congaplace.com

Posted: **Wed Jul 25, 2007 3:59 am**

hello everyone, im new to this wonderful board. I have a question maybe someone can help. I started playing congas a few months ago. I currently own 2 giovanni galaxy congas. a 11 3/4" and a 12 1/2". I'm looking into making my next purchase for a quinto and i was wondering how important it is that the congas are the same? I'm actually interested in in a LP accent tribal quinto and requinto. Can someone give me an opinion on this issue? I know many congueros use different congas in their set but im wondering if its because they carefully pick them out. Sorry im new to all this, please help. THANKS!

ps im also open to suggestions as to what other brands and models would compliment my current setup.

Edited By eleven on 1185336058

Posted: **Wed Jul 25, 2007 4:17 am**

Similar construction (like from the same set) will give you similar timbre (color of sound), yet at varying pitches. If you mix and match, you may have to do some experimenting (buying and selling back off what you don't like) in order to get the sounds that you are looking for.

But heck, that can happen even when you buy whole sets...

Posted: **Wed Jul 25, 2007 4:33 am**

ELEVEN, WELCOME TO THIS WONDERFUL WORLD OF OURS!

TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION. NO, THEY DON'T HAVE TO MATCH.
BUT, YOU REALLY MUST CONSIDER CERTAIN FACTORS.

THE FIRST IS, YOU HAVE ALREADY PERCHASED THE GALAXYS. SO LETS GO FROM THERE. WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO GO DOWNWARD IN YOR CONGA PUCHASE, WHEN YOU SHOULD BE GOING UPWARD. FORGET THOSE OTHER CONGAS. I'VE PLAYED THEM AND THEM MIGHT AS WELL BE A PHONE, BECAUSE THEY SURELY LOVE TO RING. PLEASE BARE WITH ME, I'M ON YOUR SIDE. GET EITHER THE MATCHING QUINTO, OR UPGRADE TO THE BEST SOUND DRUMS IN THE WORLD ISLA-PERCUSSIONS. THEY ARE HAND MADE BY MARIO PUCHARD IN LA. I HAVE NEVER HEARD OR OWNED A BETTER DRUM. HIS QUINTO ALONE WILL IMPROVE THE WAY ALL YOUR DRUMS WILL WORK TOGETHER, BUT YOU KNOW HOW THAT GOES. IT'LL MAKE YOU WANT THE WHOLE SET

LOOK AT THE MYPLACE ROSTER AND CLICK ON
(EL COQUI) , LOOK AT MY PROFILE AND CLICK ON THE PICTURES IN ORDER TO SEE THEM IN FULL SWING. ALSO PLEASE READ ALL THE INPUTS ON ISLA PERCUSSIONS HERE IN THE CONGABOARD.
TAKE CARE,
CHARLIE "EL COQUI" VERDEJO

Posted: **Wed Jul 25, 2007 6:26 am**

Welcome aboard eleven!
My teacher once suggested that whatever drums I would add to my arsenal should be of the same height. I beleive those Gio Galaxy drums are 30 in. tall so I would try and stick to drums of the same height. But in terms matching drums, I think you have to go by ear and determine how the new drums sound with your current set.

Me personally, I'm with Yambu on the Islas. I'm saving my $$ and getting myself a whole set from Islas. There's a thread on them in this forum that's got me salivating!

afrocubarico

Edited By afrocubarico on 1185344839

Posted: **Wed Jul 25, 2007 7:22 am**

I asked a similar question a while agoe, the answers I got basically boiled down to, it's more important to have a conga and tumba set up to closely match, with the quinto being less important.
Basically the conga and tumba play melodies off each other, the quinto less so. ususally its improvising and riffing.
For sure, you should have something equal in quality, but I know a lot of people with mismatched quintos, the quinto really wants a distincive sound.

Posted: **Wed Jul 25, 2007 8:30 am**

Hey Eleven,

if you want to play a set consisting of 3 or more drums, matching SOUNDS is important. It takes some experimenting not only with the conga brands, but also with the skins you put on them.

Just to give you an idea: My present four-drum setup is

11" Giovanni Ash quinto with mule skin

11" LP Classic quinto with cowhide

11 3/4 Matador conga with original water buffalo hide

12" Afro Elite conga with original water buffalo hide

.. and the sounds blend well!

Please note that the LP congas are 30" tall whereas the Afro conga is 31" tall, which is no problem as I play it in the background. It´s even more convenient to reach!

The Giovanni Ash drums are really incredible, especially with mule skins on them, so you really might check out the quinto of that series.

Just my 2 cents...

Posted: **Wed Jul 25, 2007 12:48 pm**

wow those isla congas are beautiful. someone mentioned mule skins for my galaxy congas. where can i purchase some?

Posted: **Wed Jul 25, 2007 1:57 pm**

Hi Eleven,

JCR Percussion has the best (well, for me the only ones I´ve ever played) MULE skins. You can contact Isaac Gutwilik under funkytradition@yahoo.com or phone (732) 236-8148
Isaac has been recommended by all of us here - not without a reason: the skins and the support are fantastic.

Hope this helps,
Greetings
Mike

Posted: **Wed Jul 25, 2007 4:10 pm**

ELEVEN,
JCR'S MULE SKINS ARE EXECELLENT. I INSTALLED ONE ONE MY PALLADIUM, WHEN I HAD IT, AND IT DID MAKE A NOTABLE DIFFERENCE! I LIKE MULE SKIN, IT'S NICE.

MY FAVORITE THOUGH, IS STEERHIDE, AND IN THAT DEPARTMENT ONCE AGAIN, ISLA-PERCUSSIONS HAS THE VERY FINEST EXAMPLES. ELEVEN EITHER WAY WOULD BE AN EXELLENT CHOICE!

RESPECTFULLY,
CHARLIE "EL COQUI" VERDEJO

Posted: **Wed Jul 25, 2007 4:36 pm**

eleven wrote:I started playing congas a few months ago. I currently own 2 giovanni galaxy congas. a 11 3/4" and a 12 1/2".

You probably won't really need a new set of skins for a while really, the stock skins are fine for a while for sure.

congaplace.com

Matching congas important?