Mike, those drums look fantastic! I hope you're still rocking them as they should.
I just happened to get a very good deal for an old 26 cm (10,25") Reiche quinto, second hand. I think it is the model prior to yours: 76 cm high, 5 lugs, very nice 3 mm thick cow skin, elegant and robust hardware, relatively light. Excellent drum!
The previous owner couldn't tell me much about it, so I'm trying to figure out some details (age, wood type, etc.). Do you know what year Reiche started making the new model? My girlfriend says it must be some tropical hardwood, because it doesn't show any "seasonal rings" on the cross-section. I know very little about wood, but I read somewhere that Reiche works/used to work with mahogany. Could it be that, or some other wood instead?
Mike wrote: They come already equipped with the best cow skins you can get in Germany, so there is no need for new skins.
Those rawhides Jost Reiche has picked match my idea of a perfectly sounding conga skin anyway.
Are yours the "standard" ones that Reiche mounts on his congas? Fritz Würth's maybe?
My plan was to use the drum as a (re)quinto for rumba purposes (I just got my fresh copy of the book "Rumba Quinto" by D. Penalosa too). I haven't cranked it up yet, but it sounds amazing at a middle pitch. So much so, that I am considering using it as the main drum in a set of 2 or 3 congas (alongside my other two drums, two PJ Session Line conga + tumba). It feels comfortable even though I have relatively big hands. I guess it will work well in both frequency ranges, but does somebody see a problem in tuning it often up and down (from rumba quinto tone to, let's say, tres dos'?
Best wishes!