Conga "sticks"? Has anyone tried them?

[Chupacabra]

I was just at the local Long & McQuade music store here and they have these weird spatula looking sticks in with all their mallets and brushes that are called "conga sticks". The pair are made up of what seems to be a flap of rubber wrapped in a suede-like material and sewn around it and attached to the end of a wooden stick. They're about 10 inches long with the spatula part being about 1 1/2" to 2" wide and about 3 or 4" long. What are these freakish things supposed to be for?
I'm guessing that maybe they are used by kit drummers making an attempt to make their toms sound like congas? I've never heard or seen a stick like this being used on actual congas.
Has anyone seen or heard of these?

[Sakuntu]

Yeah, I've seen these, if you hit a conga with them they give you "some what" of an open tone sound. I personal have no use for them, nor have I seen anyone professional use them.....I think they may be good for folks who want to play congas and get that full open sound but don't want to learn the proper technique.

[BMac]

Mallets like the ones described have been around for a long time. I think I first noticed them 10 years ago or so. They must not be particularly cheap or I'd have added a pair to my ever-growing bucket of beaters. I haven't played with them either. With all the world of things that make noise though, surely there is a use for anything you can swing around as a mallet eh?

I've always wondered why somebody doesn't make hand-like mallets ... leather gloves with little finger mallets and palm-like contour pads. Somebody would buy them. Ok, true ... some conga players would just say "huh?" if you suggested they play congas that way ... but somebody would buy them.

But back to my bucket of beaters ... it's a real pickle bucket. It's a 5-gallon green bucket with pickle information on the outside. It even smells like pickles. I suppose a bucket, once a pickle bucket, smells like pickles forever. My pickle bucket reminds me of a conversation I had once with a guy who was questioning why I had just paid almost $500 for a dununba made of all straight grain solid black walnut staves with no knots. He said "I don't get it ... drums ... thuck-thuck ... just stretch some nauga hide over a pickle bucket ... thuck-thuck ... you just wasted your money big time!" and he laughed at me. I just said "huh?" and he repeated himself. I think he realized I was punking him the second time I just said "huh?" so he didn't repeat himself a third time. Then I laughed.

I never did stretch any nauga hide, but I did get me a pickle bucket in his honor.

Cheers
BMac

[Chupacabra]

For CDN $35 I would hope they do something pretty darned good besides swat flies!

[zumbi]

in some areas the flies swatting use would be worth the price of admission alone...

[ABAKUA]

Yeah, I've seen these, if you hit a conga with them they give you "some what" of an open tone sound. I personal have no use for them, nor have I seen anyone professional use them.....I think they may be good for folks who want to play congas and get that full open sound but don't want to learn the proper technique.

x 2

[Whopbamboom]

A PERCUSSIONIST could surely find a use for them. A conguero probably wouldn't see the value in owning any.