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#11
Percussion Parlor / Re: Cobalt River Junior Congas
Last post by Neil Johnson - April 04, 2020, 05:21 PM
All great ideas. Just anxious to get in touch with those manufacturers.  With a little soaking, I am thinking the LPs would stretch into place, because from what I can tell, their rims would catch and pull in the right way. Thanks. I am newb, so I definitely will check out other posts. enj
#12
Percussion Parlor / Re: Cobalt River Junior Congas
Last post by Bart Elliott - April 02, 2020, 01:09 PM
You might want to do some searching here on the forum for past discussions on bongo and conga heads, as well as tucking your own.

Drumheads for hand drums typically are "extended" heads ... meaning the drumhead extends well beyond the outer shell ... much like the extended heads on timpani.

Every manufacturer for bongos, congas, djembes, etc., typically has their own unique drumheads and measurements. Several reasons because of the drum shells are typically made from wood staves (unless fiberglass or carved wood), the drumheads themselves vary when they use real skin (eg. calf, goat, buffalo).

I would suggest that you measure the flesh hoop, that is the metal ring that the skin is wrapped around, to find out the size you need when replacing. You can also contact a drumhead manufacture directly to see if they known whether their drumhead will fit your drum.

If you can't find a synthetic drumhead to fit your drum, you will need to purchase a real skin head for replacement, or purchase the skin and retuck yourself using the original flesh hoop. 

Soaking the skin head in warm water for a period of time will soften it to the point where you can reshape the bearing edge to fit your drum as needed. Beware of soaking too long as the head will give way from the flesh hoop tucking ... and/or you run the risk of softening the head to the point it tears.
#13
Percussion Parlor / Cobalt River Junior Congas
Last post by Neil Johnson - April 01, 2020, 08:40 PM
Picked up a pair of Cobalt River Junior Congas, and one of them had a split head. I did some initial measurements and decided to try a set of Remo Tucked NUSKYN heads. I measured only the bearing edges at, generally, 8.25 and 9.25 inches, ordering bongo heads. They came at different times from different sources (never again), and I ended up installing the larger 9-inch on the smaller drum. It fit nicely and after a couple of tunings was sounding nice. The 8.5 arrived; I discovered my "error" and realized Remo jumps to a 10-inch conga head in the tucked variety. From there, I encountered the bongo/conga head industry isn't real forthcoming on dimensions. Research helped me find that Cobalt River drums are now essentially Cannon Junior Congas, but again no hint of head sizes. From there, I followed Remo's measuring guidelines snd submitted my findings to them, but they are out of service because of COVID-19. Here are my results:
COBALT JUNIOR CONGAS
BIGGER:
Ear ID= 10 3/4 inches
Hoop ID= 10 1/8 inches
Bearing Edge: 9 1/4 inches
SMALLER:
Ear ID= Still need to measure, but it's the same size as the rim in the 9-inch Remo Tucked NUSKYN (snug fit)
Hoop ID= 9 3/8 inches
Bearing Edge: 8 3/8 inches
I'd prefer the heads to match. And I did find and OD of 10.5 inches on an LP 9-inch Calfskin LP Junior head, but I wasn't as lucky on the 8-inch LP Junior head. Any advice?
#14
Hey there, I recently answered a lot of your questions on a piece I wrote: "how to play drums for beginners", it makes learning the drums online super easy (I hope).

I cover:

Develop a clear understanding of rhythm
Discover which songs you should practice
Learn how bass and snare interact
Include 8th notes in your playing
Practise common drum beats with or without drums
Understand what drum equipment (if any) you need
Find out how to hold your sticks properly
Experiment with your drum grip
Name the parts of a drum kit
Recognise and be able to read drum sheet music and tab
Work on your drum rudiments
Sharpen up your timing with a metronome
Figure out drum fills to add variety to your playing

Hope this helps!
#15
General Board / Re: Drum tabs
Last post by Bart Elliott - March 19, 2020, 07:13 AM
Well ... actually there's a LOT of sheet music for drums ... it's just not for free. I've created a lot of drum chart sheet music for popular songs, etc., all available in the Drummer Cafe - Premium Resources.

Perhaps you could be specific as to what you are looking for exactly. Are you wanting drum tabs/charts for songs? If so, what songs or bands in particular?
#16
General Board / Re: Drum tabs
Last post by aaron81 - March 16, 2020, 07:58 PM
Drum sheet music even harder to find.
#17
General Board / Re: Drum tabs
Last post by Bart Elliott - March 16, 2020, 03:40 PM
Google or another search engine is going to be best for this. The majority of our members, including myself, read sheet music and don't work with tabs.

There are some members here who work with tabs. Spend some time searching the forum for previous discussions... keeping in mind that some of the sites mentioned may no longer be up and running.

Good luck!
#18
General Board / Drum tabs
Last post by aaron81 - March 16, 2020, 03:08 PM
Looking for good sites to get drum tabs for country and rock prefer free sites?
#19
Gear / Equipment / Instruments / Re: Monolith drums
Last post by Bart Elliott - March 14, 2020, 04:58 PM
Unfortunately, however, Monolith Drums is no more.
#20
Gear / Equipment / Instruments / Re: Monolith drums
Last post by Jim Weese - March 13, 2020, 12:36 PM
Gary McCracken from Max Webster and Jerry Mercer in April Wine both used Monolith (Milestone at that time). 2 good examples of how they sound are Roller and 21st Century Schizoid Man, both April Wine recordings, but you get to hear the sound of the drums really well on these tunes