For people complaining about broken heads and shitty sound, here are some tips: 1 - When you're tuning (especially the Macho, or high drum), each turn of the wrench should be identical at every screw. Don't do something crazy like 6 turns at one point and then move to the next and do 6 turns again--that's gonna mess up your hardware, the head, and even the shell (worse if you have cheap drums). Even if it's tedious for you, do small increments of quarter turns at every screw so that the tension isn't so lopsided. So basically, do a quarter turn and then move on to the next screw/point to do the exact same quarter turn. 2 - Most stock heads, especially those that come in cheaper drums (and even some more expensive models of mass-produced drums like LP, Meinl, Toca, etc) are of very low quality. They are very thin so it's no surprise they're prone to breaking during tuning and playing. This is also a reason you might hear a lot of ringing (overtones), because a good quality drumhead comes from a different animal (mule, steer) and is thicker/more resistant/warmer-sounding. For synthetics, I would advise getting Remo heads--especially the tucked ones; for skins, I would advise getting them from Manito Percussion. Both synthetic/good quality skins have different uses and sounds (usually, natural skins are better for recording/small acoustic gigs, while synthetics are perfect for live gigs in a big band), so choose accordingly. Aside from heads, the big kicker I've found with ringing/overtones is mostly due to playing technique first and environment second. Most "at home" settings will be horrible for percussion because the sound bounces around your walls like crazy, so I recommend you play in a more open space with a bit of sound treatment (some thick curtains or fabric sofa/furniture help, and stay away from metal and windows/glass). 3 - This has been said before, but de-tuning after practicing/playing is a must, especially if you are using natural skins. For synthetics, this isn't really an issue, although I would still de-tune so I can preserve the hardware/shell integrity. You'd be surprised how much tension is in those little screws, so if you want your instruments to last (this goes for congas too), let the shells, heads, and hardware take a breather between sessions. 4 - Lastly, be sure to practice your playing technique religiously. If your hands hurt or you are noticing way too much ringing/overtones, it's mostly because you're playing too aggressively or hitting the wrong spots on the heads. As my teacher Chembo Corniel said, "you should be completely relaxed and contact the drum with the natural weight of your hands." During concerts, famous players make faces and these big exaggerated strokes--that's because they are *performing*. Don't let that fool you into believing you have to play this way. For distance between the drumhead and your hands, all you need is a 6 inch buffer (tops) and fluid wrist mechanics (instead of moving the whole elbow/arm). Anyway, I hope this helps anyone out there! Don't give up playing :-)
Thanks for the advice. Utube is how I learned to play. I have a video titled Bongoseros4life here on utube and I'm playing to Stevie Wonder's Jammin to the Break of Dawn. Check it out, if you will please and drop a comment. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again.
I just answered one person who said their skins broke before I read your comment - I basically told them the same thing, i.e. they probably had crap heads. A good pair of LP Matadors or similar cost about £130 here in the UK (so I guess maybe $160 in the US) which, when you think about it, isn't a great deal of money for a decent bit of kit if you're serious about learning to play. If you do end up deciding it's not for you, good bongoes will always have a decent resale value. They're a great investment - I bought my Matadors over 20 years ago and they're sounding as good as the day I bought them
Really appreciate you taking the time to help out some serious bongo players who want to take good care of their instrument! I saw the great bongocero "Dandy" de-tune his bongos after performing with a great Salsa group and started doing that myself and wondered why guys who give tips on the tuning their drums don't bring that up. It should be required advice and also advising what kind of drum head to get after buying a set of new bongos! And thank you for that recommendation about getting heads from Manito Percussion too!!!
Some good suggestions below - De-tune your bongos (the high drum especially) after playing to extend head life and reduce the possibility of the head breaking if the air is dry.
I play guitar. I bought some Eastar bongos (Chinese) because I want to loosen up both my wrists. I don't know what I'd do without RU-vid videos and comments. I didn't know about de-tuning after playing and I'm useless at the moment but...that'll change. Thanks, all.
I have settled into a tuning routine now; Hembra first (as it had less tension/stress) I go around clockwise and think on terms of the minutes of a clock for wrench movements. The first one may be a full 60 on all 4 lugs. The next round is 30 minutes and from there it's 15-10 or even 5 at each lug until the tone is achieved. I do the same on the Macho and it's the Macho that gets detuned first. I'll do 60 minutes straight off to remove the high tension ASAP. This works for me and my heads do seem to last pretty good. .
His, at the end, is higher by what is called a perfect fourth. I've heard that this is the standard. If you don't know what a perfect fourth is, it means your bongos should sound like "here comes the bride" if you go "low, high, high, high". And if that doesn't make sense, well, good thing there's wikipedia.
Yes my LP Giovanni galaxy bongos stay really nice tuned but always detune both macho & hembra when done playing. Sometimes to have your bongos sound lower on both macho & hembera can be a good thing depending on what type of music you are playing to. I do love the classic bongo sound as well too!
What bongoes do you have? Cheap kit with crap skins may be the problem. I have LP Matadors with goat's skins and they will tune up like this no problem, despite being over 20 years old.
Personally I tune in a clock-wise direction as you are dealing with skins and so I like to give them a 'gentle' stretch which moves along and around a little more each time, unlike if you were tightening a metal flange face or engine head where you would use the diagonal (star) method. If you think of the tuning lugs (nuts) as a clock face I begine with the wrench at the 12 o/c position and on the first pass I do 1 1/2 turns which is 90 minutes on the clock. The 2nd and 3rd passes is just 1/2 turn = 30 minutes. The 4th may be just 15 minutes and eventually it may come down to only 5 minutes per lug until I get the tone I want. You need to check the l'evel' of the head at regular intervals by looking from two angles to make sure it hasn't taken a tilt to one side. I always tune the Hembra first as that is the 'loosest' and de-tune the Macho first to get rid of its greater tension ASAP. I de-tune counter clock-wise around the head with full 360 degree turns of the wrench. This routine is just what works for me and it does seem to help with prolonging the life of the skins.
FYI That is not a crescent wrench. cres·cent wrench noun NORTH AMERICAN trademark an adjustable wrench designed to grip hexagonal nuts, with an adjusting screw fitted in the crescent-shaped head of the wrench.
Thank you for this. Out of curiosity, on your Congo lesson you described your interval between two as a 4th. Are there preferences for "average" bongos? Mine arrived nearly the same and very low likely to preserve for shipping in the cold or storage before purchase but I'm not sure the preferred jump in tone.
I respectfully disagree with not worrying about the creaking. I pushed ahead as mentioned (not really knowing what I was doing) and I snapped the drum head
I had the same unpleasant surprise on delivery of an LP Aspire 601 bongo. It was probably an assembly error by unqualified or poorly trained personnel. For a beginner it's very confusing. It shouldn't happen. LP offered to replace this bongo but i kept if for learning to tuning from scratch.
BE CAREFULL !!! With low-cost bongos, where the tighteners are fitted/attached on the side of the drums and not all the way to the buttom : - They will/can break (the screws/plastic etc) - if the pressure gets too high. - guess why I write this :0)
I do not have nuts at the bottom. They are on top .. I bought them at an auction. They are Stewart. I did not know anything about Bongo. Also the wood is dry and one of them is cracked.
Becareful with these instructions, your supposed to tune in a star form and still have give on top, I broke my bongo head after listening to this guy very disapointed
I think it is wonderful to share your knowledge & I accredit that to you. However, this was very poor demonstration of tuning, especially for beginners. The fact that you said, we can aggressively tune it, is so wrong. I attempted to follow your directions and my bongos broke, however, it is easy to blame people but I take the responsibility on myself. I would suggest to properly demonstrate tuning for beginners or kindly remove the video especially if there’s a continuous negative result.
