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Hi gentlemen,I only own and play bongo drums so far,but want to add a third head in the family,therefore was thinking on adding 1 conga drum to the family( not 4 or 3...just 1),for those of you that do play congas as well as bongos,if you had to pick 1 size to learn conga on,which 1 should it be????Thanks again for sharing your expertise and Best Regards and health to all of you.J6.

I'd get the Conga (seize ) but a middelclass one .
A Meinl or something ,with Good hardwere traditional rim and a real skin.
Don"t get CP or the cheap conga's with shit hardwere !


The traditional rim forces you to learn good techniek .(if you are seriuos )
And a real skin can teach you the right tones . ( " " " " " " " " )

Then get a GOOD teacher and work HARD !!! ('' '' " "" " " " )

Ddin't you ask this question already? Get a conga size conga.

Thanks,for your answers.And no ,I have never ask this question before,but maybe somebody else has...J6.

This question would've been ideally logged under Conga sets and accessories. Nonetheless if I were to invest in one conga drum I would opt for a size that falls between 11.5 and 12 inches. I think an 11 & 3/4" head diameter conga would be perfect for your purchase. Material of the shell and hardware is a personal preference but I always loved the warm sound natural wood gives to a percussion instrument. To add, traditonal chromed hardware tuning crowns and lugs and natural rawhide heads as Skinslapper had suggested makes all the difference in the world & It resonates melodically & extremely well. Comfort curve tuning crowns have never really caught my fascination on congas or bongos. Hope this helps you J6. Peace

Jorge.

I would start out on a Timpani ( Kettle Drum ) and wear boxing gloves to play it. Then I would soon realize that would not work very well, and then would get an LP Classics Wood 11 3/4 Conga. With that drum I have seen it work as a quinto, Conga, and Tumba as needed. Good all around drum.

Salcero1,u r right posting in the other forum would have been better...Like u ,I prefer traditional look on both bongos and congas,(all my bongos have traditionnal rims),with dark,natural colour wood.You are confirming,the consensus,which seems to be 11.75" conga to start,with real skin+ trad.rim....and that is what I am going for.I wanted to spend around $ 300 for a used 1,but I might wait a little,and spend around $ 500 to get better quality... Thanks,for your consistently reliable advice. Thebreeze,I already have the boxing gloves,I just could not find a 11.75 timpani????If u could hook me up w/1 ,I would appreciate it...I n the midtime,I will massage my cow,to keep her skin tender!!! On a more serious note,a good friend of mine was giving me the exact same recommendation,w/LP Classic.I might get that,if I can't get an artisan made 1 at a decent price...do u know if they make these w.traditinnal rims?Thanks.J6

They made the LP Classics with traditional rims for sure but I don't think that the current models have them. ( you might want to confirm that ). But.....If you come across a nice one with a Comfort Curve Rim, definitely get it , and you can always change the rim later. But before you decide to go from Comfort Curve to traditional rim, I would give the comfort curve rim a chance. You just might like it. For a while there I wanted nothing but traditional rims on everything, but lately I have changed my thinking a little bit towards comfort curve. To me, traditional rims are mainly for looks. I think that the comfort curves are stronger in construction, and they feel easier on my hands as well.

Small word of advice.... If you happen to get a drum with the comfort curve rim on it and decide you are going to change it to the correct size traditional rim, make sure the the playing surface of the drum is not to close to the comfort curve rim because when you put the traditional rim on the drum it might sit so high that the playing surface just might be below the rim and you won't be able to play it without injuring your hand.
Traditional rims sit higher than comfort curve rims.

p.s..... Of course a comfort curve rim would not look too nice on a vintage, or hand made drum. I am referring to drums that would have had comfort curve rims originally from the factory.

Thebreeze,u r right about the trad.rims...they r just for looks,but since all my bongos have trad.rims,I would like to keep that look,it would be weird to mix either style together...as far as your advice on rims conversion from comfort to trad.,u r so right!!! I had that exact issue on bongos,so i know exactly what u r talking about.Thanks for the feedback.And happy timpani!!!J6.

I would not get a confort rim . The traditional rim wil force you to learn good techniek .
If you hold your hands wrong it will hurt .
With a comfort rim you might learn the wrong way çause you don't feel it if you play the wrong way .

But its your choice afcourse !

One thing to consider on bongos if you play them in the traditional way
is that comfort rims weight more than traditionals.Also normally bongos
with comfort curve rims are bulkier than bongos with traditional rims
like the center block for comfort curve is always bigger than for traditionals.
Have you ever try to play them Pearl Elite bongos with the 9" hembra and
comfort curve rims? They are not comfortable at all to play, bulky and heavy.

Skinslapper,thanks for recommendation,I think that is what I am going to do,an 11.75",traditional rims,( just like all of my bongos),that is the look that I prefer,and if it forces me to learn good technique,than that makes it even better!!RitmoBoricua,we were talking about conga,not bongos,however I know what u r talking about,I do have a lot more experience w/bongos,not with congas though.Thanks anyway.And Best Regards to you both.J6.

JOHNNY6 wrote:!!RitmoBoricua,we were talking about conga,not bongos,however I know what u r talking about,I do have a lot more experience w/bongos,not with congas though.Thanks anyway.And Best Regards to you both.J6.

No problem next time post on the right section of the forum. This is the bongo section.

Point well taken,I guess we both don't know how to read.... God bless!