Tuning Bongos

[TelePaul]

Any pearls of wisdom the brothers would like to impart? Have a hard time finding the sweet spot between tight and loose. Too tight and it's very dull, too loose and there's no pop...I assume this is just the same as tuning a standard kit?

 

[grimtraveller]

I tune the bongos so they are a little tight with a high sound that cuts. I like to use them in conjunction with congas so when both are tuned, there is a notable pitch difference going from the lowest conga to the highest bongo. It kind of depends on how you like your bongos. I also do them not so tight that I can't press the centre of the bongo for pitch changes.

 

[dintymoore]

If the head sounds totally dead when you tighten it there's the possibility that the head needs replaced.

I've seen hand drum heads get to that point where they are dead no matter what you do and TelePaul your description reminds me of that.

I play drumset (I'm terrible at hand drums) and if I had a drum like that I'd want to show it to one of my "real" percussionist friends who are good at hand drums and get their take as to if the head was ok or not.

 

[TelePaul]

If the head sounds totally dead when you tighten it there's the possibility that the head needs replaced.

I've seen hand drum heads get to that point where they are dead no matter what you do and TelePaul your description reminds me of that.

I play drumset (I'm terrible at hand drums) and if I had a drum like that I'd want to show it to one of my "real" percussionist friends who are good at hand drums and get their take as to if the head was ok or not.

Interesting. I should have mentioned that these are only a couple of months old and have been played for about an hour or two in total! So would be surprised if this was the case, though it's possible.

 

[dintymoore]

Interesting. I should have mentioned that these are only a couple of months old and have been played for about an hour or two in total! So would be surprised if this was the case, though it's possible.

In that case it sure wouldn't seem probable (hopefully).

I've had bongos and it really wasn't that big a deal to get them to sound normal.

Are they decent ones? What I'm getting at is what you alluded to, that they may be new but the heads may be duds.

 

[Rimshot]

Most good bongos are natural skin and there is just no way of knowing when they will go.
Humidity is your biggest problem. I am a hand drummer and play most hand drums with the exception of Indian Tabla (and I really suck on congas). I rehead a lot of drums for other people besides myself (doumbeks. riqs, djembes, dunnuns, etc.)and there are a number of things that could be happening.

1.) It is possible that the head wasn't cramped well enough under the outer rim and the skin has slipped off of the flesh hoop (you'll need to replace it) There just isn't enough skin left to successfully remount it on the flesh hoop.

2.) There could be a tear that you can't see between the flesh hoop and the shell or the outer rim.(you'll need to replace it)

3.) If it's humid where you are (and it's been awful here all summer), it's hard to keep hand drums tuned properly. I carry several with me to gigs if I must play natural skin drums and I keep the ones that I'm not playing under a heating pad to dry out the humidity and tighten them up, but it doesn't last long.I sometimes have to switch out and reheat drums between songs on real damp or humid nights. Turkish drummers that prefer to play on natural skin actually mount a 25 watt lightbulb inside the drum shell to keep the drums warm and dry (and the audience thinks that it's just there for ambience.)

If it is the final problem, you can try switching to synthetic heads. They make them for bongos. It won't sound exactly the same as the calf skin, but it won't lose the tune either.

 

[dintymoore]

Thanks Rimshot, for a "real" hand drummer chiming in. It's been real muggy and you're right, that could be it. I use calf heads on my drumset and I have a 15W bulb inside the kick that also looks kinda nice if I can say so myself. I've seen drums from Ludwig from the 1930's and 40's that had a light installed from the factory.

On my drumset, I actually prefer the tone of the toms when it's ridiculously muggy, they sound real low and very, very jungle-ish. Dry is more of a problem although I'd think hand drummers would like it better.

Be careful of tensioning the daylights out of real heads when it's muggy and then leaving the drum that way - if it gets dry you could mess up the head big time.

 

[Tadpui]

I got a set of pretty nice LP bongos several years ago and I had to look around to figure out how the hell to tune them. What I found was suggestions to tune the high drum to a pitch where the skin is tight enough that it pops and doesn't thud. Then tune the low drum a 4th below that. They have a pretty dominant resonant frequency so it isn't too tough to just do it by ear. I used my guitar to assist.

 

[stevieb]

This will be of no help whatsoever, but you may find it entertaining...

I once bought a cheap pair of bongos at a garage sale. When I say "Cheap," I mean CHEAP. No tensioners, the heads were nailed on the shells, and were VERY loose. They were made of cow hide, and I knew that leather shrinks when heated. Turned on one of the burners on my stove, and held the bongo head about 1.5 feet above the flame. Worked like a charm on the first head, went to the second.

Held the bongo over the flame just a little too long, and POP, the head split, right in half.

Let me tell you, it's no fun playing ONE bongo.

 

[rog999]

bongos

I won my bongos in a bongo playing competition in a night club in London in 1985, I had been drinking like a fish but it seems to have helped. They are still going strong. Just occasionally tighten them a little, I tune them so that at least they are not out of tune with the bass guitar but the actual notes I tune them to varies on the mood.

 

[TelePaul]

Hey all. I think I solved things, seems like I had them that bit too tight in the first instance. Tuned them wayyy low and gradually brought them up. the result is the low drum has a nice 'thwonk' sound too it while the smaller one has a good bit more snap (though it might be a tiny bit too tight still - will check again later).

Cheers for all the help!