congaplace.com

Hi Everybody. My name's Bill. I'm mainly a drumset player but play a bit of congas and timbales. I own a congas by Moperc, LP, and Meinl. The Meinl's are "Livesound"...anybody know anything about them? I'd like to get some real nice heads for my drums. What are the best I could buy? Thanks and looking forward to contributing a bit to the forum.

Here is some of my drumset playing---

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EnLHND1Pk8

Hey Bill you got some serious chops there man . Nice playing

Hi Bill,

Welcome. I enjoyed your drum set playing. Great Job! Nice left hand.

Welcome chops. Im sure that you will enjoy the forum. Wait... do you play congas also? If you do, what kind do you have?

Nice playing and welcome to the board!

Hi Bill!
Meinl Livesound are pretty cool congas, sturdy, good hardware,
and full sound. They were introduced by Meinl in the 1990s.
They can take thick heads I would say. Cow skin would be
a good choice. Well, unless the current skins on yours are not
totally worn out, there is no need to replace them. But if you do
want a serious upgrade, just contact L&H percussion for some
nice cowskin.

My 2 cents and welcome to the forum!

madchops82 wrote:Hi Everybody. My name's Bill. I'm mainly a drumset player but play a bit of congas and timbales. I own a congas by Moperc, LP, and Meinl. The Meinl's are "Livesound"

Hi mad, welcome to the forum. I enjoyed watching your video.

I confess that I'm curious or skeptical when a drum kit player says he plays congas too.
99% of kit players don't know the first thing about congas, technique, or the rhythms.
Then when I DO see a kit player that can actually play and has some knowledge - I'm glad!
And my "faith" in drummers is slightly restored...

Do you have any photos and/or vids of your conga playing?
I would love to see photos of your Mopercs.

I watched it,, nice stick control!
I'm curious, and this goes to anyone adept at drumset playing and stick control, who isn't already steeped in Afro-Cuban clave, tresillo, and placing bass notes on the bombo, what is it about conga playing that you find inspiring? I almost don't see a connection between the two. But maybe that's because I'm too far into the folkloric side of the music.
I can explain what inspires me about drumset styles which are not Afro-Cuban based, and that would the sheer immensity of the timing and technique.

For me, the congas represent the mellow cool side of rhythm. I like how the sound waves thump against my chest, as opposed to crashing against my head.
Anyway,, just was feeling like musing a bit..
Welcome aboard.

Nice playing and nice chops Bill. For a young guy I'm detecting some old school appreciation for guys like Buddy and Gene, correct? And aren't those the rarely seen Buddy Rich brand of drums that his daughter brought to market about two years ago? Love the vintage color pearl.

I'm a set player too and very, very new to the world of congas. It's almost like starting drumming all over again...which I find refreshing after playing for forty years. Good luck to you.

Here's a vid of me playing congas. The skin isn't too responsive, I'm not warmed up, and really I'm not a conga player. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hs4hSYN7 ... ture=g-all
Sometimes I'll play a funk gig but I play 'em backwards as my slap is better w/ my left hand (since I'm left handed). I need some better skins and a bad thing is that we see all 4 seasons. Thanks for the welcome guys. I really like Tito Puente, Wayne Gorbea, Poncho Sanchez, Cal Tjader, Mongo, etc etc. Glad to be a part.

Here's a cool band
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-avJkp_M94

madchops82 wrote:Here's a vid of me playing congas. The skin isn't too responsive, I'm not warmed up, and really I'm not a conga player. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hs4hSYN7 ... ture=g-all
Sometimes I'll play a funk gig but I play 'em backwards as my slap is better w/ my left hand (since I'm left handed).

The reason your left hand is better is that your left shoulder hangs lower. this allows your left hand to play on the drum flatter.
You might work on getting both shoulders to square up a bit, and keep both hands in that same flatter position as your left hand is finding. The right hand is forming a bit of a tent from the metacarpals pointing upwards,, you'll want that to get as flat as possible..

You're doing great! The timing and speed will exceed most because you're young and have previous drum skills.