DRUMMER CAFE

When I decided to get congas it was because these guys I was playing music with were doing some stuff that made me smile. I knew they were for me. So, by default I started off shooting for that traditional sound - which is dry and NOT a bit ringy.
I learned to hate that ringy sound, and therefore would never consider a synthetic head or plastic drum.

I know that harder woods will create more ringing, and that the old masters use Mahogony, which of course we can't get in the states anymore - since it's a rainforest old growth protected wood.

So, if you want a more ringy sounding wood, then good ol' American Oak is for you.  
The LPs, and Cheaper drums ring more than the two hand-made manufacturers I know about, and the synthetic heads ring like hell. Problem is, the synthetic heads don't provide that satisfying low full tone in the fundamental. They throw out all sorts of overtones that almost mask the fundamental.  

Also, if anyone's interested in what we're doing with attempting to sound traditional, or if you're interested in traditional Afro-Cuban notation beyond Xs and Os, then check this out:
http://www.animaldreams.net/conganotation.html

Thanks Bart, I learned something there!
Didn't know what was meant by "Bearing Edge".
- and perhaps my opinion of synthetic heads was a bit too caustic.
 

The problem with swapping heads, when you are talkng about calfskin, is that the heads are often times molded to fit a particular drum ... and positioned on a particular bearing edge. To really seat a calkskin head, the skin is dampened to the point that it can be molded to fight precisely on the bearing edge of the particular drum. Even if you buy a pre-molded calfskin head, and it's already been mounted on a drum, if you take it off ... it's not going to fit well on a different drum. If the store in question doesn't know this, then they may not mind swapping with you ... but they will be in for a big awakening! The cool thing with calfskin, however, is that you just need to soak the head again and it's ready to be mounted on a different drum. Again, they may not know how to do this, so they may not go for it.

Regardless of whether it's a calfskin or mylar drumhead, anytime you mount the head and take it off, you need to place the drumhead back EXACTLY as it was originally mounted. If you don't, then the head will more than likely not seat properly. With calfskin, you can soak the head (to work around this obviously), but with mylar you must return the head to it's original position on the shell, or simply replace the old head with a new one.

Fiberglass congas are also known for their ringing

True... calf skins will provide the most natural (dry - if you will) conga sounds... just as will mahogany shells.  On bongos, the best skin (I haven't seen them since "political correctness" came in) are called "gyp".  This is the skin from an unborn calf.  It is very translucent, tight and has a wonderful staccato sound.

The bearing edge would be thinner on harder woods and fiberglass shells and thicker on softter wood like mahogany.  This also explains why the Gon Bops have "their" sound as much of the vibration is passed into the shell through the thick edge.

As mentioned by others, pre-formed heads can be a nightmare.  I have always tried to buy new / fresh skins "in the round" or flat.  Then I soak them in warm water until they become supple, then loosely form it over the drum, slide the steel ring down to where I would want it.  Then fold the skin up over the ring and place the hoop over all.  Lastly, trim the wet skin to the height of the hoop and let air dry with a slight bit of tension on the skin (finger tighten the nuts).  Once dry, tighten the skin to desired pitch, let stand for a few days, loosen nuts, reseat the head and retighten to desired pitch.  The pitch will change as the skin stretches and reforms.  I always loosen the nuts when I won't be using the drum(s) for more than a week.  I always retune the drum(s) before each gig.

I've been doing this for close to 50 years now and it has worked the best for me.  I still have my original Valje bongos and Gon Bops congas.

Thats what I ended up with.   Good enough sound for the price for what I needed.