DRUMMER CAFE

Reviving this thread because, I need a little help.

Isaac and I have been going back in forth - in an incredibly friendly way because this guy is just the best to work with!   But, we're having a problem with fitting my quinto head (the conga and tumba heads apparently fit perfectly).  It seems his supplier is making the quinto heads for the first time now and they don't have the sizing down just yet.  Again, I want to emphasize that I don't blame Isaac or Funky - those guys have been superb to deal with!

But, here's where that leaves me:  I need a quinto head "ring" or "hoop" so that I can mount a skin.  I only have the one that I'm playing and a busted Remo - Isaac says the Remo probably won't work.   I don't want to destroy my LP buffalo head because I like having it as a spare.

If anybody has a busted LP quinto head that fits Comfort Curve II or another head or ring that they want to sell cheaply, please let me know.  If you know a good source (other than buying a new head from LP just so I can cut it apart), I'd love to hear from you.

Thanks!

B-cero:  really?  Thanks!  I've been told by my local stores (who are really pretty lame when it comes to ordering anything) that it was not possible.  I looked at Rhythmtraders.com and didn't see any mention of anything (before I posted) but I guess I could call them and ask.

If my local stores are of no help to me with the LP ordering, I wonder who I can go to for this...I would really prefer an LP, I think.

Hmmm...maybe I got my wires crossed a little bit - pun intended and duly apologized for...  

Isaac says that he can make the skinwire if I can get him the EXACT dimensions.  That would be best for a lot of reasons.

But, I have to say that I am in no way looking forward to trying to mount this skin.  I'm much more of a "screw it on and play it" kinda guy.

I was in Portland yesterday and stopped at the African Rhythm Traders and bought a couple new conga skins. These came from Pakistan cows and looked good. They were $22, half the price of other skins. I figure it doesn't matter where the skin comes from as long as it was a good cow. I picked out ones with personality, patterned with colors, kind of medium to thin like I like 'em for quinto. Got one soaking in the tub right now and will let you know how it sounds when I get it mounted. I am replacing the 28 year old head on my 9 3/4" gon bop, but I'm keeping the old head in the wings, it still has that old good sound.

By the way, African Rhythm Trader have their own line of drums now and I got to play on them..... real nice drums and sound great. They are attractive, the shells look like LP Giovanni ash, pretty dark chrome comfort curve crowns. Their Thai 'oak' drums sound good too, look a lot like LPs in the curve of the shell and workmanship. All of them have water buffalo heads, but I think they are heavier than what LP puts on, the ART drums sound different than LPs, more crisp and dry, more like a gon bop. Maybe it is because they know how to tune a drum at ART and all of them in the showroom were tuned to perfection. Half the time you walk in a store somewhere and play an LP they sound bad just cause of the tuning. Anyway, I was impressed with the African Rhythm Trader drums.

Rawhide means animal skin that has been not processesed other than cleaning , drying and hair removed.  All LP heads are water buffalo.

Duct tape somewhere on the head perhaps will curb it a bit...
But, good ol' ear plugs help a bunch!
Also, when you're playing with other drummers, you won't notice it as much.

To me, the real test of the drum note is how it sounds alone.
If you don't like the sound of your own drum, then you need to change to what you like. Just my opinion.

Hey folks,

Rather than start a new thread, I just thought I'd revive this one for a quick answer. 

I have a pair of inexpensive congas (Toca) that I only use a few times a year.  I used to keep them in the house, but now I have to keep them in boxes in the garage.  Will this cause damage to the heads?  I assume these are synthetic heads but I'm not certain.

Should I treat or moisten the heads before I use them again?  I live in Phoenix and it's hotter and drier than hades right now.  The winters are mild but over the course of a year, the temperature could vary by 100 degrees or more in there. 

Thanks,

i find there are so many variations in sound from drum to drum, brand to brand and head to head that it's hard to generalize.

i play lp galaxy fiberglass congas w the original lp heads in tampa, and like how they sound. the more you play, the more broken in the heads begin to sound. or maybe its the more you play, the more you understand how to get a better sound out of what youve got.

i ordered some remo fiberskyn 3s after playing them in various music stores and on the recommendation of one conga player i talked to. but after putting them on, i quickly took them off. too ringy, plastic-y. they are in my closet. i may give them another audition, though.

one last thought: i too notice how good pro conga players sound on cd. like knocking on wood, firing pistol slaps, unbelievable speed, etc. but remember: thats studio sound that can be made to sound like anything anyone there wants. its not necessarily real, any more than full drum kits sound 'real' on many recordings.<a href="" target="_blank"></a>