simple way to control conga overtones

[kdrabbit]

I have tried many different approaches to controlling conga overtones over the years and recently came up with a simpler, customized solution.

Take a 5" by 24" piece of blue camping/sleeping pad foam (easy to cut from a full-size pad which is typically less than $10 at your local sporting goods store)

Stick a 2" piece of velcro (hook side) to end (on the same side).

Stick a 2" piece of velcro (loop side) to bottom inside of the conga on two opposite sides.

Insert the foam sheet and secure hook sides to velcro (with curve arc'd into inside of conga).

This works great to get rid of unwanted bass and treble overtones. You can use different widths to "tune" the dampening. I've found that 5" is the right size for my Matador conga/tumba and 6" is the right size for some old 28" LP fiberglass drums.

Update: here's a photo of the foam mounted on my conga:




Anyway, thought this might be of interest.
kdr