Dry, drier ....Martini? - On the recorded sound of congas

[Mike]

On cds/records, especially older ones, I often feel that the congas sound dry - but not bad, though, on the contrary! When i record s.th. on a multitracker, I hear overtones ringing as if i was playing christmas bells ;-), even in a room with carpeted floor.
So my question is:
How can you get a (moderately) dry sound a la Tata Guines ? Is is microphone business? Admittedly i only have Sure SM158, normally for vocals. And the reverb button on my multitracker has been switched off, of course.

I hope for some repercussions...

[Mike]

Hey, things have become clearer to me: Probably the microphone distance to the congaheads was too close! That was it!
Anyway, it´s VERY great fun to record the grooves you find at congaplace on a multitracker and add cowbells or improvisation yourself... By the way: Thanks for the manifold rhythms and good research you people do at congaplace!!!

[Bongo Boy]

Mike...it's been a long while so I thought I'd resurrect this post and ask how you've progressed in recording the drums. I'm just about to buy a low-end recorder (such as a 4-track Roland or Boss)--something to get me by until I learn some stuff.

Any chance of producing mp3s from your recording sessions, etc? Are you still recording at all?

[Mike]

Hi BongoBoy,
thanks for your message. Well no, I haven´t been recording much myself because my multitracker broke down. My percussion group at school, though, played in concerts and we borrowed mics from the local theatre. We in fact have a good P.A system, and it was possible to gain a good conga sound, not too dry, not too much delay, just fine. We placed the mics ca. 60cm from the conga heads.
Musically speaking it wasn´t brilliant, ´cause they are 12-14 year-olds with no further background, but fun anyway. We made a CD, and if you want an mp3-file, I have to try to get a converter wav->mp3...

But recording is a tricky business, our janitor helped me.

[JohnnyConga]

I would think the Drum has more to do with the sound versus mic-ing. Of course Mic-ing is most important,but the drums that Tata Guines play are so thick and made from Ceiba wood from Cuba that is why they have that dry sound. LP's do not have a dry sound,it's a bright sound. so here is where the Mic-ing tecqhnique comes in and the type of Board your using and what types of Mic's to Use. I used to Love
PZM's they are square and they record a great sound, also the Barcus Berry pickups to put on the heads aren't bad,and go direct. You have to experiment with Mic's. the sm's158's are the latest I think,right Mike? I'm a little out of touch with the technology these days. I heard Mongo used to mic his drums from underneath rather from on top,but could never confirm it,yet. As they say "it's all in the Mix"......so have fun with sound!.......At your Service...JC JOHNNY CONGA....

[Bongo Boy]

The only thing I've read (but have not tried) regarding drum mics is regarding the Audix DM2 mic for congas. They recommend getting that thing within 1 or 2 cm of the head, and about 4-5 cm in from the rim. The SM57 and 58s also come with close recommendations (4cm, I THINK).

The 60cm distance you chose is what I'd call 'overhead', and of course that's a standard practice as well.

As for micing from underneath, I've gotten that as a recommendation for congas, too, to be done in conjunction with close-micing the head. But then again, the guys that are heavily into recording (the studio engineer types) often seem to have no upper limit on the number of mics they recommend.

[J.Peters]

I'm using a AKG-c1000 condensator mic (battery / phantom powered) in a mono setup (sounds better than stereo)

I'm using the mike about 50/60 cm above my set (3 drums)

Also your location is important (i'm using the garage)

result : a nice sound direct in my fostex vf-08 withour EQ or effects blends perfect into my recordings

[Benjamin Esparza]

I play older LP Fiberglass drums (Conga and Tumba) and found that glueing a small square of the foam, egg crate, acoustic material works really well in absorbing those high overtones. A 3"x3" piece should do the trick. Any bigger and you wind up damping ALL of the overtones.

Big Ben

[mechnotech]

Hey Ben,

Where do you glue the damening maerial?

Thanks,
Aaron
AKA mechnotech