New conga player here...

[newbie]

I'm a drummer that is wanting to play the congas. Trying to decide what brand to get. Is LP a good brand? What about Pearl?

Any other suggestions?

Thanks.

[109-1176549166]

Hi newbie,

Warm welcome to our forum!

To answer your question, it would depend on several factors. The most important one to me is how much you're willing to spend on your new congas. Other factors are what level do you want to get: entry-level, mid-level or top-of-the-line? And, what shell material do you prefer: wood or fiberglass? Etc.

LP and Pearl are 2 of the largest and most well-known percussion manufacturers in the world. That these are the 2 companies you mention right off the bat probably attests to the effectiveness of their aggressive marketing program.

Personally, between the 2, I prefer the products put out by Pearl. IMO, they try to put our more sensible products at more reasonable prices and appear to put less priority on bottom line profits than LP (under the new ownership of Kaman Corp.) appears to do.

It's almost a consensus, though, in this forum that you can't go wrong with the LP Matador congas. Pearl Elite congas also seem to be good right off the box.

But, there are other many companies, like Meinl, Gon Bops/DW, Shallock, Mountain Rhythm, etc.

My own preference for a mid-level set of congas would be the Meinl Luis Conte signature or Gon Bops Tumbao series (particularly the Pro).

Know that although all of the above-mentioned companies are different from one another, almost all of them have their congas made in Thailand, obviously primarily for cost reasons, and by the same Thai manufacturer. A few companies, like Pearl and probably Meinl, although they have their drums made in Thailand, have them made by a different factory.

What this says is significant: The materials used on the congas made by such companies are constrained to use indigenous materials found locally, such as rubber wood (under the misnomer "Asian oak" or "Siam oak") and water buffalo skin (instead of steer skin, mule skin, etc.).

Let's see what others have to say before you come to a conclusion.



Edited By mjtuazon on 1186526307

[caballoballo]

Saludos Newbie, My advice is to read very profound into this forum, take your time. Learn the difference between diferent brands, both mass produce and the hand made, skins, woods, sizes, ect. There is a lot of info to take into consideration before buying. Like Tuazon said,there are many factors to consider & like I always said, invest wise so you don't have to invest twice.