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Suntower 19 November 2011

Hi,

First attempt recording congas. The drummer has 3 drums. The lowest one (tumbadora?) has a nasty high frequency ringing... similar to issues I've had with toms where one of the lugs has an issue with a spring. I can't seem to hear exactly where it's coming from, but I'm assuming it's from one of the metal bits of hardware.

Any suggestions on troubleshooting this?

TIA,

---JC

Comments

Suntower Sun, 11/27/2011 - 20:25

Thanks. Well, I -thought- I had it figured it out. I -thought- it was the nuts -inside- the drum that hold the 'hand grip' on the side. Nope.

I tried damping the top and it simply turns a conga into a thud.... not like a tom where it simply tames the ringing.

Anyhoo, it's definitely coming from the top 'rim'. I have never removed/replaced the head on a conga so me scared.

Now what?

RemyRAD Mon, 11/28/2011 - 17:14

As George Massenburg indicated to a crappy rock band in his studio, that couldn't tune their guitars in 20 minutes time, he told them..."you should send it back to the factory and have it tuned." And they promptly gathered their stuff up and walked out. I don't think they ever sent their guitars back to the factory to have them tuned?

Personally, I love all of this DIY stuff. Hey, I've even tried drilling my own teeth! But I've decided to no longer take on death metal projects and go to my dentist this coming Tuesday instead.

I'm from Detroit but this'll be my first Yankee (except for my wisdom teeth which I was asleep for all four)
Mx. Remy Ann (One tooth broken) David

No I didn't fall down drunk! It was trail mix which wasn't very musical but crunchy.

RemyRAD Mon, 11/28/2011 - 19:01

Here is one of the secrets to properly tuning drums. Even with congas, I utilize a drumstick and the tuning key. I travel around the rim of the head making sure that the pitches are the same all around. When one is tighter than another, peculiar resonances will occur. That's what it sounds like you are experiencing. When they are all in tune together, the drum becomes more harmonious. EMT plate reverbs weren't much different in that respect either. But the Germans did not indicate one should tune a plate the way I established, similar to drum tuning. Their directions were nearly unbelievable. " Tighten the tuning clip until it breaks. Then replace it with a new one tightening it up almost as much as the previous one without breaking it..." that's bonkers. And considering they were Germans, that almost didn't make any sense. You'd think coming from the land of Mozart, they could explain how to tune a plate better than that?

What the Kuhl were they thinking?
Mx. Remy Ann David

Suntower Mon, 11/28/2011 - 19:13

BobRogers, post: 379728 wrote: Remy is using Occam's razor, not his toothbrush. She's telling you to tune the drum.

Well, to paraphrase John Gielgud ', One must usually go to a bowling alley to hear humour of such quality.' I thought a reference to Occam would have been more obvious. That sounded more like Hazeltucky Zen.

But re-tuning is definitely next on the list. Unfortunate, because the thing is currently at exactly the right pitch. If that doesn't do it, I dunno what to do. I know of 2 drum shops in Seattle and neither are exactly hand drum meccas.

For the future... perhaps someone out there in the Emerald City can recommend persons or places who are proficient in working with hand-drums?

Thanks,

---JC

RemyRAD Tue, 11/29/2011 - 13:09

I get most of my humor here reading most everybody's questions. Otherwise, it comes from old FART Musicians & on the walls in the ladies room.

I think this might be pertinent?

There was a young man from Nantucket whose DAW Was so screwed he said Fuk it. He said with a grin, while wiping his "Chin", if he could hear it clear he might hump it.

I'm just a natural at this
Mx. Remy Ann David

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