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Posted: **Tue Feb 12, 2008 11:22 pm**

Hey guys. I just won a 14" repinique off of ebay. Now, I've never heard of a 14" repinique before, just 10" or 12". It's an old Contemporanea, the seller said his Dad got it in Brasil during the 70s.

I'm thinking it's actually a small surdo. It's 12"x14", and it came with calf skin heads. I've been trying to crank it pretty high with some plastic heads I put on it, but it doesn't seem to be getting into the repinique range, and I'm also a little concerned about putting that much pressure on the shell; Brasilian drums aren't the strongest things in the world.

With the calf heads, it should make sense as a small surdo. I'm not particularly familiar with surdo sizes, or repiniques in general, so I'm a little confused. Anybody hear of a 14" repinique? Any ideas?

Posted: **Wed Feb 13, 2008 3:00 am**

Ben , its a repenique ... now let me ask you how many tunning rods does it have ?. it should have 8 at least had one with 10 . With a plastic head tuned properly it should do just fine. Surdos are more up in the 18" and up in order to get that bottom.

Paz
Olsongo

Posted: **Wed Feb 13, 2008 6:06 pm**

Thanks for the reply Olsongo. It has six tuning rods. I was thinking the same thing, but here gope is selling 16" & 14" surdos. So, I'm still not sure.

What kind of heads do you recommend? I put on a pair of evans g1s.

Posted: **Wed Feb 13, 2008 6:12 pm**

There are 14" surdos, but they are generally longer than they are wide, about 18". Surdos were once pretty small. In the 1959 film, Ofeo Negro (Black Orpheus) you can see a small one being played in the opening sequence.

You might try to find white nylon heads, which should give you a higher pitch with less strain on the shell. Brazilian drums, especially old ones, will fold if you overtighten them. If the nylon is too pingy, just damp them a little with tape.

Posted: **Wed Feb 13, 2008 6:21 pm**

By the way, if you play with other repiques, it might be best for you to have a unique size. In the samba band I played in, almost everyone had 12". It was hard to tell when one stopped improving and another took over. I bought a 10" and a bacurinha (8") and had my own distinctive voice that could be picked out from the others. Your lower sound should give you a special niche in a group.

Posted: **Wed Feb 13, 2008 7:52 pm**

Any ideas on where I can pick up some white nylon heads?

Posted: **Fri Feb 15, 2008 5:01 pm**

White nylon heads are often available where samba instruments are sold. Many of the LP/RMV drums sold in the US have these heads. I think some caixas (snare drums) have that size.

If not, I believe the standard drumhead companies (Remo, Evans, etc.) make some nylon heads.

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14" Repinique?