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Hi all,

I have a pair or Meinl Fibercraft congas with Remo Fiberskyn heads. A few days after a general clean up / maintenance session and tune up I've noticed a couple of small bubbles in the playing surface close to the edge, anyone know why this has happened and if there is anything I can do about it?

Bubble in each skin about the size of my thumbnail.

Thoughts appreciated!

Thanks

This was typical with these REMO heads, in fact, that is the reason why they are no longer made. I had the same issue, not much you can do. That particular surface is merely for cosmetic reasons and does not in any way affect the sound of the drum, in fact, if you remove that cover it will still sound the same. I have seen these in more than one occasion.
I would think that if you have a syringe, you might be able to insert some adhesive.
Hope this helps.
Take care
K.C.

Thanks for your input King Conga,

[*I loosened the heads a little, stood the congas upside down (skin down) on a hard smooth floor and retightened - this has largely got rid of the bubbling, it's not 100% perfect but quite close.] EDIT: *scratch that, was a temporary fix. Bubbles returned

I'm surprised to hear they don't make the fiberskyn heads any more though, seems like they are still available ove here (UK) - was it a specific type or all of them do you know?

The Remo head film (cause that's all it is) started wearing and peeling on both of my bongo heads. I finally just decided to pee all of it off both heads using GooGone to help loosen the remaining adhered skin. Pure cosmetic wrap is all it is, as stated, and doesn't affect sound, though it is a cosmetic issue that Remo undoubtedly knew/knows about and just went with a "fuck it" policy versus correcting it.

Yes I think they must know about it. Pretty shoddy.

Am I correct that this doesn't happen with the NuSkyns?

CongaTick wrote:The Remo head film (cause that's all it is) started wearing and peeling on both of my bongo heads. I finally just decided to pee all of it off both heads using GooGone to help loosen the remaining adhered skin. Pure cosmetic wrap is all it is, as stated, and doesn't affect sound, though it is a cosmetic issue that Remo undoubtedly knew/knows about and just went with a "fuck it" policy versus correcting it.

Yeah, quite a nuisance, I experienced the same.

But no problemo with the "Skyndeep" Remo type of skin. Excellent sound.

There is absolutely no worry with the NuSkyns because they don't have the thin layer over them but I must confess, I hate the feel of NuSkyn heads , plastic feel all the way...but they do sound nice though.

Could I just check with you guys, I understand you're saying the bubbling doesn't happen with the Nuskyn but are you also saying it doesn't happen with the Skyndeep?

I'd really like to get a set but I can't risk what happened with my fiberskyn happening again!

I've just got bubbles on my fiberskyn as well.
These are old ones with brown line on the side.
Have you had any experience with new Fyberskyns, those without brown line ?
I just prefer Fiberskyns, not Nuskyn, but I'd really like to avoid those bubbles in the future.

I thought the NuSkyn heads were as close to the real cow or bull skin heads. At least for a synthetic.