congaplace.com

HI all,

I have bought a mule skin for my quinto from Isaaac a few months ago.
I am still not quite sure about it. Some times I love it, sometimes I don't. In the end it is probably too thin for my liking. It made my quinto ring which it never did before, so I put some tape under the skin which kind of works but looks a bit ugly.
The open slap is fantastic and it does sound good tuned right up, but for regular use as a main high drum I find the open tone around c sharp a bit dull. I find the closed slap to be ok but it lacks some thing which a really thick skin would give...
Anyway I am still playing with it.
When I mounted it, I did as I would normally do expecting the skin to drop down a bit after time. But this skin is so strong that it stays right up there even though I leave it tuned up all the time hoping it will eventually slack, but so far nothing. It is slightly to high and I some time catch the rim with my hand. I would be great if it could drop a few millimeters.
I have cut the skin already so remounting is not possible.

Any suggestions?

The only thing I can think of is soaking the whole head, with the ring in it for about an
hour till it is kind of soft, but not as soft like when you first mounted it, and try tightening it up more then.

viewtopic.php?f=14&t=4853

Try this thread....

Here is what I have done and it works. Wet a bath towel completely, squeeze most of the water out, place the wet towel on top of the mounted conga and leave it overnight. In the morning the conga head will be moist and softer, then crank it down evenly with the tunning wrench. This will bring down the skin about a 1/4". It works real good and have been doing it for years.

Dario

I have successfully lowered a head about 1/2". I removed the head and put small clamps to keep the hide wrapped around the ring. Then, I turned the head upside down and surrounded it with water so that it all soaked except the hide wrapped around the ring. If the hide around the ring gets too wet, it will unwrap. I also filled the overturned head with water up to the same point. I soaked it overnight until very soft. In the morning, I installed it on the drum and tensioned it down quite a bit, though not as far as it would go. Drying hide has a lot of force.