De-tuning congas -- questions

[CPercussion]

I'm a bit confused regarding the advice to de-tune congas after each session to prolong skin life. Suppose two players, A & B, have the exact same two congas. Player A tunes his to D and G, player B tunes his to C and F. So player A follows the advice and detunes his congas and they are now sitting at -- let's say, C and F. Player B's congas are already at C and F. Player B should not have to de-tune, right? And if so, then the advice to de-tune only applies to those congas that are tuned high, right? And the next question would be, what is considered high? Clarification appreciated.

[taikonoatama]

There have been quite a few threads here on this over the years - you bring up two issues here, really.

1.Tuning to a specific pitch
The whole tuning-to-a-specific-pitch thing - there aren't many situations where it's really that important to do this. The open tones on congas are not nearly as pitch-specific to the ear as the tones of a lot other instruments, and if they're a bit off, technically speaking, no one is going to notice most of the time, including you. If you're doing some recording or something, or playing some music where your open tones are really tied in with the melody played on some other instruments, OK, but in general, don't worry about it.

Now, the interval between 2 or 3 congas is a slightly different story, in the sense that if that's off by much you and everyone else will more likely notice that. I think most of us just tune the interval(s) by ear by humming "hear comes the bride" or whatever, but if you're new to this then tuning against something like a piano/guitar/tuner can help until you get the feel for the interval. You'll likely find it much more difficult to tune your conga to a tuner than you would a guitar, for example, which just goes to show you how it's not really that important to get it exact - it'll sound about right over a wider range of tension as compared to a guitar or other more precise melodic instrument. Just use your ear if you can.

2. De-tuning after playing
There was a particularly spirited debate here some time back about this issue, with some swearing it best to never de-tune, and others equally adamant that de-tuning prolongs the life of the skin and gives it more bounce and resonance when it's tuned up. Most here were on the side of de-tuning. You might look for the thread.

After you get the hang of tuning (especially when you're not tuning to a specific pitch), it only takes a couple of minutes and so isn't really any major hassle.

If you opt to detune, the advice to de-tune applies to all your drums, but by their nature the higher-pitched will need to be de-tuned further down to release their tension properly. Just crank them all down, going around the lugs, until it seems that the bulk of the tension is gone - no point in over-doing it. It's typically just a crank or two for the tumba all the way around and a bit more for the others. You might have to smack the skin with your palm/fist to unseat the skin if it is gets stuck and doesn't detune. It's really not critical that you detune to any specific pitch or anything - the point is just to relieve the bulk of the tension and allow the skin some R&R.

[CPercussion]

TJust crank them all down, going around the lugs, until it seems that the bulk of the tension is gone - no point in over-doing it.

I see, de-tune to the point where the tension is gone, and not just detune to the next lower "note".
Gotcha. Thanks for the clarification.

[akdom]

Hi there

I also advice to detune your drums.

I personally detune 4 spins on all the lugs of all 3 drums. They then are totally detuned. When I play, I just retune them of 4 spins too.

I also use a rubber hammer to hit the rims after tuning. This unsticks the skins off the edges of the drums and give a higher pitch.

I sometimes use this rubber hammer in between 2 sets during concerts when the venue is hot and wet. This retunes your drums instantly.


B

[Mike]

I would like to add that the question if you should detune or not also depends on the
pitch of your conga. A super-tight requinto should always be detuned, but I guess
a pair of rather low-tuned conga&tumba drums needn´t be always detuned.
If you practice, you focus on technique.

Another aspect is that the seating of the skin on the bearing edge should not be
shifted exaggeratedly because the highest tension on the skin is exerted there.
If you constantly make the head undergo this change in tension, it might wear out.

Having been a keen detuner most of my life, I also see a sense in detuning though:
The skin will lose its capacity of being stretched if it under extreme tension for a long time.

So there is a flip side to everything