Checking in and asking a question

[Greensail]

While I do semi regularly check to see if there are any posts, I'll admit I've not been here recently. Are there still a few of us here?
Question- I recently changed a head on my quinto- a nice chocolate brown steer from manito. After it dried and tuned it, I played it for a couple days, I noted there were some tiny "protusions" or what felt like very tiny rigid hairs protruding from the head. They increased over the next week and it kind of bothered me. I used a sheet of 600 grit sandpaper and lightly sanded them off. Over the next couple weeks, they returned to a much lesser degree and I sanded a few more times. The result was the head felt very smooth and nice on my hands. I liked the feeling a lot. And maybe it's in my head but the sound, maybe because of the feel seemed improved.
Any thoughts or similar experiences?

[Thomas Altmann]

Hi Greensail,

I almost habitually sand the surface of my drum skins to a certain degree. As I apply a special ointment on my hands, containing beeswax, the skin becomes soft and a bit sticky over time. Other people may hate that, but I just like it that way. For my technique, as well as for the sound I want to hear from my vintage Gon Bops drums, it feels perfect to me.

Hair sticking out of the skin is not exactly a sign of quality, I would say.

A couple of months ago I did find the 10.3/4" International series conga that I was looking for so long. I bought it from a German aficionado for 450 Euros. As usual, the flesh hoop is again too large, so I have a metalworker make me a new one. The new skin is already there. There's a guy named Fritz "Vize" Würth in the Black Forest, who sells excellent skins. When everything is done, I have a set of 3 or 4 matching drums. I like my set to look homogeneous.

Yeah - I'm afraid we have to admit that the forum has become something like a mummy now. A Congabot is flooding the board. Smells mouldy, overall. I am waiting for the moderators to eventually take it down; I did already download some of the valuable posts, just in case.

Greetings,
Thomas

[Chtimulato]

Hello guys.

I'm still there too.

Regarding the hairy skin, I've never been there, but a friend of mine told me he once had to sand a skin during two hours to get it smooth and at the right thickness...

Regarding the CongaBot posts (what a strange name), they seem to be all made for beginners, which most of us are not anymore (without any bragging from me). So, indeed, what's the use?

Stay safe, guys.

[Greensail]

Nice to know there are a couple of us here.
Thanks for the feedback. Clarification- I don't really think the irregularities were hairs but just bothersome on my hands. What did surprise me was how good the head felt after the sanding. Not only feel but I think the sound was improved as well. I had never sanded the head before but I'm going to experiment with a few others. I typically use palm oil on the heads ans my hands as well.
And Thomas, still playing with the jazz group in Nevis. We are getting much better as a group and i feel like I have improved a lot in that genre. They are open to the jazz philosophy, play what you feel and I've moved a lot in that direction. As Miles said "if you don't make a mistake, it's a mistake."

[Chtimulato]

Edi: I just remembered I've sanded 2 horse skins (for the macho) on 2 pairs of bongó, because they were still a little hairy. I used a fine grit, maybe 120.

[CongaMan]

Hi everyone,
I know I’ve been absent for a long time, and I’m truly sorry for not being able to take care of the forum the way it deserves. Life simply became too busy, and I couldn’t keep up anymore.
But please know this: I have always done my best to keep CongaPlace online, even in silence. Because this place matters.

What we built here over the years is something special. This forum was once a vibrant meeting point for conga players and percussion lovers from all over the world. So many great musicians passed through here, sharing knowledge, rhythms, advice, and passion. The amount of valuable information collected here is incredible—and that’s all thanks to you.

Of course, times have changed. Social media like Facebook and Instagram have taken over, and forums like this are no longer as active as they once were. That’s just the way things evolved.
Still, I don’t see this place as “dead.” I see it as a living memory—a library of knowledge that can still inspire and help others.
I understand your concerns, and I appreciate that some of you are saving content. It shows how much this community meant—and still means.

As for me, I will do my best to keep the site online for as long as I can.
Thank you all, from the bottom of my heart, for being part of this journey and for making this forum what it is.

CongaMan

[CongaMan]

By the way, about the “CongaBot”:
it’s actually just a small experiment I’ve been working on. Since I work in software, I’ve been exploring how agents work and learning tools like n8n.
As part of that, I tested an automated way to fetch videos from YouTube and post them on the forum. For me, it was more of a learning exercise than anything else.

That said, if you feel it doesn’t add value or makes the forum worse, I’m absolutely fine with stopping it—just let me know.

All the best,
CongaMan

[Chtimulato]

Hello CongaMan, and thanks for the explanation.
Now we know where the Congabot posts come from, it's OK for me.
If I find them interesting, I'll read them. If not... I won't

I know the admin task is very time-consuming.
Tell us if you need help, and if some of us here can help you to do the job.

Stay safe and keep on drumming, folks.

[Thomas Altmann]

Hi CongaMan,

I'm glad to hear it's coming from inside the forum. My first impression was that it was a malign spam bot.

Basically I take the same standpoint as Chtimulato. There might be people who follow the links and use them to their advantage. Everybody is free to disregard the posts if he/she has no use for them. I understand that it's fun for you to check out new technologies. Meanwhile you could observe the views, or whatever you can see as a moderator, to assess the reception by forum members.

I actually deplore the decline of this and other forums, thinking back to the times when we had profound topics and engaging discussions. Well, everything is in a process of change, and this is neither the only nor the most concerning case of decline we are witnessing, I guess.

Thank you for your commitment!
Thomas

[Psych1]

I'm still here. Not often but once in a while to see whats new.

[Mike]

I'm still here. Not often but once in a while to see whats new.

So am I, and glad to see that several silverbacks are still alive and kicking.

I have always done my best to keep CongaPlace online, even in silence. Because this place matters.

What we built here over the years is something special. This forum was once a vibrant meeting point for conga players and percussion lovers from all over the world. So many great musicians passed through here, sharing knowledge, rhythms, advice, and passion. The amount of valuable information collected here is incredible—and that’s all thanks to you.

Of course, times have changed. Social media like Facebook and Instagram have taken over, and forums like this are no longer as active as they once were. That’s just the way things evolved.
Still, I don’t see this place as “dead.” I see it as a living memory—a library of knowledge that can still inspire and help others.
I understand your concerns, and I appreciate that some of you are saving content. It shows how much this community meant—and still means.

As for me, I will do my best to keep the site online for as long as I can.
Thank you all, from the bottom of my heart, for being part of this journey and for making this forum what it is.

CongaMan

@Congaman I can only wholeheartedly agree with you in all points. And thank for your never-ending commitment! This forum is still something special and has always been, as everybody put so much heart and soul into it over the past decades
By the way, it’s my 25th anniversary here now.

[Greensail]

And in addition to the thanks to congaman for the effort going towards maintaining the forum, I'll just add that while visitors may be few and sporadic, the volume of useful information contained here is staggering. When I have a question about anything congas and often, percussion in general, I'll first do a search. There is little doubt that the answer is here. I am grateful for the wisdom of congaplace.