Zitoun,
I've read somewhere that you can clean the chat using a small amount of milk dipped in a soft cloth. Never tried it, though. My best advice is to practice preventative maintainence. Make sure your hands are clean before you play, use a small amount of talc, keep your tablas out of the sunlight! (I keep mine in an Ikea closet) and away from any humidity.
I've also found that the pretty cloth and cloth-faced covers actually collect humidity and dirt, so now I make my own covers by glueing a 6" diameter circle cut from a new mousepad on to another circle cut from a pice of hard plastic or metal. Like any good instrument keep them cool (not cold), clean, and dry.
Aanaddha
You can use Rubbing alcohol to clean your tabla heads very effectively. Mine often get smudged so I've cleaned them several times with this method, and I can assure you that it works great. One of my teachers reccomended using very fine-tooth sand paper, but in my opinion alcohol is better.
For what it's worth, I suspect that cleaning your tablas with alcohol although effective may make your heads brittle over time. Even though the rawhide leather is cured and dried it still contains a relative amount of natural oils and other substances that allow it to be flexible. I can only imagine that the alcohol while removing the accumulated dirt and oil would also in the long term effect the drum's acoustic properties. Better solution might be a leather or rawhide cleaner. Sandpaper can be used on the chat only for cosmetic purposes, but nothing coarser than 200 grit. 300 - 400 grit would be better.
Aanaddha
Nan , nan , fait pas nimporte quoi avec tes peaux , l'alcool c'est une tres mauvaise id�e , ca va te pourrir les particules de ton
gab , la seule solution et qui fonctionne tres bien pour enlever
la pelicule de talc sur ta peau c'est L'EPONGE SECHE
tu prend une spontex et tu gratte davord la peau et apres le gab ,
( ceci dit gratte pas comme une brute , tout doucement en faisant
des piti ronds ; ) , si tu fait ca bien ta peau retrouvera le son dorigine ! )
Mewan Khan (Jul 02, 2003 06:18 a.m.):
Nan , nan , fait pas nimporte quoi avec tes peaux , l'alcool c'est une tres mauvaise id�e , ca va te pourrir les particules de ton
gab , la seule solution et qui fonctionne tres bien pour enlever
la pelicule de talc sur ta peau c'est L'EPONGE SECHE
tu prend une spontex et tu gratte davord la peau et apres le gab ,
( ceci dit gratte pas comme une brute , tout doucement en faisant
des piti ronds ; ) , si tu fait ca bien ta peau retrouvera le son dorigine ! )
Mewan
Please explain in English. Share your experience with us all and not only to our Frenchspeaking friends.
Mewan Khan (Jul 02, 2003 06:18 a.m.):
Nan , nan , fait pas nimporte quoi avec tes peaux , l'alcool c'est une tres mauvaise id�e , ca va te pourrir les particules de ton
gab , la seule solution et qui fonctionne tres bien pour enlever
la pelicule de talc sur ta peau c'est L'EPONGE SECHE
tu prend une spontex et tu gratte davord la peau et apres le gab ,
( ceci dit gratte pas comme une brute , tout doucement en faisant
des piti ronds ; ) , si tu fait ca bien ta peau retrouvera le son dorigine ! )
Mewan
Please explain in English. Share your experience with us all and not only to our Frenchspeaking friends.
"Nan, nan, does not make nimporte what with your skins, alcohol it is a very bad idea, Ca will rot you the particles of tone gab, the only solution and who functions very well to remove the pelicule talc on your skin it is the SPONGE CIG you takes a spontex and you davord the skin and after the gab scrapes, (this known as does not scrape like rough, gently while making round piti; if you Ca well your skin makes will find the sound dorigine!"
I get the gist, but the terminology still escapes me? Aide de nos amis Français, svp.
Aanaddha
I said That its a bad idea to use alcohol , or any liquid on the sihay but you can use a dry sponge , with the red face , on the skin , but becareful with the gab , it is the only way to clean the
talcum powder correctly ( if you use talc )
