Mounted mediterranean mule = magnificent!

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Re: Mounted mediterranean mule = magnificent!

Postby Congadelica » Sat Nov 29, 2008 11:31 am

I love um mate . they look nearly ready to rock n roll .

nice colour too . perfick ! 8)
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Re: Mounted mediterranean mule = magnificent!

Postby Thebreeze » Sat Nov 29, 2008 7:11 pm

Mike...they look great, and i am so sure that they are going to please for a long time to come. I really like the uniformity of these mule skins, nice and even throughout. Happy drumming my friend.

Will.
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Re: Mounted mediterranean mule = magnificent!

Postby Mike » Sat Nov 29, 2008 8:02 pm

Marco & Will, thanx again for the compliments.
The skins are meant to last indeed and they´re surely great.

I will keep everyone posted about updates and changes...
Peace & drum
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Re: Mounted mediterranean mule = magnificent!

Postby Thebreeze » Sat Dec 06, 2008 5:54 am

Hello Mike. Any updates on how your congas are sounding at this time? Just curious. I bet they sound nice. I just ordered another set of mule skins from El Greco as well as a set for a friend on the east coast.

Will.
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Re: Mounted mediterranean mule = magnificent!

Postby Mike » Sat Dec 06, 2008 8:29 am

Thebreeze wrote:Hello Mike. Any updates on how your congas are sounding at this time?

Well, just brilliant after two weeks of drying and careful tuning. I would go as far as to say they are really the best skins I have ever come across!
Yesterday I played a lot, first rather quietly, then - with earplugs in, you know, the tinnitus problem - louder.

I tuned the two congas as conga (Matador) & tumba (Afro) and what I find most amazing is
=> the roundness of the open tone - just as much resonance as you want without annoying overtones
=> the sensitivity of heel and fingertip strokes , very clearly audible even when played at low volume
=> the slapzzzzz :D Incredible how well you can produce them on this Greek mule skin - and they sound waaaay different not only to water buffalo, but also to cow skin too, I would not say the slaps are cutting in the sense of ear-splitting, but they are the crispiest and driest I have EVER been able to produce. They pop effortlessly.

So all in all, these are the perfect skins for my drums´n´me, period. 8)

Bottom line is, they need some oil now.

I will keep everybody updated about that curing process. This will take some time, and by Christmas the congas should be ready for a decent rumba under the Christmas tree :lol:

In the meantime, I wish everybody a happy Santa Claus season :)

Mike
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Re: Mounted mediterranean mule = magnificent!

Postby CongaTick » Sat Dec 06, 2008 1:36 pm

Mike,

Very happy for you and your mules. I know what you mean. And they only get better with time as you play them. Every day they bring to life a new aspect of your drums' personality.
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Re: Mounted mediterranean mule = magnificent!

Postby No.2-1820 » Sat Dec 06, 2008 8:24 pm

I would agree with that, the mule skin on my requinto from Isaac really is getting better and better, the open tones have such a warmth now, very different sounding and the skin has such a nice soft feel on the hands, it has taught me so much about patience and the whole breaking in process, I'm sure in the past I replaced skins that were fine, probably great, my skill level just wasn't sufficient to extract the range of tones that were possible.

Barrie
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Re: Mounted mediterranean mule = magnificent!

Postby Thebreeze » Sat Dec 06, 2008 8:45 pm

My Dominican shell bongos have come along very nicely with my mule skins on them and they should just get better like I am hearing with the breaking in process. The one thing that I really appreciate about El Greco's mule skins from the Mediterranean region is that he can actually give you the desired thickness you want/need in milimeter measurements, as well as the skins being the same thickness throughout the entire skin. This makes it much better for those who need a specific thickness for a specific drum, etc..

Will.
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Re: Mounted mediterranean mule = magnificent!

Postby Mike » Wed Dec 10, 2008 5:22 am

After getting in touch with El Greco, I took off the mule skins and up to now they have been marinating for 3 days in food oil now... I put the skin on a large plastic tray and poured some litres of oil onto it until it was fully submerged.
This will take another week or so before I can take them out, wipe them dry and remount them.
By now, the skins have already taken on a beautifully rich and dark colour! :D
When they are finished I will post pictures again.

Mike
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Re: Mounted mediterranean mule = magnificent!

Postby seisporocho1 » Wed Dec 10, 2008 1:40 pm

Hey Mike, what do you consider 'food oil' ? Olive oil, canola?

I have to do something similar to mine.

seisporocho
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Re: Mounted mediterranean mule = magnificent!

Postby Mike » Wed Dec 10, 2008 2:22 pm

I took olive oil, as i thought good Greek oil would do the former beasts best :)
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Re: Mounted mediterranean mule = magnificent!

Postby seisporocho1 » Wed Dec 10, 2008 4:03 pm

Hey Mike,

Are you sure you were supposed submerge the skin in oil for a whole week?!
It sounds like a bit much! I thought that by just rubbing it on both faces or dipping it (quickly) in oil and letting it sit for a week, it would be enough...
Just making sure you don't end up with super saturated oily skins! :)
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Re: Mounted mediterranean mule = magnificent!

Postby Mike » Wed Dec 10, 2008 4:12 pm

No, it´s OK, because a) El Greco told me to and b) the skins are so dense and tough that it really needs some time for the oil to creep in by means of osmosis...
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Re: Mounted mediterranean mule = magnificent!

Postby seisporocho1 » Wed Dec 10, 2008 7:45 pm

Cool.
It makes sense. You do have thick skins!!! :)
Keep us updated on that!

seisporocho
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Re: Mounted mediterranean mule = magnificent!

Postby Thebreeze » Thu Dec 11, 2008 2:31 am

I can testify to the fact that I have already done the olive oil treatment on my bongo skins and they turned out great. I also had my skins in olive oil about one week each. I used the darkest virgin olive oil I could find.

Will.

p.s.....This seems like a new thing to some of us but I think it is something that El Greco has been doing for many years. He really knows his skins and has extensive knowledge on the subject.
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