congaplace.com

Earlier this year I built a sort of hybrid conga / ashiko. It was mostly a small conga but with a smaller belly to head ratio than I would have liked for a fuller conga sound. I got some really good feedback from it and was able to put together a set I am now calling the RHD Mini Congas. Under 15lbs each drum, and available in Quinto, Conga, and Tumba, these are 28 inch tall, rope tuned congas with steer hide heads and walnut bodies.

Here are some photos of these drums... note that for this set I built the Mini Quinto and Mini Conga, the bigger drum I'm playing as the tumba is an XL Ashiko with a thick cowhide. Though I'm not the best conga player - I got a quick video to show the sound because I was very impressed with how they came out.

I don't know about other forummers, but I love the sound of those drums. Seems to me they can really punch through just about any sound environment with little or no mic'ing. If I were in the market, I would definitely be interested. My one question/comment is: rope tuning?

Thank you CongaTick! I think I found something special in the way I build these. They sound bigger than they are and have a really nice tone. One day I'll get a decent camera / mic set up to do a proper recording of my drums.

As for the rope... There are a few reasons. I'm advertising these as light weight and portable. The rope tuning weighs a good bit less than metal. No hard edges to snag or dent other drums that might bump it. I love the look of the rope, and, coming from a djembe background, it's super easy to tune with no wrench. There is a learning curve, but it's about 2 hours of figuring out the mali weave. I got a lot of positive feedback from conga drummers and less specifically percussionists that liked the idea of rope. Also, the rope tuning is a lot less expensive than sourcing or building custom hardware. I want these drums to be attainable for any serious drummer.

I'm working on making my own hardware. I have my first order already for a super requinto with hardware (full size conga) as well as some custom bongos with hardware. So I've been on the push the past month doing mock ups of how I want my hardware. I've got it down, just have to make a few sets now. It's going to be labor intensive and raw stainless alone is expensive, so I'll save the hardware for my full size congas when they start rolling out.

Makes perfect sense. Yep, they do sound "bigger", which I love. I wish you the best of luck and encouragement. These are very cool instruments and with continuing promotion/marketing I believe you may carve a profitable niche in the marketplace.