos!!!

[Mike]

I doubt arises, Is it advisable to mount mule skin or synthetic skin (REMO, EVANS) for greater clarity and loudness?

Traumtyp,
as other congaplace members have often confirmed, Nuskin REMO and synthetic EVANS will do very fine under difficult conditions such as a constantly humid climate - and I believe that is the case in some regions of Mexico (not sure there). You do not have the hassle of tuning/detuning that much like with rawhide skins.
Yes, projection is also louder with synthetic skins I have heard. And synthetics are all the rage apparently.
That being said, synthetic skins also mean more overtones, ringing or even a very hollow, thin sound.
I do not like them AT ALL! I prefer a naturally sounding skin for a wooden drum.
The clarity of the tones on the mule skins is unbelievable. Well, it is a very personal matter which skin type you decide on, but I would certainly not narrow it down to the decision "synthetics or mule" only. There´s lots of other animals running around with decent skins

Just my 2 cents
Mike

[Whopbamboom]

But would a more oily skin be less prone to absorbing moisture from the air?

How the heck do they do it in Cuba for pete's sake?

[Mike]

But would a more oily skin be less prone to absorbing moisture from the air?

Dunno, maybe. The funny thing is, El Greco skins are ultra-DRY as they have dried. It was only the flat skin that had this oily touch.

How they do it in Cuba? I cannot tell, but I have heard of baby powder or talkum being used.

[Mike]

BTW there is a slight sagging in the skins.

But I do not want to crank the congas up. The climate is mildly depressing: grey, rainy and humid European November,
so I think I have to put up with it.
Too much tuning & stretching can only harm the skin right now I guess. Or what do the others think?


Wish I was in Cuba now

[bongosnotbombs]

They've been on for what 4 days? I usually start playing mine after 2 days
of drying, 3 at the most. I'm not in Germany now though, but my guess is they should
be dry enough. Also I don't think I could stand the wait.

[Thebreeze]

If interested, i just added pictures of my Dominican Mahogany shell bongos in the Bongo section titled " Bongos, hand made from the Dominican Republic" they have El Greco Mule skins and they turned out incredible. I would say to Mike that you should go ahead and tighten the slack out of them but that's for you to decide when the time is right. But my bongos sound great with those skins and I am glad I got them on there.

Will.

[Mike]

Geordie & Will,

thanks for the input, brethren
everything´s fine, as now, after the 6th day of mounting, the slack of the skins has vanished partly automatically,
partly by careful tightening of the lugs. So I play and play them (with earplugs though) - and they sound terrific,
especially the Matador conga is the bomb, and the Afro conga tuned low is super-resonant.
The feel is unique so far.
I will let you know about any further "skin development".

Have yourself a nice and hopefully sunny Frisco bay weekend
Mike

[Mike]

Here are some more pics