Pliable or floppy? While we stayed very busy this summer, there was still time for experimentation and innovation. Occasionally, I would end up with a skin on a conga that had a recess/dip in the playing surface. Drying skins with drums on their sides with a fan blowing on the underside worked pretty well. The biggest success came from soaking the skin in cold water until just pliable- not saturated and floppy. My typical soak time for a 2mm skin is now down to 4-5 hours. In this state the skin retains more strength, as the collagen proteins are still tightly wound. Cold water allows the skin to retain most, if not all, of its tallow for a supple feel and warm tones. I discovered mounting a dryer, yet pliable skin with a collar/neck height of 1/2″ allowed for greater tension. At 72 degrees Fahrenheit and 50% humidity, I increased the collar height by 1/4″ (1/8″ every 24 hours).

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

Wood: spalted maple

Height: 6-3/8″

Width: 7″ macho, 9″ hembra

Bridge: spalted maple with carbon inlay

Skins: 1mm amber steer on macho, 1.7mm amber steer on hembra

Hardware: 304 stainless steel, half round Moderna crown

Weight: 11.5 lbs

Here’s a shot of ‘Manito’ applying one of multiple finishing coats on a bongo center block. Our drums are sealed using water based finishes that are classified as Ultra-Low VOC and Environmentally Friendly. Our goal is to contribute positively to our drumming community in a positive, transparent and sustainable manner.

We recently touched up the shells and mounted new steer skins on these PM Percussion oak congas for a friend/customer in Atlanta. Peter Musser builds very high quality drums from wine barrels. His hardware is fabricated from stainless steel. His side plate design is exquisite- two bolts at the bottom only. This was my first time working on a set of PMs, and a treat. Mounting skins on them was a breeze, as the lugs were the perfect length for the distance between the ear and side plate barrel. Nice work, Pete!

Need a bell beater? The Hot Stick is 9-1/2″ x 5/8″, made of durable synthetic and has high attack for medium high volume.

Summer Sale on flat skins! Enter FLAT10 at checkout 7/14/23-7/21/23.

What do you call the hardware parts on bongos?

In order to determine drum shell size, uninstall the head and measure the outside diameter of the bearing edge. Let the tape hang down the side of the shell so that it sits flush against the bearing edge.

This PreMounted™ Brazilian Buffalo Matched Set For LP 11″, 11.75″ And 12.5″ With Extended Collar (Z) Crowns is artfully crafted with close attention to detail. This ensures the tone, color, finish and feel are as closely matched as possible.

Skin Type: Brazilian Buffalo from the family that supplied Raul/Bauer

Skin Color: Natural

Crown Type: Extended Collar (Z)

11” Quinto Skin Thickness: 1.8mm

11.75″ Conga Skin Thickness: 2mm

12.5″ Tumba Skin Thickness: 2.2mm

Sound: warm and classic with crisp slaps, round open tones, rich bass, controlled overtones, ideal for live and studio applications

Feel: medium action, somewhat supple/forgiving playing surface

‘Manito’ made this Mini Conga Set for a local percussionist. We mounted Middle Eastern Steer- 1.7mm on the rainbow poplar 8″ macho, 1.8mm on the spalted sycamore 9″ hembra. They are 24″ tall, and have custom fabricated stand mounts.