De-tune ???

[jdl1881]

Sorry if this topic has been posted before.. but...

Can you all tell me if you de-tune your congas and bongos every time you play? I have one set at church with stable temperature and its too much of a hassle to de-tune every time. Just not gonna do it.

How long can I expect them (especially quinto) to last until I run out of threads?

Also - what do you all do?

Thanks!

[Gretschhead]

You will be fine, it is best for the life of the skins, hardware, and drums if you detune everytime you aren't using them. I never do it, and have never had a problem with anything breaking. By the time the head is stretched far enough that you ran out of threads, it will be time for a new one anyways. Heads can last anywhere from a few months to 40+ years.

[jdl1881]

Cool - Thanks, Gretsch. That's exactly what I was hoping to hear

[bongobill]

got to agree with Gretschhead, JDL, I don't detune and have had heads last for over 30 years. I don't know about your hardware and such, but mine has 2 inches of thread and I have never run out of thread. I was wondering, do some type of heads (cow, water buffalo, mule) stretch more than others? I have only used cow and mule and they have never stretched that much. The quinto seems to be stretched the most.

[luv4congas]

I think it depends on what kind of congas. I had a quality cow skin on my Giovanni for over two years and its tensioned pretty tight but the rim has not gotten any lower do to the tuff hide and being a Gio I don’t worry about the shell, the shell has steel pin between staves. You should detune congas like Performers or Aspire or drums that are equivalent if your are planning on long term use or high resale. The skins will just keep stretching and there is a lot of stress on the rims which are on the thin side and they should be tuned up evenly so the rims will not buckle which I have witness. These are not bad drums, with a little maintenance they’ll last a life time! Oh and don’t forget to lube the lugs! You can tell on the old Gon Bops that were not detuned, their lugs are always out of thread.
L4C

[bongobro]

I don't detune mine except in winter, when the cold, dry air stretches the skins a bit too tight for my taste.

Like you, jdl, my church congas and bongos stay in a fairly even-temperatured sanctuary, so I seldom have to fool with them...

I have broken only one conga head in almost 25 years of skin-slappin', so relax!