Boston wrote:should I be playing mine with them standing on the floor? do I need to tilt them slightly? If I have to tilt em, which one or both?
Definetely, that´s the most common, comfortable and suitable way to play congas. You only need to tilt the drum in front of you, be it a conga or a quinto.
Boston wrote:I'm guessing this will effect the tone of the congas?
Yes, the flip side being that your congas won´t be that loud, but that also depends on the surface you put them on:
An ankle-deep carpet will swallow most of the sound, while a hard floor-board reflects much more of the sound waves.
But basket stands (especially Meinl steelys) are not bad either, in a gig they come in quite handy, also if you play other instruments (timbales...) as well.
In general sitting down is better for a conga newbie IMHO. You learn to exercise the basic tones better. At least that is my own experience
Hope this helps.
Mike
P.S: Some - including me- use sound boards when playing on carpet.
The worst thing yuo can do is to get those nasty LP Rubberfeet...