Are LP Matador congas the “workhorses of the industry” or what?

We just received a shipment of beautiful Middle Eastern Steer skins. They are available as PreMounted heads and as flat skins from 14″ diameter to 24″ diameter in thicknesses ranging from 1mm to 3mm in natural, amber and chocolate colors. For more information, follow the link.

Ever wondered about the differences between synthetic heads and natural skin heads for hand drums?

Synthetic heads are made from petroleum by products. They are not affected by temperature or humidity, and will stay in tune. Synthetic heads are great for live applications where projection is needed. They produce a very bright and resonant sound with very crisp slaps and a great deal of overtones.

Natural skin heads are made from rawhide harvested from animals. They are susceptible to temperature and humidity, and require more attention in terms of tuning. Natural skin heads are great for live and studio applications. At the proper thickness relative to the shell size, they produce a warm and classic sound with crisp slaps, round open tones, rich bass and controlled overtones.

I recently replaced the skin on this Toca doumbek for a customer in Florida. I mounted .4mm thick calf skin for a bright and resonant sound. This is the same skin we use for timbales, drumset, frame drums, tambourines, pandeiros, djembes and other drum types.

We recently upgraded the flesh hoops and skins on this Valje Itotele for a customer in Nashville. I mounted chocolate steer- 1mm on the chacha, 1.6mm on the enu.

It’s rare and exciting for us to get a snow day in Georgia!

I was mounting skins on this vintage Valje Itotele, and noticed that the tuning lugs have very fine threads. I included one of our lugs for comparison. What other drum makers use/used fine thread tuning lugs?

We recently upgraded the skins and flesh hoops on this set of SOS congas for a customer. I chose Middle Eastern Steer- 1.8mm for the quinto, 2mm for the conga, 2.2mm for the tumba, 2.4mm for the super tumba.

Available!

These solid shell spalted sugar maple bongos were made with wood sourced sustainably from Athens, GA. They feature our handmade stainless steel hardware and steer skins.

Wood: spalted sugar maple

Height: 6-3/8″

Width: 7″ macho, 8-3/4″ hembra

Bridge: spalted maple burl with pipestone, magnesite and lapis inlay

Skins: 1mm steer on macho, 1.8mm steer on hembra

304 Stainless Steel Hardware: half round moderna crowns, 3/8″ heavy duty tuning lugs

Weight: 12.4 lbs