i have seen this "baffle" inside large conga drums say 15" but this drum is just a simple conga the ring can be resolved with a thicker steer skin and tuning perfectly to pitch. at the end of the day it's a drum not a piano
I tried this on my Meinl pro series conga, quinto and tumba along with 5/8" insulation strips along the walls. The combination of the 2 solutions worked great, more in the quinto and conga than tumba. I think the design of the body will have an impact on how much the overtones are reduced, no matter what the fix. And the type of head is also a factor. But this definitely helps
I add a string like this to most of my congas when I change heads or refurbish a drum. It works to remove too much ringing, or shorten ringing and gives a little bit of a drier sound. I don’t use a full t-shirt, usually a strip of cloth that I can loosely tie to the string. I am able to reach in the bottom of most congas to remove the cloth if I want, except for some smaller quintos. Best to experiment. Works for me.
I deleted my previous comments. Because after some weeks elapse, the bad overtones returned. No matter what ‘trick’ I tried, ultimately it failed. Even got Manito heads. But what those heads allowed me to hear was that there were different overtones, depending on where I tapped on the drum. Those overtones were nearly a whole tone apart. Conclusion: the rim of the drum was out of round! I measured it, and sure enough there was nearly a millimeter of difference in perpendicular dimension. So I got out the sandpaper. Worked the wood of the CP 11” until both the outside and the inside of the rim were consistent circles. Now, the overtones are uniform across the head and are in-tune with the fundamental tone - which is now clear. FINALLY that drum sounds good.
Rather than loosening up the hardware and wrapping a string, pop a second nut onto the end of the bolt. And use something that will not fall out if the drum is inverted.
All woods produce overtones, some more than others, for example oak or birch is not the same as rubber or pine, generally dense and hard woods tend to have less sound vibration. There are two possible solutions to this problem, the first and indispensable is to improve the playing technique, a good player is able to make a CP conga sound as if it were a Galaxy Giovanni. Then there is a second option and that is to make a hardening process to the wood of the congas. For this there are two options, the first one is heat hardening, some manufacturers do it, they literally "burn" the wood before the shell carving process, but it is an additional expensive and complex process that I do not recommend for finished instruments. The other is chemical hardening through a liquid wood hardener, which is nothing more than a liquid resin that goes into the wood and makes it denser as it dries, it is a process that is often used a lot in antique furniture restoration and works wonderfully on musical instruments.
nice vid, thanks for sharing your idea! I would recommend foam instead of cloth though. BTW is that a crack in your conga shell? You can see that at 2:20 at 05:00 for example.
@rogerod52 IIn woodworking, lap, means one piece over another piece. The staves of conga drums are edge glued, there is not overlap possible with that kind of joint. In woodworking flat and curved are two different things. What you mean is flush. It is not that hard to get edge glued staves flush when jigs are used . The techniques are well developed. I've owned over 20 vintage top end congas, none of which ever had anything overlapping anything else, or staves not flush.I've made drums, repaired them, made other instruments, including commercial production.
@rogerod52 It's not unusual in cabinetry and furniture for non-facing, invisible sides to be unfinished, like back sod cabinets, undersides of tables. Valjes are my favorites, I have old ones that I've had since the 70s
Thanks for posting that. it works. I just took a small rag and tied it to the string across so it can't fall out.and no ringing. I taped a sponge to the side and that works too but eventually the tape loosens and the sponge falls off. I used duct tape but it doesn't stick very well to the sides.
I personally don't mind the ringing for it adds unique flavor for my style of playing yeah crazy but all of us are different in our own way! I use LP Giovanni galaxy congas & LP Aspire congas & they blend like a set for how I have tuned by ear for I have to save money but those Aspire congas are not junk they blend amazing with my LP Giovanni galaxy congas for I am sound fussy extremely & greatful that my crazy set up of congas works & sounds good as well for my advanced professional conga drumming!
Tried this on my Matador conga but it didn´t work...maybe because I didn´t tie the string under the nut., I used a plastic clothes hanger. Also tried placing large washing up sponges all around, in between the double screws of the lugs, they fit snuggly and no tape needed but that doesn´t make much difference either. Maybe I´ll try sticking them to the bottom instead. Don´t want to waste money on an expensive skin that might not work either. Some say it sounds OK but in practice all I hear is the ring. Going crazy!
Hevia Brasienses, rubber wood, or most commonly called Thai Oak is the most common wood for new congas, most made in Thailand, Meinl, L.P. Toca ,Pearl, use this ringy wood, harvested wood from rubber plantations. Softer wood with some minute cavities have less to no over tones, the best is Bauer congas made from Brazil cedar, mahogony or other woods sound much better in isolation, in a band setting, you wont hear the overtones.
nice work. but i've noticed while experimenting myself that this technique modifies all sound spectrum. I didnt like open tones after. I think there is no cure, just a compromise. thanks for sharing this. take care.mario
Mabey you should learn to play it, after playing professionally for over 40 yrs on virtually every brand and skin type made ive never had or heard this problem. Ive been extremely fortunate in studying and performing with some of the top players in the world who have never expressed this problem. sometimes in the studio you can experience a dominant resonance. time to get a better engineer or learn to mike. this is pure BS
i have seen this "baffle" inside large conga drums say 15" but this drum is just a simple conga the ring can be resolved with a thicker steer skin and tuning perfectly to pitch. at the end of the day it's a drum not a piano
I tried this on my Meinl pro series conga, quinto and tumba along with 5/8" insulation strips along the walls. The combination of the 2 solutions worked great, more in the quinto and conga than tumba. I think the design of the body will have an impact on how much the overtones are reduced, no matter what the fix. And the type of head is also a factor. But this definitely helps
I add a string like this to most of my congas when I change heads or refurbish a drum. It works to remove too much ringing, or shorten ringing and gives a little bit of a drier sound. I don’t use a full t-shirt, usually a strip of cloth that I can loosely tie to the string. I am able to reach in the bottom of most congas to remove the cloth if I want, except for some smaller quintos. Best to experiment. Works for me.
I deleted my previous comments. Because after some weeks elapse, the bad overtones returned. No matter what ‘trick’ I tried, ultimately it failed. Even got Manito heads. But what those heads allowed me to hear was that there were different overtones, depending on where I tapped on the drum. Those overtones were nearly a whole tone apart. Conclusion: the rim of the drum was out of round! I measured it, and sure enough there was nearly a millimeter of difference in perpendicular dimension.
So I got out the sandpaper. Worked the wood of the CP 11” until both the outside and the inside of the rim were consistent circles. Now, the overtones are uniform across the head and are in-tune with the fundamental tone - which is now clear. FINALLY that drum sounds good.
Rather than loosening up the hardware and wrapping a string, pop a second nut onto the end of the bolt. And use something that will not fall out if the drum is inverted.
All woods produce overtones, some more than others, for example oak or birch is not the same as rubber or pine, generally dense and hard woods tend to have less sound vibration. There are two possible solutions to this problem, the first and indispensable is to improve the playing technique, a good player is able to make a CP conga sound as if it were a Galaxy Giovanni. Then there is a second option and that is to make a hardening process to the wood of the congas. For this there are two options, the first one is heat hardening, some manufacturers do it, they literally "burn" the wood before the shell carving process, but it is an additional expensive and complex process that I do not recommend for finished instruments. The other is chemical hardening through a liquid wood hardener, which is nothing more than a liquid resin that goes into the wood and makes it denser as it dries, it is a process that is often used a lot in antique furniture restoration and works wonderfully on musical instruments.
i did it and it worked great . saved me buying thicker skins. thanks for sharing.
I just bought my first conga, an LP Matador Custom, which has a ringing overtone....I will be trying all of these solutions - thanks!!
Dang Dude! You did'nt play the Conga "The Before and After". What Gives?
nice vid, thanks for sharing your idea!
I would recommend foam instead of cloth though.
BTW is that a crack in your conga shell?
You can see that at 2:20 at 05:00 for example.
I noticed that too
@rogerod52 Sorry but that doesn't make sense.
@rogerod52 IIn woodworking, lap, means one piece over another piece. The staves of conga drums are edge glued, there is not overlap possible with that kind of joint. In woodworking flat and curved are two different things. What you mean is flush. It is not that hard to get edge glued staves flush when jigs are used . The techniques are well developed. I've owned over 20 vintage top end congas, none of which ever had anything overlapping anything else, or staves not flush.I've made drums, repaired them, made other instruments, including commercial production.
@rogerod52 Inside is not usually lathed as far as I know,and is not usually sealed.
@rogerod52 It's not unusual in cabinetry and furniture for non-facing, invisible sides to be unfinished, like back sod cabinets, undersides of tables. Valjes are my favorites, I have old ones that I've had since the 70s
Good instructional vid! Nice work!
Thanks for posting that. it works. I just took a small rag and tied it to the string across so it can't fall out.and no ringing.
I taped a sponge to the side and that works too but eventually the tape loosens and the sponge falls off. I used duct tape but it doesn't stick very well to the sides.
I personally don't mind the ringing for it adds unique flavor for my style of playing yeah crazy but all of us are different in our own way! I use LP Giovanni galaxy congas & LP Aspire congas & they blend like a set for how I have tuned by ear for I have to save money but those Aspire congas are not junk they blend amazing with my LP Giovanni galaxy congas for I am sound fussy extremely & greatful that my crazy set up of congas works & sounds good as well for my advanced professional conga drumming!
Tried this on my Matador conga but it didn´t work...maybe because I didn´t tie the string under the nut., I used a plastic clothes hanger. Also tried placing large washing up sponges all around, in between the double screws of the lugs, they fit snuggly and no tape needed but that doesn´t make much difference either. Maybe I´ll try sticking them to the bottom instead. Don´t want to waste money on an expensive skin that might not work either. Some say it sounds OK but in practice all I hear is the ring. Going crazy!
Hey Koranke: Great idea, Im going to try this on my cheap L.P drum's.
Hevia Brasienses, rubber wood, or most commonly called Thai Oak is the most common wood for new congas, most made in Thailand, Meinl, L.P. Toca ,Pearl, use this ringy wood, harvested wood from rubber plantations. Softer wood with some minute cavities have less to no over tones, the best is Bauer congas made from Brazil cedar, mahogony or other woods sound much better in isolation, in a band setting, you wont hear the overtones.
Doesn't the Tshirt muffle the bass response?
I always wondered the difference between matador an original lap.
nice work. but i've noticed while experimenting myself that this technique modifies all sound spectrum. I didnt like open tones after. I think there is no cure, just a compromise. thanks for sharing this. take care.mario
Interesting, funny and clever! But I would prefer a thicker skin.
WHERE DO YOU GET INFORMATION FROM?
i taped a dishwashing sponge about 5 inches up fro the bottom of the drum.that works too!
I never heard anybody complain about overtones on congas......listen to the LP patato or galaxy fiberglass they cut through
Excelent !!! thanks
Nerf bat, foam noodles, swim toys. Full length of shell.
Please redo this video in a language such as Arabic. Thank you.
I bought instruction from woodprix and I build it very very cheap.
lololol..extra washing line space
I recommend Woodprix to every beginner and not only.
Mabey you should learn to play it, after playing professionally for over 40 yrs on virtually every brand and skin type made ive never had or heard this problem. Ive been extremely fortunate in studying and performing with some of the top players in the world who have never expressed this problem. sometimes in the studio you can experience a dominant resonance. time to get a better engineer or learn to mike. this is pure BS