What makes a good sounding conga? - the wood, the shape, the maker

[OLSONGO]

Today we see in the music market quite a variety of conga models, more than ever before, with extravagant and old school finishes; woods that are as exotic as caviar and made as far away as China. Made by local artisans and mass production manufacturers. And then we have those that I call " Cult Congas" But do they sound good? What determines this exceptional sound? And what is the sound we look for? I will add more to this later on, but I will like to hear from you bros.... what is it that turns you on?.

Paz Olsongo

[ralph]

para mi tiene que ser un sonido gordo y seco!

As far as I am concerned the tumbador should sound fat and dry...I like little to no overtone, and nice sharp/flat projection...I think a good skin has alot to do with this, as anyone can attest after changing store bought lp skins with some real heavy duty cow/steer/mule skins...I like a good looking traditional conga, but there are some drums I would not consider buying simply because there aesthetic beauty really departs from the overall function of the drum itself (i.e. Volcano Congas, Del Cielo Congas etc)...the sound I try to look for is that of older recordings of Los Muñequitos (Yambu, Guaguanco, Columbia). A good example is what Pablo Batista is playing on Jimmy Bosch's "Soneando Trombon" album, thats the sound I want, then again sound is subjective and I make like a certain sound that others may dislike...i'd like to hear some other people's opinions.....Dario...whats your 2 cents...JC? Guarachon?



Edited By ralph on 1191512430

[Tonio]

I think this can be a good discussion, if we keep on topic.
What makes a good sounding conga?
and
What is it that turns you on.

Those 2 questions will probably make this topic too subjective, but its good to hear opinions from the brothers here.

Ralph, I like the tone of the congas on Soneando Trombon also. When I want a good pick me up and good jam, I will that cd on and jam along.

The only problem I see or hear on recordings(at least in more modern recordings) is that many audio processes are being used to make the mix cohesive. The use of compressors, reverb and M/S final mastering. Sure some
individual ME, AE's goals and producers have knowledge of certains genres, but sometimes the producer can change the total outcome of the project. What you hear from the speakers or headphones may not be exactly what the actual congas/ performer is.

Live at a gig can be a total different scenario.

That said, I like LP classic construction, sound(with a good skin) except the over ringing-some would be good. But theres too much.
Interstingly I like LP Valjes too, totaly different than the originals, but nice and light construction. NIce sustaining tones.
I also loved the old Gon Bops sound, dry almost no sustain, earthy and POP slaps.

So in essence I like all types I suppose, dependant on what the genre and gig.

Perhaps later I can say what my favorite is?

This should be a great topic.

EDIT: I have owned played SOS, Gon Bops, Valje, LP, Meinl, Toca. Never had the pleasure of Juniors, Sonocs, Moperc and a few others but love to at some point. My Isla set should be ready in a bout a week.

T



Edited By Tonio on 1191518638

[Mike]

I like LP classic construction, sound(with a good skin)

I back you up in that respect, because they are good in the studio and on stage - as long as you put REALLY decent skins on them.
And I like some sustain in general (not to be confused with tinnitus-alike overtone ringing

But then again, there are so many insteresting sounds, Bauer is unique in a way, Meinl also very solid in construction and tone (even if some of the older skins were killing the sound and some of their low end have got too thin heads)

Yep, thinking about the topical question, yes, the skin makes the (soundofa) drum,a not vice versa....



Edited By Mike on 1191522557

[bongosnotbombs]

I like LP classic construction, sound(with a good skin)

I back you up in that respect, because they are good in the studio and on stage - as long as you put REALLY decent skins on them.
And I like some sustain in general (not to be confused with tinnitus-alike overtone ringing

But then again, there are so many insteresting sounds, Bauer is unique in a way, Meinl also very solid in construction and tone (even if some of the older skins were killing the sound and some of their low end have got too thin heads)

Yep, thinking about the topical question, yes, the skin makes the (soundofa) drum,a not vice versa....

Well the same skin on a set of LP Aspires will sound better on a set of Moperc's no doubt about that.

Crappy skin on Mopercs vs. Excellent skin on LP Aspires, maybe.

but who puts crappy skin on Moperc's?

[Congadelica]

Ive only had minimal chance to try out these theories.
I have a set of Meinl which im in the process of changing to Mule skin . This weekend I had a friend round my place for a grooved out session , he had hid meinl woodcraft and bauer congas , we swapped and played around with 4 drums 2 drums etc..... Soon as I hit the first tone and slap on the Meinl woodcraft the sound was so bright and clear compared to my wafer thin water buffalo heads . The woodcratf had steer skins around 3 mm thick .
Now I just need to order 2 more skins for my drums Im still awaiting a head from JCR when thats fitted I know for a fact Ill have to order the other 2 .

[Omelenko]

I have had many different types of congas, alot has to do with the wood and a quality skin. The best sounding congas that I 've played were Vergaras (Cuban made by Gonzalo Vergara) ,I guess it had to do with the old wine barrels from Spain and how the wine cured the oak wood. There is something about Junior Tirado mahogany congas that make them sound so good, Skin on Skin and Matthews also sound great. I had 3 sets of Gon Bops, oak and Phillipine mahogany, for whatever reason I never liked the sound of Gon Bops and I changed skins several times, to me old Valjes (Tom Flores) sounded better than Gon Bops. I never owned Fat congas, but I play them in Poncho's house and didn't care much for the sound. Poncho loves Skin on Skin, but he's endorsed by Remo. In fiberglass, I like the sound of old Echo Tones. I like mule on a quinto for rumba, but for playing straight tumbao I like rawhide. I like "pergamino" on the macho of the bongo' and mule on the hembra. Different strokes for different folks.

QUE NO SE PARE LA RUMBA !
Dario



Edited By Omelenko on 1191545932

[pcastag]

Good wood good skins, good construction. From there it's all subjective, I had some skin on skin cherries, nice soud but too warm for me. Had an old LA valje, nice but not really my style, old mahogany Gon Bops, too dry, got an old oak GB quinto with mule, like , not love, got some new Californa GB oaks, too early to tell if I like them, had some Bauer Lites, nice fat, but not enough projection. Best sounding drums I've ever played? An old cahoba Sonoc (cuban) Quinto, and an original set of Honduran Mahogany Mopercs, awesome sounding, really incredible. Spiro said they were the best sounding drums he's ever played. Love to get my hands on some of those, modeled after juniors, but with stanless steel hardware. the new ones are made of maple, but stained to look like the original mahogany drums, not quite as good I've heard. Can't wait to get the drums made by R. Galvan from Monterrey going, still haven't heard anything from anybody on who made these drums. They sure are solid though!
PC

[bongo]

Whatever sound you like is a matter of opinion, but most important to that sound is the skin. Water buffalo gives one sound, bull skin sounds different yet, and mule is yet another sound. Remember, not all skins of one animal species are made equal, the thickness, the surface texture, the imperfections, some skins just have more music in them, and it can be a search to find the right one.

Next most important, in my opinion, is the shape of the drum, the curve of the shell, the ratio of head diameter to the bottom hole, the bearing edge. The smoothness of the inner shell plays a role here too I would say.

Thirdly I'd say the wood type refines the sound. Some species as oak are know to have a brighter, louder tone than say mahogany, which is famous for its mellowness.

Then finally the metal hardware must interact some and change the character of the drum. I would say this difference would be small, nearly negligible compared with skin type.

So, for what it's worth, these are my thoughts after many years of playing and being around lots of conga and bongo drums.



Edited By bongo on 1191542160

[Whopbamboom]

You guys are going to wind up basically mentioning every single aspect that a conga could possibly have! But perhaps it ALL makes some sort of difference. My experience with acoustic instruments tell me that that is actually quite likely and also logical.

It would be great to actually know which things make the most difference, and which makes the least difference.

[Jongo]

I think the skins are something that I would focus more on except for the fact that they are the only thing on the drum that you can change. So with that in mind I focus on wood first then shape next. I prefer the shape of the old school Valje and the current Isla percussions. I guess I should have construction in there higher but you know that if you are getting one of those drums you are getting a well constructed work of art. I used to like the construction of LP before they were taken over by Kaman but now I don't think I will ever buy another drum made in Thailand again.

[Gallichio]

I think it would be in this order as far as overall sound. Player, Heads, Wood or materal used for the body of the drum ,Room



Edited By Gallichio on 1202166009

[umannyt]

I think it would be in this order as far as overall sound. Player, Heads, Wood ,Room

Gallichio,

I agree with you, bro.

However, we'll have to assume the player and room as constant factors and leave the wood, shape and maker--and skin, of course--as variable factors, for the sake of this thread, if we're to focus on comparing just congas with other congas.

[umannyt]

Based on my own relatively limited playing experience but a lot of online research (including here in our very own CongaForum) about congas, my ranking would be pretty much as the author of this thread, OLSONGO, has worded it.

1. Skin (mule, steer, buffalo, etc.)
2. Wood (mahogany, canoe, red oak, ash, rubber wood, etc)
3. Shape (high belly, mid belly, belly, 30" high, 28" high, wide bottom, narrow bottom, etc.
4. Maker (Vergara, Junior, Ritmo, Isla, JCR, Volcano, Gon Bops, etc.)

Note that my examples (in parenthesis) for each of the 4 variable factors are not in any ranking order.

[umannyt]

Btw, I recall having once a phone conversation with Mario Punchard of Isla Percussion wherein I asked him why he picked Canoe as one of his 2 woods of choice (the other is Cherry) for the drums that he manufactures.

My curiousity was triggered by the fact that it appears that only Isla Percussion uses Canoe for its congas, although I'm aware that Canoe has a much more common application when it comes to trap set drums.

Mario explained to me that he once approached a lumber expert and gave him the following requirements:

1. Wood that's closest to the sonic properties of Honduran Mahogany. (If I'm not mistaken, Honduran Mahogany is probably the most prized wood for congas. However, this wood is now an endangered and protected specie and would be practically impossible to get or unrealistically expensive if one can procure it at all.)

2. Relatively light

3. Relatively inexpensive

The lumber expert gave Mario a short list of woods and Canoe was one of them. I've forgotten what the other woods are.

The bottom line is that I'm very happy with the sound of my 3 Islas (quinto, conga and tumba) and I'm confident that it's one of the best sounding congas anywhere.

I also find Islas to be very weight friendly. My congas weigh 20.5 lbs (quinto), 23.5 lbs (conga) and 25.5 lbs (tumba).

And, pricewise, they're probably the most inexpensive handcrafted congas you can find, starting at "only" $450 (quinto), $550 (conga), $650 (tumba) in Canoe. (These are just about the prices of top-of-the-line, yet mass-produced congas.)

If you prefer Cherry, then it's "just" a $100 more each per drum.

(Note: I receive no financial benefit whatsoever from Isla Percussions and/or Mario Punchard.)



Edited By umannyt on 1202159119