New Set Advice

[1964]

Hi guys and gals,

Read this section of the forum through last night, and I must say it’s great to see so much help and authoritative opinion and so little of the bickering that plagues so many forums.

I used to play a kit professionally 20 years ago and have dabbled on and off with hand percussion for many moons now. In recent years I've also been dabbling in guitar and bass, but I'm not a natural strings player.

Anyway, I've been looking at getting a set of congas for a while, and now's the time. At this stage I'm essentially looking at dabbling, mainly for my own enjoyment. And I’ll also occasionally accompany piano OR guitar. And I will probably jam out monthly, backing up guitar, but I'll only be able to take ONE drum.

My musical tastes are fairly eclectic, so I’ll cover soft-rock, blues, R&B, soul, funk, pop, jazz pop, Gipsy Kings-style Latin, classical fusion, etc.

I spent a fair bit of time looking at what’s on offer locally, and it came down to either a 10"/11" pair of Meinl Headliner with basket stands (NZ$499/~US$355, usually NZ$799/~US$569) OR a single Tycoon 90 Series 11-3/4" (natural with black hardware) with basket stand and bag (NZ$450/~US$320).

Anyway, I’ve decided to go with the single full-size Tycoon conga and expect delivery in the next week or two.

Really looking forward to it and having the opportunity to develop some decent chops.

Am I right in thinking that Giovanni Hidalgo tunes his conga to D instead of the usual C? With a single conga, what do you recommend?



Edited By 1964 on 1103778935