How to Tune Conga Drums

Tuning conga drums is much more difficult than tuning a tonal instrument. When you tune a guitar, you simply adjust each string until it gives you the correct note. With congas, however, there is no single correct note. Rather, you have to make sure that all 4, 6, or 8 lugs have just the right tension to create the warm, full sound that you are looking for.

Things You'll Need

• Conga
• Tuning Wrench

Instructions

1. Tune the drum down the night before tuning. The head should be too loose to slap on, but not so loose that you can pull it off the drum. This will help to keep the drum head in good condition, and will give you a good base to tune from.

2. Chose a method of tuning. Conga drums can either be tuned by adjusting opposite lugs one after the other, or by going around in a circle. If you are new to drumming, use the circle method. It is easier to keep track of what you are doing.

3. First look at the rim. Use your eye to gauge whether or not each of the lugs are at approximately the same tension. If the rim looks lopsided, loosen the tighter lugs to bring it back to center.

4. Feel the lugs with the wrench. Even if the rim is straight, it can disguise looseness in some lugs. For example, if a drum has six lugs numbered in order, lugs 2 and 4 can be loose without making the drum look lopsided, since each is bordered by 2 tight lugs. If a lug turns much more easily than its neighbors, tune it up a bit.

5. Once your rim seems pretty even, tune everything up a little. Depending on the lug, this can mean a tiny nudge or 1/2 a turn. Play a bit.

6. Keep tuning the drum up little by little until you reach the tone you want. The drum should feel solid, and you should be able to perform a slap on it without a lot of trouble.

7. Play an open sound and listen to the quality of the tone. Is it uneven and filled with high overtones, or is it warm and mellow? You want a mellower sound. A sharp sound indicates that your drum is still out of tune.

8. Move around the drum and hit different spots with the wrench. Hit about an inch in from the rim in front of all the lugs. Listen for dead spots--spots where it doesn't ring.

9. Adjust the drum to get rid of the dead spots. This is the tricky part, because a dead spot can indicate too high tension or too low tension near that lug, or too high tension at the lug across from it. Use small adjustments on the lug in front of the dead spot and the lug across until you eliminate the dead spot.

10. Keep going until you have no dead spots and the drum makes a good tone all the way around.

Tips & Warnings

• Be careful not to bring things too out of whack. When you are new to tuning congas, it is easy to over-adjust one end, putting stress on the skin and the rim. Prevent this by using small adjustments and keeping an eye on your rim. Make sure that one end does not dip down noticeably.