congaplace.com

One thing I am constantly fiddling with is tuning. One minute I'm doing conventional C-note for conga and G for tumba. At the moment I'm into playing with the tumba right down deep into that bassy down-tune lower octave state. Particularly cos the bands I play with are jazz-funk rather than Latin this seems to kick the grooves along better. Having recently bought Cal Tjader's Soul Burst I noticed Patato does this deep tumba thing on a couple of tracks.

When I eventually get a third conga the first thing I will do is tune the three of them really close to get the trademark Eddie Bongo Brown effect (heard on Marvin Gaye's 'I want you' - conversational nearness, made glossy with reverb and studio effect). Or maybe take them all really low like a guy I've got on record with jazz guitarist Kevin Eubanks - Big Black, playing with three huge deep tumbas (JC probably knows or knew these guys).

What about a list of odd tuners and pitch experimenters?

Simon B

Hi Yea I remember Eddie "Bongo" Brown out of the big Philly Music machine of the 70's. He was more of a studio percussionist. He did tour with some bands. Now Big Black,whew! that brother was and is the strangest hand drummer I ever witnessed,playing with the points of his fingers and odd type slaps. He was huge 6 feet 5 or 7. and he sometimes had these long over 5 feet long Ashiko style early Gon bops. You can hear him on the Old blue note records A night at the Cooker!.....he was atypical as a player and had his own definate style, it wasn't latin, or african, it was just him. As far as tuning goes it's ok to experiment, and that's why they make 5 different size congas. It still boils down to each his own. Like I said if it's latin music there is "tradicional" tuning,but for everything else it's open to the individual. I tune my 3 drums to Quinto-Middle C then middle I tune to Bflat and tumba to G below middle C, or as the song goes "it's cheaper to keep her"...but that's me!.. At your Service .....JC JOHNNY CONGA.....

I got a djembe and I have been playing it with my congas. I have been trying to develop my left hand to do the heel-fingers congas and bass tones on the djembe and I have them tuned, but I have no idea what pitches so I have just been trying different things. The djembe has the low notes and the high ringing open tones, so it sounds like a timbale voice instead of a conga or bongo. So far, they seem to be voiced well, but I have no idea what to shoot for and so I tune the lowest conga/segundo first and the conga is a fourth up and one of the bongos is an octive and I think the smallest bongo is a 4th/octive from my conga and the djembe is ? lower than the segundo, but I have no idea. So far I have recircled the drums around myself trying different hands and arrangments of the drums and haven't locked in on 'the sound' I want yet. Does anyone use this set up and if so, what sounds the best?

thanks,
congabebe

Congabebe...Once again to each his own. It's all about your ears and how they Listen and hear sounds. What makes you comfortably is the way to go. But also remember for different "styles' of music you need to approach the drums according to the "style" your playing in. If it's funk/rb, you might want a lower deeper sound,for Latin music you may want it tuned traditionally.For Pop music just about any tuning goes. Using the jimbe with congas is just an added "sound", so keep experimenting with them and who knows what you might discover, that 's what it's all about......At your Srvice.....JC JOHNNY CONGA....