What Congas Do you Play and Why

[Jongo]

Hey ALKEBULAN, I have a friend that plays Bauer congas and he really loves them. I played them once and was not as impressed with them as he was but I only played them that one time so it is hard to say. This dude really loves his Bauer congas. I play a Bauer timbau and it sounds fantastic so I know they make quality instruments.
Juan

[Laurent Lamy]

Hi everyone,

I play on two conga sets. First is a french Michel Delaporte trio and the second one is five congas sets of Lp Galaxy giovanni series in wood...

I love my first one very much for his hight sound. I play it on my latest video.

ZunZun

[bdrbongo]

I play Gon bops. Don't know the age, probably mid 70's and early 80's. Two sets of 3. I have played others LP's and Tocas and "sampled" some Meinls, Pearls in the store, but I just love the sound of Gon Bops. The fact that they are no longer in production is what kept my friend from buying one he saw on e-bay, so I snatched it up instead, it sounds AWESOME. To each their own. I have seen some low quality drums sound amazing in the hands of a good player so it's not all about how much they cost.

[nic]

Ciao, my name's Nicola from Italy.
Well, the point is that I recentely bought a quinto "salsa classic" of Shalloch. Even if thay told me this is a very good hinstrument, I paied not so much cause that was the last one in the shop (euro 200).
Now I'm looking for the tumba, but, find it!!
If I won't be able to find it, whitch kind of tumba do u suggest me to buy??

[Firebrand]

I've got two sets of LP congas.

I originally bought a $650.00 set of LP Classic congas (dark-brown-wine color) from Ebay. They were great and great sounding (Quinto, Conga, Tumba)...so good and warm sounding, that when I performed with Giovanni Hidalgo, Hidalgo picked my Conga and Tumba for his 4 conga setup (a friend of ours had a Requinto and Quinto that he liked, so he went with those and mine). The warmth of them is great...but sometimes, I can't get the slap power out of them that I like (I had Evans heads on them...gonna try Nuskyns, I've heard they are louder and cut more for live applications).

I have a second set in Puerto Rico (i got to get it shipped here) of Patato Valdez Fiberblass White Congas...two congas and a Quinto...same VERY CHEAP price of $650.00...again on eBay (so I don't want to hear that you can't get good sets of congas on Ebay...I got TWO sets). I have one of the congas low as Tumba, the other as Conga, and the quinto high. Regular skins with them...although I'lll retrofit them with Nuskyns, if they sound good. I love FG...I love the sheer power of those congas...cut through anything.

Since I don't do a lot of "drumcircle" stuff or bata drumming, I don't need much of the "african" sounding warmth of wood much, although I got the wood ones for smaller, intimate settings. I'm more in the DLG, Timba side of performance...with some jazz settings. Use wood for quiet settings...fiberglass for outdoor festivals.

Anyway...if you want a good set of congas that will last your life...and at a cheap price...go on Ebay...look for LP or Meinl "professional" models...and compare the prices to the usual price (for regular LP sets, it's usually $1200 for a set of 3 congas...i got at $650.00, half off.)

Same goes for Bongos...look for Wood Generation II or Giovanni models...and look for a cheap price on Ebay.

Hope that helps.

[Obi]

Sol Congas:

Made here in the US. I got to meet Akbar & Octavio when I was in Cal. a few years ago and checked out their workshop. Tried out a few drums & got "Hooked".

Sure they are a bit pricey, But well worth the investment. Nothing a good "tax refund" can't match.

I bought my set then and there. They are the original congas; Quinto, Segunda & Tumba (as well as the traditional Bongo). They have a slimmer body design than many of the other companies produce & have a nice "tight" sound, Perfect for recording, they are also a great stage instrument. You gotta feel the skins on these babies, They are downright Sexy! (The Nicest things next to my wife...) :;):

Beside these I also use an old Cuban Tumba And Segunda, which were left to me when Oba passed away, they've been on tour with Isaac Hayes, Donna Sommer, the Moments etc. Although I don't take them out, I love the feel these babies have, Especially those nice "woody" Slaps.

On apersonal note, I don't like LP's Business tactics (Now a Member of Kaman Music Groupo) They seem to have become the "Wal-mart" Of percussion. :angry: I just don't see how their price compares to what they pay in production & shipping costs. Yes, they are a powerful drum, and through the right dealer, you can get great bargains on pro sets, but they are now flooding the market with cheap "knockoffs" of their own products (Aspire). I don't Like LP's Skins either for the obvious reasons, But Skins can be changed.

BTW, I did play LP for years, but changed the skins, and made other altercations to get the sound and feel I wanted
???

Sorry for the diatribe guys.

Obi

[Firebrand]

I've played different style of congas, including Meinl, Pearl, and even some of the rare JCR ones (boy, those were a treat :laugh: ). I have two LPs...and they sound great...and everyone I see playing uses LP congas and bongos...occassionally, I see someone with custom made bongos...but I don't see other companies drums around much.

When it comes to what congas to choose, I see an equal proportion of Matador and "higher" models of LP being played around a lot...they sound great and have a great price (if you find it nice...don't go for the $1200 price around...find it lower).

Regarding Aspire or the cheap Toca ones...just don't go for them. I'm a firm believer that, if you intend to perform (and not just jam in the house), it's worth the initial higher investment in good equipment, rather than having Aspires, Matadors, and finally LP Classics laying around...as you progress. you'll end up wasting more money "upgrading" while you get better if you follow that case.

With that in mind...although i'm a drummer by profession, when I started getting deep into improving my conga technique, i decided to get serious, get good equipment, and put in serious practice time...and talk with people in the business who are no nonsense about that (my teachers, Freddy Moreno, Giovanni Hidalgo, etc.) I'm nowhere near these guys...but I've improved immeasurably in this last year of dedicated practice.

So...go for quality first.

[zwar]

ho

i have two sets
meinl mongo santas
and
a set of 4 lp s:
2 aspire 10" and 11"
2 fuego 11 3/4" and 12 1/2"
the wooden corpus is identical to the lp classic or salsa line,
but the skins were bad and the hardware too weak for better skins.
i changed the tuning lugs (the rim is strong enough) and put lp handpicked skins on it.
the trick: if you like playing heavy skins like me, you order tumbaskins for tumba and conga, and congaskins for quinto and requinto.
don't take ready mounted skins, the metall rings will not fit to the rim.
now i have a complete set, sounding like galaxy, but not half the price.
unfortunately i learned, that lp does not produce lp fuego series anymore. its quite difficult to get some in germany by now.

now:
meinl or lp?
the white buffalo skins of the meinl msa nice dry and warm, they look pretty good on stage
the lp's are better for very fast playing, sound is cleaner, quinto and requinto with more crisp.
i'm not able to say what is better, just depends on the kind of music we play, and how i feel.

i hope you will excuse my bad english.

greetings

zwar

[RitmoBoricua]

I've played different style of congas, including Meinl, Pearl, and even some of the rare JCR ones (boy, those were a treat :laugh: ). I have two LPs...and they sound great...and everyone I see playing uses LP congas and bongos...occassionally, I see someone with custom made bongos...but I don't see other companies drums around much.

When it comes to what congas to choose, I see an equal proportion of Matador and "higher" models of LP being played around a lot...they sound great and have a great price (if you find it nice...don't go for the $1200 price around...find it lower).

Regarding Aspire or the cheap Toca ones...just don't go for them. I'm a firm believer that, if you intend to perform (and not just jam in the house), it's worth the initial higher investment in good equipment, rather than having Aspires, Matadors, and finally LP Classics laying around...as you progress. you'll end up wasting more money "upgrading" while you get better if you follow that case.

With that in mind...although i'm a drummer by profession, when I started getting deep into improving my conga technique, i decided to get serious, get good equipment, and put in serious practice time...and talk with people in the business who are no nonsense about that (my teachers, Freddy Moreno, Giovanni Hidalgo, etc.) I'm nowhere near these guys...but I've improved immeasurably in this last year of dedicated practice.

So...go for quality first.

I truly believe you should buy the best quality you can Afford.
Nowdays congas are so common that is not uncommon to
find some fantastic deals. The key is to be very patience,
know what you want and how much you can afford. Don't let impulse get in the way of things.



Edited By RitmoBoricua on 1109203498

[Supa Coopa]

MangoRockFish, I play Mango drums because they've got insane grain and incredible sound. I'm tired of looking like all the other guys. I want something original that's my signature. The insides are finished too and the hardware is all mirror finished stainless steel. No more drums for this guy. This set will last me a lifetime, plus that's it's guarantee. Try check um out at Volcano Percussion.

[maSSivdrums]

MangoRockFish, I play Mango drums because they've got insane grain and incredible sound. I'm tired of looking like all the other guys. I want something original that's my signature. The insides are finished too and the hardware is all mirror finished stainless steel. No more drums for this guy. This set will last me a lifetime, plus that's it's guarantee. Try check um out at Volcano Percussion.

Yep, I must agree with Supa Coopa, those Mango wood drums are by far, the best drums on the market today. I also own a set, and compared to my Gon Bops and Lp drums, the craftmanship, and total sound of the drums are unreal! My personal opinion IS you should check them out!

[ABAKUA]

I currently have 2 sets of Tumbadoras.

Set up 1: LP Classic Model. 2 x 11.75' Conga, 1 x 12.5' tumba.

Ive had these for over 12 years, nice warm tones. Excellent for Latin styles. tuned a little higher, also good for pop, funk, reggae etc..

As part of a recent partial endorsement, I have aquired a 2nd set of drums for an upcoming tour I have.

Set up 2: LP Giovanni "Palladium" Model. 2 x 11.75' Conga, 1 x 14.5" Super Tumba

Very crisp and warm sounding drum. Super Tumba takes a bit of practice to tune due to the amount of extra lugs on there, but once you get the hang of it, its fantastic. The volume projection of the drums is unlike anything Ive experienced before.
I use the super tumba to the left as a low pitched drum btw.

[mco]

I play a set of LP Classics (conga and tumba), which I recently upgraded with muleskin heads. What a sound!

[Raymond]

Some of the comments on this thread have been great! One comment about the "LP Factor."

Regardless of what we all think, LP make drums that are of great quality and sound. You have to give to them, they are the leader by far because of the reputation they have built. You can't beat that. However, other companies make good and affordable drums too. The best LP has going for them right now is their "prestige" and based on that prestige their distribution network is the best among all other percussion companies. Have to think like a dealer: If you are going to sell percussion instruments you must get LP because it is the brand to have because that is what the "average person and those that I know, ask for".

Another thing they have going for them is their development of new stuff...They can be innovative and put it in the market quick because of their clout! (They are also great "copiers" and respond quickly to the succes of another product in the market and because of their distribution network been so good it appears, they are the pioneers. Example: The Salsa line of cowbells is actually trying to copy JCR's cowbells. Also, one of their new cowbell beater is JCR copy. Their bronze timbale was a response, in my opinon, to Mein's Luis Conte. Their black powdered hardware, to lower costs in production, is a response to Meinl inniative on some of their instruments. Bringing up the Matador line in marketing is to deal with the other companies that have their top instruments priced closed to Matador compete directly and have LP been "premiere" stuff...Some people are unaware of it but if we have the standard in sizes in congas, bongos and timbales, it was the popularity of LP that made it the standard...Everybody had to go their sizes if you want it to be game with supplier in the heads, hardware, etc, etc. Ladies & Gentlemen that is how you do business....).

LP is a standard...to take them out of the top is going to be hard. However, they do not make the best instruments for the price...

I think Meinl and Pearl and even Remo are making great instruments for great prices...the problem..how do you get them....So many endorsers leaving LP should tell something to people...They are other good alternatives...Those inputs of good instruments are going somewhere...(Yes, the other companies are luring them with good deals for endorsements and that can be a reason too, regardless of the quality of the new company).

My whole dollar!

Saludos!

[mco]

As Raymond has stated, there are good quality, affordable alternatives to LP. In the case of the LP Classics, the price premium is in part due to a layer of fiberglass reinforcent that LP applies to the inside of the drum around the area of the lug attachments. AFAIK, Meinl and Pearl do not have this on their comparable models, hence the price differential. Is this reinforcement absolutely necessary? Does it result in a better sounding, longer-lived drum? I don't know, but at least I can see why the Classics cost more.