by JoePasko » Wed Sep 23, 2015 1:59 pm
Hi. My name is Joe, I am 54 years old and I live in Albany NY. I play many different percussion instruments and hand drums,
but I've never seriously played conga before. For most of the last 35 years, I have played electric bass in various
bands, as well as accordion and banjo. Playing percussion has always been more of a side-interest for me, until now :
as I am now playing percussion in a band called Three Quarter North. This is my first time ever being the full-time percussionist for a band, and I am loving it !
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A couple of years ago, my sister gave me a used pair of Cosmic Percussion congas, as a birthday present. She got them cheap at a 'divorce sale'. The labels say "Cosmic Percussion, presented by Latin Percussion".
They've been sitting in my basement, until recently I decided to do something with them. They are 10" and 11" diameter. I removed them from the crappy dual stand to which they were attached, and purchased an individual stand for the larger one. I took that drum apart and cleaned it up, etc. .. now I want to install a new head.
The replacement heads they sell specifically for CP congas must be for a newer design .. they come 9" and 10", and the crown height appears to be only about 1/2". The crown height of my original heads is more like 1". I have already read the older Cosmic-related threads here ... so I know that CP drums have undergone many design changes over the years.
So is there a 11" head for another LP model that will fit on my CP drum ? Or a synthetic head from Remo that will work ?
Bottom line: what other attributes besides diameter and crown height, determine if a head will fit a certain drum ?
I suppose another option is to buy a skin and mount it myself using the fleshing ring from the old head. I have never done this,
but I see that there are many instructional vidies on the internet. This method would provide me with more options than buying a pre-mounted head. Is there any type of hide that is especially recommended for conga ?
Final question ! When I removed the original head, I noticed that the upper edge of the wooden shell, the section that
comes in direct contact with the head, is rough and un-sanded. My gut instinct is to sand it smooth. Might
that improve the sound, or would it not make any difference ? Or are congas supposed to be un-sanded at that point of contact ?
Lastly, I realize that these are not high quality drums, but they were free and I do not mind putting some time and effort
into fixing one up to have something to learn on. I have an excellent track record for mastering musical
instruments, after applying some focus and dedication to learn my way around them. If I enjoy it and get good,
in the future I would upgrade to better congas.
Any advice would be appreciated !