Congas advice - advice

[CongoKingo]

I would like some advice on purchasing a set of congas. I have been inspired by the marvels of congas. What would be a good beginners set of congas? Size?
What tuition is needed? Is there any literature on Congas?

[limberic]

I think it all depends on how much you have to spend: Get the best you can afford. If you are strapped for cash, ask yourself if you need 2 congas to begin. Maybe you read my "Beginning Conga Player - I love my LP Matador!" post earlier this month. I am not sorry about the choice I made. If I could have afforded more expensive congas, I would have bought them - but the Matador with an 11 3/4 " head only cost $260 at Guitar Center. And that's about all I could afford. << Over a year after the original post, I still love my Matador - And now I have the technical competence to add a tumba>>. I've been working on the Tumbao pattern - and it sounds great! (when I get it right), though that heel - toe rocking thing is something my hands don't like to do - it ain't intuitive, yet.
A number of more experienced congueros warned me about the 10/11" quinto/requinto combination that most companies sell to beginners but I think that it leads them down the wrong path. Just my $0.02 worth.
Best Regards,
Eric



Edited By limberic on May 08 2002 at 08:37

[paulo da salvia]

I completely agree with Limberic. Lp matador is a good model to start with. I started with a couple of basic Meinl, changed to Afro drums after two years and actually I play with Lp Giovanni series (fantastic.......)
My opinion is:
1) you don't need the best congas to start. I heard Lp mod Aspire with a much better sound than Lp Classic (sometimes skin makes the difference, not the drum itself). Of course if you can buy the best........ why not??
2) Buy two congas: Conga and Tumba
3) forget about Quinto (now)
4) Study and study and study and study..............

Stay tuned!!!
paulo

(Edited by paulo da salvia at 9:22 am on April 24, 2001)


(Edited by paulo da salvia at 9:24 am on April 24, 2001)

[Kracker]

1. If you know somebody who is a good conga player you could look for a secondhand pair with them(conga/tumba). They could give their opinion and you could end up with a really good buy. I was playing some fibreglass meinls which I borrowed for a while, but, now I have my own wooden Afros which I got for £250 which is a great deal. The sound they produce is fantastic, but, there is no way I could have afforded them new. I think it is better to try and get the best for your money.

2. There is a great book/cd by Richie Garcia through Warner Bros. called PLAY CONGAS NOW The Basics Ans Beyond. It is great, really easy to follow with lots of patterns and sound development exercises. Two good videos are One on One and Conga Vertuoso both by Giovanni Hidalgo.

Practice lots and just wait for that slap to pop out.

[Laurent Lamy]

There is the other one very good pair of cingos not expensive: the traditionnal series from Toca.
The videos of Giovanni are not recommended for the beginners... A good video series to learn: Getting started on congas by Bobby Sanabria.
bye and good vibrations on congas.

[CongaMan]

Yes, I agree with Laurent ... I have the "Conga Virtuoso" Video by G. Hidalgo and OK it's incredible but NOT for beginners.... by the way in that video he explains a double shot using a great technique... anybody can give me more instructions on how to perform this technique? it wasn't very clear on the video!! :confused:

To search for a video or a book you can go to the congastore: click here a place where we collect all the items we have found around or suggested by site visitors ...

[Bongo Boy]

I know the question was about which conga to buy, but I just wanted to comment on the Giovanni video--pretty useless. For a beginner, there's just about NOTHING regarding technique. For an advanced player, I don't see anything there either--the pamphlet that comes with the video has one or two rhythms--a tumbao and something that looks just like a tumbao. Nothing new here. If you like Giovanni's style, his In the Tradition video might be of interest--I don't care too much for his style, at least not on this video.

For interesting and useful stuff regarding actually PLAYING, so far I'm far more impressed with the Anga Mania tape--and I don't think you need FIVE congas to use the ideas (thank goodness).

[congabebe]

I started playing on 2 Cosmic Percussion congas 10 & 11(fiberglass, the skins were the originals from '86). I borrowed these from a friend. I got the bug to buy my own and I went on Ebay religiously. Looking at everything and tracking them to see what they sold for. I found that the local drum shop had LP aspires for about $420, and the ebay price was about half. I wanted the fatter drums like Matadors and I wanted fiberglass cause it is know to be all weather and the sound is brighter. I couldn't rationalize the Matadors as a beginner, so I saw a set of Toca Premiere Series (red/black). I got them from AJ's Percussion shop on Ebay ($350 + shipping + stand). I love this shop. Good service and the "buy it now" price was lower than what I would have paid for the Matadors. They sell alot of different brands but these were the best price compared to the other brands they ran less. And I think they sound great. I keep them tuned and they don't need adjusting like my Matador Bongos do. I would highly recommend them, I love mine.
congabebe