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.
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
Bright and resonant sound with very crisp slaps, longer sustain and less overtone control:
Bongo Macho: .8mm
Bongo Hembra: 1.2mm
Requinto: 1.6mm
Quinto: 1.6mm
Conga: 1.8mm
Tumba: 2mm
Super Tumba: 2.2mm
Djembe: .8mm
Dry and woody sound with crisp slaps, shorter sustain and highly controlled overtones:
Bongo Macho: 1.2mm
Bongo Hembra: 1.6mm
Requinto: 2mm
Quinto: 2mm
Conga: 2.2mm
Tumba: 2.4mm
Super Tumba: 2.6mm
Djembe: 1.2mm
Traditional very dry and woody sound with the shortest sustain and next to no overtones.
Bongo Macho: 1.4mm
Bongo Hembra: 1.8mm
Requinto: 2.2mm
Quinto: 2.2mm
Conga: 2.4mm
Tumba: 2.6mm
Super Tumba: 2.8mm
Djembe: 1.4mm