Advice on tuning hand drums (bongos, congas)

[publicradio]

I just bought two congas on craigslist, and two bongos new from a music store. The bongos were extremely loose and I tightened them way up, but I'm wondering how tight I can get them before I break the bongos. I have searched around and the only mention I have seen is that if you start to hear cracking, you might be getting to your drum's limit. I tightened both drums until I started to hear cracking and then I stopped. It sounded like the wood cracking, but I'm not sure.

Anyway, they sound great. I also bought these congas. One skin is worn and dull, and the other is completely ripped. I'm planning to flip the worn one, maybe put some tape under it, reattach it upside-down, tune it, and see if I can get a good sound out of it.

Here are my questions: how do I know how high I can tune my drums, without over-tuning? Second question is whether I should oil the drum heads. I have saddle soap, and I have different oils at home. Thanks for the advice.

[publicradio]

OK, well scratch the part about flipping the skin. That thing is molded solid.