Conga skins (in search of)

[skinonskin]

Can anyone help me find a source for skins?

[frquent flyer]

I know that there was a link for skins on congaplace. Good luck!

[skinonskin]

Thanks

[drnez]

Find a butcher!

[Russ]

Checked this out for you, and Musician's Friend carries a number of them in different brands and sizes.

[SportEd]

Very happy with mule skins I got from L&H Percussion... He has cow/steer as well.

[luv4congas]

Can anyone help me find a source for skins?

What exactly are you looking for...cow, mule, prefitted?

[Gretschhead]

Stern Tanning has excellent cow hide. You can get nice quality mule from Issac at JCR. I've never tried it personally, but I've heard great things about the mule from L&H as well. I would stay clear of anything with a brand name, none of the big companies are offering quality skin in my opinion, and I would only suggest synthetic if you plan to play a lot of outside gigs and are worried about staying in tune. Natural skin is much more pleasing to the ears and hands as well. Rhythm Traders has flesh hoops for around $8 and can make any size you need.

[skinonskin]

Thanks for all the feedback. I was having a hard time getting some good info. Google search didn't provide much useful info. I figured you kats had the skinny. I dont mind spending a few bucks for the good stuff. I just got in a 70's gon bop african drum I won off ebay today that has the fiberskyn 3 head on it and it sounds pretty good. It is 11.5 across the playing surface and the fiberskyn sounds pretty good but I figure the cow or mule will really kick. Pardon the pun. I normally dig the cow but I would like to try the mule skin too. I think thats what I will try on the african GB drum I just got. Any thoughts?

[Gretschhead]

Thanks for all the feedback. I was having a hard time getting some good info. Google search didn't provide much useful info. I figured you kats had the skinny. I dont mind spending a few bucks for the good stuff. I just got in a 70's gon bop african drum I won off ebay today that has the fiberskyn 3 head on it and it sounds pretty good. It is 11.5 across the playing surface and the fiberskyn sounds pretty good but I figure the cow or mule will really kick. Pardon the pun. I normally dig the cow but I would like to try the mule skin too. I think thats what I will try on the african GB drum I just got. Any thoughts?

Skinonskin, I personally think Mule works best on quintos and smaller congas. The skin has a nice tight pop with a much brighter tone than say cow. I like cow on my tumbas for that lowend warmth. Just my personal preference. Can we see a picture of the new Gon Bop?

[PsyAbi]

I agree, again, with Gretchhead on the mule vs. cow. I'm really a bongo player and on my bongos I like mule, or goat, on the macho for the "pop" but on the hembra I really prefer the deeper and warmer sound of a good cow skin. I don't play my congas much and the old cow skins are still good but if I ever were to put new skins on I would only put mule on the quinto.

I also agree with anyone who said to stay away from the mainstream and Guitar Center stuff. You can't go wrong with Stern or JCR or L&H and a few others. A good skin, properly cared for, can last you 20-30 years, over time the difference in cost is pennies.

[luv4congas]

L&H mules and cow...Good Stuff!
Here's some mule on the Mat's and Cow on the Classic.... Hey Skinonskin, I take it that you have some SOS's.
L4C




http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/6264/dscf0716s.jpg
http://img97.imageshack.us/img97/3234/dscf0318i.jpg

[skinonskin]

Hey luv4congas, nice drums. The L&H site has some nice lookin stuff. I cant find the JCR site and the Stern site is not showing me anything. I know you, psyAbi and gretschhead are right on the cow thing. I figured since the playing surface on the 70's GB was 11.5 I would use the mule but I will order the cow instead. Its got to sound better than the fiberskyn which sounds good/ok but the feel is off. Reminds me of the 16" remo djembe that I bought and quickly sold on feebay. I probably would have kept the 12" remo a little longer maybe. How can I post pictures? Just promise me that ya'll will not call that hoarders show when you see my room/ store All you guys have been very helpful and I really appreciate it!!!

[luv4congas]

Hey SOS, I used to be able to post picture on this site but not anymore, I'm not sure why (does anyone else know?) so I use Imageshack and I copy and paste it here.
L4C

[Gretschhead]

Hey SOS, I used to be able to post picture on this site but not anymore, I'm not sure why (does anyone else know?) so I use Imageshack and I copy and paste it here.
L4C

Click on the "insert image" button on the top of the reply box, looks like a yellow square with a mountain and sun on it. Then paste that image shack link in the box that pops up. As far as I'm aware you have to have some other host site like image shack, photobucket, facebook etc. in order to post the pic, don't think you can just upload from the desktop.

[skinonskin]

Does anyone know where I can got some 15' gon bop congas worked on? They are out of round bad.

[luv4congas]

Ritmo/ Mathew Smith is your best bet if you can shell out the cash but I heard of a trick, I never tried it.... You rotate the head slowly over a few months time, 1:00 position for a month, 2:00 position for a month and so on until you you slowly squeeze the egg shape out.
L4C

[skinonskin]

Thanks L4c, I bought these on ebay and could tell they were tweaked pretty good but figured I could use the hardware if I couldnt get them playable. They are mohogany 15" GBops with the aluminum bands and are worth restoring. I have a few ideas that I will try on my long weekend to slowly get them back to shape I hope. Thanks for the info. I will a least try to contact that guy for some input or the cost to have them done.