These solid shell curly birch bongos were made with wood from Athens, GA. They feature our handmade stainless steel hardware and horse and steer skins.
Wood: sustainably sourced curly birch
Height: 6-3/8″
Width: 7″ macho, 9″ hembra
Bridge: leopard wood with carbon inlay
Skins: 1mm horse on macho, 1.6mm steer on hembra
Hardware: 304 stainless steel, half round moderna crown
Weight: 11 lbs
In the past we offered what we thought were thick “mule” skins for congas, but a DNA test from a major agricultural university revealed that they had absolutely no horse, mule or donkey (equine) genetics. They did have bovine DNA markers, and were likely Nili Ravi water buffalo marketed as mule.
They are beautiful high quality skins that we call Fat Cat™ Buffalo. It is Middle Eastern Nili Ravi, and produces dry/woody tones and has low action at thickness above 2.5mm. The playing surface is slightly dimpled and dense- ideal for folkloric styles. This skin type is not to be confused with Thai water buffalo common on factory made drums.
It is available in Natural, Amber and Chocolate colors, and in thicknesses up to 3.3mm as a Flat Skin or PreMounted™ Drum Head.
Just upgraded the skins on these JCR bongos- .8mm horse on macho, 1.3mm steer on hembra. I generally mount a slightly thicker steer skin on an hembra, but there was very little space between the crown/rim and shell. I try to create a contrast between the bright resonant crack of the horse on the macho and deep throaty punch of the steer on the hembra.
These solid shell curly birch bongos were made with wood from Athens, GA. They feature our handmade stainless steel hardware and horse and steer skins.
Wood: sustainably sourced curly birch
Height: 6-3/8″
Width: 7″ macho, 9″ hembra
Bridge: leopard wood with carbon inlay
Skins: 1mm horse on macho, 1.6mm steer on hembra
Hardware: 304 stainless steel, half round moderna crown
Weight: 11 lbs
A thicker skin will control overtones (ring) produced by any drum. The thicker the skin, the dryer and more woody the sound becomes. Skin thickness is recommended relative to the shell size- the larger the shell, the thicker the skin. This produces a balanced sound across the entire set of drums. Fiberglass shells require even thicker (+ .2mm) skins than the recommended thickness for wooden drums below.
The skin thicknesses below will produce a warm and classic sound with crisp slaps, round open tones, rich bass and controlled overtones:
Bongo Macho: 1mm
Bongo Hembra: 1.4mm
Requinto: 1.8mm
Quinto: 1.8mm
Conga: 2mm
Tumba: 2.2mm
Super Tumba: 2.4mm
Djembe: 1mm
“Variety is the spice of life!” We offer three color options for all skin types: natural, amber and chocolate. These are Middle Eastern Steer. Dig deeper.
Fine SOLID shell instruments, very soft shirts…
Have a seat!
These solid shell chinese elm/pecan bongos were made with wood from Athens, GA. They feature our handmade stainless steel hardware and horse and steer skins.
Wood: sustainably sourced chinese elm macho and pecan hembra
Height: 6-3/8″
Width: 7″ macho, 9″ hembra
Bridge: spalted maple with magnesite inlay
Skins: 1mm horse on macho, 1.6mm steer on hembra
Hardware: 304 stainless steel, half round moderna crown
Weight: 11 lbs
We use carbon to color each skin type all the way to chocolate. The process is completely non-toxic and sustainable. Do your hands a favor.