Pearl Pratice Conga

[gaijin94]

Hi all,
I'm only new here and already I am addicted to this site and what it has to offer. Love it !!
Does anyone have any experience with the new Pearl Practice Conga? Is it good for beginners? How does it compare to the more expensive Giovanni Practice Conga? As I am only a beginner and live in a huge block of rabbit hole units here in Japan, I was thinking that it might be good to practice with, as it is apparently more quiet then my real conga. Any ideas?

[gaijin94]

.oops , also do they weight very much? sorry for the extra post.

cheers

[Raymond]

The difference with LP Giovanni's Practice and Pearl's is that the Giovanni's sounds like a conga without the bass. (Remember is just the head with a rim)... The Giovanni's need to mounted into a "snare" stand or something like it for you be able to play and get sound out of it. (Unless you place it between your legs and play it like a bongo or tabla and that is not the intention).

LP encourages to use it as a "conga substitute" for those who want the effect and sound of conga. My understanding is that Pearl does not provide the sound of the LP because is just for practice. The Pearl has a strap so you could tie it to your thigh or anything else. (A video comes with the Pearl made by Glen Caruba of Pearl that gives you pointers on playing congas and using the practice pad). The intention with Pearl is to give you a surface that feels and has the diameter of a conga you could practice what we call "machaca" which is your hand coordination and movement of hands.

I've tried the Giovanni and is pretty good if you want some kind of sound. You need to make an additional invesment with the Giovanni of a stand or something to hold it. Never tried the Pearl but my understanding is what I wrote above. Also, there is a diffeence in price, Pearl sells for $30 to $40 and Giovanni's for $90 plus.

So if you want just to practice and not disturb the neighbors, Pearl is to go. If not, Giovanni.

Tell us what you get...

Saludos!

[Cuidado]

Hi,
I've got Pearl Practice conga.
I think that this is not an instrument.
However this object is a good way in order to reinforce your hands.
The wood doesn't rebound when you strike.
So, you can work your speed and strength.
Hasta la proxima.

[gaijin94]

Just bought the Pearl Practice conga this morning! it is really good and you can really can some soiund out of it too. (Well i think so, im not real sure as i am just beginning) I tried having a bash on my conga after a lil while on the pearl and i actually found it harder to get sounds it. I obviously am in need of a lot more practice he he. But the pearl is definitely worth getting for a beginner to just get an idea of what is actually happenng or should be happening when trying to play.
I shall give some more feedback when i get a lil more experienced with everything. Thanks guys very much for the advice !

[Cuidado]

Hi gaijin,
if you play with practice conga for one year, I'm sure that you will have a great sound.
Hasta la proxima.

[Cuidado]

Hi gaijin,
if you play with practice conga for one year, I'm sure that you will have a great sound.
Hasta la proxima.:laugh:

[sabrosona]

Another outdated reply, mut might be useful for newer subscribers..

I have Pearl's practice conga so I can lay out the pros and cons...

PROS:

-Lightweight, can carry around anywhere in the house (or town! lol)
-When something comes into your mind u don't have to move your butt to the room u have your congas in, u just reach out and grab the practice conga and beat it up to death lol
-The wodd it's made of has quite of an elasticity, preventing your hands from being injured (I can play all day on it and still by the end of the day it's like I never played at all!)
-Produces bass sounds, rare for a practice conga
-U can even play with rim shots on it and make em sound like REAL rim shots!
-It has a double layer of laquer so that it's pretty durable (my son hit it with a mettalic aeroplane and nothing happened to it!)
-U can play at home or flat, noone will be bothered (no neighbours banging on the walls!!)


CONS:

-Not good for beginners, it's very hard to make the slap sound like a slap since it doesn't have the elasticity of a membrane or the pulse. This means that someone who doesn't know might hurt his hands trying to produce a slap.
-It's 12' wide, and u tighten it around your legs...which means u will have to have LONG legs for it to keep still! lol
-If your thinking about doing a roll using Hidalgo's 'bounce' technique, forget it...
-Doesn't come with a case, so u will have to look everywhere for a snare drum case that's as tall as the drum.


Hope I didn't forget anything...





Edited By sabrosona on 1104390760