Inside a wooden conga

Time to buy a conga set? One of the bigger choice to make is about the shell material… traditional wood or modern fiberglass congas?

Choosing a new conga set is exciting, but also overwhelming with all the options available.

For people new to congas, I recommend to check out two articles from our PercussionConga archive:

• The first one is introducing the Conga Anatomy, to be sure you have the right terminology and understanding of all the components of a conga drum
• The second one is about how to buy an used conga drum, that is always a good option to take into consideration

Whatever you’ll chose to go for a new or a used set, one of the big decisions to take is about the conga shell material: wood or fiberglass?

Let’s see in this article pro and cons of the two options.

SOUND

As a general rule, the sound produced by a wooden conga is warmer and more natural, while the sound produced by a fiberglass conga is louder and more crisp.

Because of the sound properties, wooden congas are the first choice for studio recording, and normally requires microphones when playing live music.

Fiberglass congas are sometimes preferred when playing live concerts, when the conguero wants to be heard without playing too hard (bad for the hands!)

Some people prefer fiberglass when playing rock/pop music and wood for Latin jazz music.
As fiberglass congas are more resonant, they’re considered easier to play in the sense that is easier to produce tones on them.

METEOROPATHY

In other words – how much your congas are affected by weather and temperature changes.

Fiberglass congas are not affected by weather conditions or temperature.
If you plan to play outside in rainy London, for example, you may want fiberglass as it’s a material that doesn’t change properties between (or during) gigs.

The opposite is true with wooden congas, that require to be tuned more often depending on the climate, and are more sensible to humidity and temperature.

DURABILITY

Very used conga (but still sounds good!)

While fiberglass shells are more resistant than wood, it doesn’t mean they’re more difficult to scratch as many people think (the photo on the right if from a fiberglass conga).

The resistance is more regarding bumps and hits, considering also that in wooden shells the material is more stressed due to the pressure.

This is an important quality if you’ll transport your congas often because indeed the most scratches and damages to the drums are made during transportation.

A fellow conguero, nickname B-CERO, reported his funny experience on a forum:

“I used to have a set of L.P. patatos (fiberglass) when I played in bars, and outdoors they got alot of rough treatment one actually fell off a 5′ stage to the floor below, it hit on its’ side and bounced about 3′ up! It was not damaged! I think a wood drum would have shattered.”

I won’t try with mine wooden congas to see if he’s right!

WEIGHT

Conga on a scale

In our experience, fiberglass congas are lighter than wooden congas, but it really depends on the model.
I never found any fiberglass conga heavier than my Pearl Elite conga (weight 12.6Kg), so in my opinion this is another plus for fiberglass congas in case you need to carry them around.
Living at 4th floor with no elevator, I’d like to have something lighter… but without sacrifice the sound quality!

All in all, there’s not a real winner.
Just consider what you really need and see which material is more appropriate for you.
And try them, ALWAYS, to check how they feel for you!

We’d love to hear from you! Please leave a comment!

Technorati Tags: buy, conga, drum, fiberglass, percussion, shell, wood, wooden

Having say that, it really helps the wallet and the learning curve to check what free video lessons the mighty Youtube.com has is its disproportionate video archive.

Well, the good news is that there are plenty of free video lessons available.
The not-so-good news is that recording a nice video lesson is not enough to make someone a percussion teacher – and this is where Percussion Conga is stepping in today, selecting the best free conga Youtube video lessons for you!

Continue reading to see the 3 best video series, to follow in the suggested order!

#1 Johnny Conga video lessons

Johnny is a friend of ours and a seasoned conga Master and teacher.
This is the first video series I personally study congas, and it’s still one of the best around!
In the videos Johnny explains calmly but very clearly all the basics a beginner needs to know – and anyone should never forget.
It also includes videos dedicated to the theory of clave and how it leads the latin music: because of this, we recommend to start your learning adventure with this playlist.

Video quality is excellent.

#2 Ruby Quesada video lessons

Ruby created a video series especially for the beginners that never played congas before.
This is a series of fantastic video lessons.
He explains things extremely clearly and at a very relaxed pace, always providing examples and exercises to practice on.
After the fundamentals, he goes into the basic rhythms and adds up to the more complex ones.

The reason why we suggest this videos after Johnny’s ones is because they’ll take more time and dedication overall to go through – but also more rhythms learned at the end of it.

Good video quality.

#3 Nate Torres video lessons

Nate did this video series in 2007 – when he was pretty young but already pretty good in teaching others.

In only 8 video lessons, Nate starts from the very fundamentals and quickly adds up into more sophisticated rhythms.
I found the teaching speed demanding for a beginner, reason why we recommend to go over this videos after the other 2 series.

Good video quality.

And you, what are your favorite instructional free videos?

Technorati Tags: beginner, conga, free, lessons, percussion, video, youtube

The best way to increase speed, fluency and timing playing the congas is to practice using a metronome.

If you’re not familiar with the metronome, it’s an instrument that generates regular beats to a predefined speed.
Traditionally mechanic, like the one in the picture here on the right, nowadays they can be replaced with digital metronome available as PC programs or directly online, that allows to set a volume appropriate for practicing on congas.

You can start practicing your percussion Conga skills right now, using this nice online metronome from Games68.com:

This application allows to set easily, from top to bottom:

• the number of beats
• the Beat Per Minute (BPM), the speed of the rhythm generated
• the Primary tick generated (the actual sound used to keep the time – I like the click as it’s simple and effective)
• the Accent sound, played on the 2nd beat of the sequence (don’t ask why!)

Start slowly and then increase little by little

Start with a pace you’re comfortable with. Keep it for few minutes.
Then increase the speed gradually, just 5 BPM each time.
At the moment you’ll barely feel the difference, but in the long run you’ll increase dramatically the speed of your hands movements!

The body has memory and this is what we base our practice on.

Concentrate on the technique

When increasing the speed, it’s important not to loose focus on the technique.
Stay focused on the movements, make sure you lift the hand from the wrist, if you can’t keep it clear and sharp slow down and don’t worry – you’ll get there soon anyway

Start and stop

We tend to adapt quickly to a repetitive movement.
So, once comfortable with a speed try to stop and start again. You may miss some beats at first…

Wave loading

A day will arrive in which you’ll hit your limit and could not increase the speed anymore.
That day is the perfect time to start wave loading.
Wave loading is technique that consist in back off the metronome speed to a comfortable level, then increase it again gradually till the speed is not sustainable and repeat the process again and again.
Each wave will give you a little more speed!

Exercise regularly

This is the king of the practice tips… exercise for little time, but exercise regularly.
5 minutes everyday have a much bigger improvement than 2 hours one day and nothing for weeks.

Wittner Taktell Piccolo Metronome: Ruby

Price: $42.52

(13 customer reviews)

4 used & new available from $42.52

Wittner 801M Metronome without Bell, Mahogany

Price: $105.08

(15 customer reviews)

13 used & new available from $105.08

Do you use a metronome for your conga practice?
Do you feel the improvements?

Technorati Tags: conga, exercise, metronome, percussion, practice

The maestro is now collaborating with Percussionconga.com and in this video is showing off his incredible improvisation skills!!

Johnny offers an unique learning opportunity, a “full inclusive” experience to learn living with him for 1 full week.

Keep on reading, Johnny has a message to all the friends of Percussionconga.com.

Below the message from Johnny to all the friends of Percussionconga.com

Come to my home in Seattle,WA from 3 to 5 days, and I will teach you for 6 hours a day I will book your flight(and find the cheapest airfare)pick u up at the airport and take you back, and at night taken out to local clubs or any gigs I have while you are here…..
This is what I Teach:

5 points of the hand, technique, rudiments, sound development, the Clave, CongaRobics(T) and lots of styles, in Salsa, Latin Jazz, Folkloric(rumba,guaguanco,guarapachangeo etc.)..Jazz,Pop and R&B…References upon request…Learn the “Cuban Method” as it is taught in Cuba today, with me. Johnny Conga..here is my syllabus below:

RHYTHMS:
1.Bolero 5 variations
2.Caballo with variations
3.Danzon
4.Yambu variations on conga drum/cajon
5.Guaguanco-6 variations
6.Rumba with variations/columbia/abierto 2 drums/one drum/NY street rumba
7.Abakua split hand style and one drum patterns
8.Plena split hand on congas
9.Bomba tradicional/Sica/Yuba/variations on 2 congas
10.Bambiche/Bambichao
11.Merengues with variations
12.Mozambique-New/Old skool
13.Cumbia with variations one drum and 2 drums
14.Bembe variations
15.Conga Comparsa with variations
16.Changui
17.Calypso
18.Bossa Nova with variations
19.Afro-Samba-and Samba on 2 congas
20.Songo with variatons-Basico/Changuito’s
21.Pilon with variation
22.Iyesa with variations
23.6/8 basic with variations 1 2 and 3 drums
24.Tumbao in 7/4
25.Guarapachangeo with variations and concepts(2 3 4 5 congas)
26.Ritmo Pa Ca
27.Dengue
28.Jala Jala
29.Mongos tumbao’s
30.Mongos merengue
31.Mongos Afro Blue with variations
32.Tumbaos-1-3 drum variations
33.Orisa wth variations
34. La Clave-2/3 3/2 Son Clave- 3/2 2/3 Rumba Clave
35.Chaonda
36.6/8 bell patterns on Conga drum-short bell and long bell
37.Counting and tapping
38.Reading for percussion
39.Music and Rhythm theory

40.CongaRobics(tm) with
Neuro Linguistic Programming(Neuro-Linguistic Programming™ was specifically created in order to allow us to do magic by creating new ways of understanding how verbal and non-verbal communication affect the human brain. As such it presents us all with the opportunity to not only communicate better with others, but also learn how to gain more control over what we considered to be automatic functions of our own neurology.)

41.”Play along” with the music/various styles
42.Technique/breathing and relaxing
43.”Styles” pop/soul/jazz on conga drums
44.Sound Development
45.Ear training
46.Palo(split hand 2 congas)- newly added..
47.Timba patterns on 3 conga-newly added
48.Bongos/timbales
49.minor perc./cowbells/shekere/guagua parts
50.Rudimentary approach on congas- congadiddles, single stroke rolls, doubles/2 ways on the conga drum, flams, triplets
51.Rhythms in 5 7 and 9

Read more: http://www.percussionconga.com/jc

Percussion Conga Staff can’t wait to meet Johnny and participate to one of his intensive Conga Camp

Technorati Tags: beginner, conga, how-to, intermediate, learn, lessons, percussion, school

Let’s see the possible approaches to learn playing congas.

The options are simply:

- classes with a teacher (either private or for a group)
- multimedia, like DVD, online videos, youtube etc.
- books about conga drums and percussions

Needless to say, private classes are a great option but expensive too.
Group classes are more fun but less effective as people have generally different background and different pace in learning rhythm and technique.
The multimedia options are vary and some are more valid then others, but in any case the lack of someone correcting you puts them in disadvantage compared with classes.
About books… we don’t encourage books for the beginner conguero… they are instead great resources for the advanced player that has already a well developed technique under the belt.

Considering that learning percussions is a never-ending process… for us the best way to properly learn balancing quality and price is a combination of the 3 methods.

Percussion Conga is happy to announce that starting with this article we’ll review for our readers the different products and options out there!

Keep on reading our first review…

Conga drum lessons by PercussionSecret.com

The product:

Percussion Secret presents a 2 DVDs product with online immediate access of the contents, featuring lessons on many percussion instruments from the brilliant Tim Irrgang!

Quality:

We got online access to review the product for you.
The video lessons are really very well done: the record quality is perfect, with 2 cameras recording Tim playing from 2 different angles.
Tim explanations (in his Aussie accent ) are very clear, right to the point, and well balanced between what is discussed and what is shown on the instruments.

Contents:

DVD 1 covers the basics of eleven common percussion instruments:
Bongo Drums
Tambourine
Shakers
Timbales
Hand Cowbell
Cabasa
Maracas
Triangle
Clave
Castanets
Guiro

DVD 2 covers the conga drums in detail showing you some basic patterns plus how to effectively use them in a variety of styles.

Opinion:

There are 3 things we really liked in this video training series:

1) in the conga lessons after base and open tone, Tim teaches a simple rhythm to let the students practice before moving on with the slaps. I liked this because the slap is the most difficult sound to produce, so often the beginner students are frustrated if this is presented too early in the lessons!
2) there are examples of rhythms used not only in Salsa, but also in rock, swing and samba music, so after these lessons it’s already possible to cover different music styles!
3) good fundamentals in different percussion instruments at once!

We have to say that while congas are covered in good details, most of the instruments are just presented on a very basic level, so don’t expect an exhaustive set of lessons about *every* instrument covered because this is not what this product is about.

Instead, this product is an absolutely brilliant overview of many percussion instruments at once, exposed by Tim in very clear and effective lessons, with special attention to conga drums.

Because of that, we recommend this product to start with, before moving forward to classes or more advanced video series.

You can order now Percussion Secret DVDs from here:

Percussion Secrets
Price: $69.00
Two DVDs with FREE shipping plus instant online access

Happy studying!
Percussion Conga Staff

Technorati Tags: conga, dvd, how to play, lesson

Very used conga (but still sounds good!)

How to buy an used percussion conga drum?

How to choose an used percussion conga set?

Where to buy used tumbadoras?

In this article you’ll find some tips that hopefully can help you buying a good used conga, knowing where to look at to asses the condition of the drum and avoid bad surprises!

Think what you want

Before start looking for an used *anything*, decide what would you like to have.

Are you looking for a conga. a tumba or a quinto? Do you want a set or single drum? any preference on the brand? And, what is your budget?

For beginners, it’s recommended to have a conga (or segundo) as a first drum, that sooner or later will pair with a tumba to have a 2 piece set.

Quinto, the smallest sized percussion drum, is cheaper because of the size but is normally used for soloing and is not what a beginner wants to start with.



Where to buy?

The usual options: internet or a music shop.

Online, Craiglist and e-Bay are the well-known places for second hand stuff – including percussion congas.
The best is to find someone in your area, I would not buy an used conga that I can’t see, touch and play beforehand!
Usual rules about dealing with unknown sellers apply.

In a music shop, if big enough and with some luck, you may find some interesting option and you have 2 strong advantages:
1. you can try and compare, in the shop, the used drums also with a new one. This is just great.
2. you can (generally) trust the seller and have some warranty

The best thing is trying both approaches: check the local shops and online as well. See what is around. Take your time to investigate more about the models available. Analyze and try as many congas you can, then decide.



What to buy?

Or we should say: what NOT to buy??

We don’t recommend used entry level models, like LP Aspire, Pearl Primero or unknown brand. Yes, they can be the real bargain in price but with a more expensive congas you get better quality, both in sound and in hardware (to know more about the hardware of a conga check our article “Percussion Conga Anatomy“!).

We don’t recommend congas used in a music school either, mainly because they are often mistreated and not carefully handled and stored…

Conga shells are made by either wood or fiberglass, to help choosing the right material for you read our article WOOD vs FIBERGLASS CONGA.



What to check

Luckily, congas have no engine or any other hidden part that can’t be observed

Conga shell from the inside

So, first of all check the status of the shell, both outside and inside. A portable flashlight will do the trick and you will look well prepared in the eyes of the seller.

If it’s a fiberglass shell check if there are dents, if it’s wood check for cracks, anyway look for anything strange in the body of the conga.

In the picture on the right, a perfect (and very new) wooden shell from the inside.

Remember that the wood of a conga shell is user constant pressure, so any little damage can have dramatic consequences!

Then you can check the metal parts (lugs, rim, etc.) looking for rust.

LP congas have the tendency to become rusty if not properly maintained, like the conga in the picture here below.

Rusty rim and lug

Try to tune the conga checking every bolt in the lugs, to see if the lugs are not damaged or the parts too rusty. Some oil can be required if the congas has not be tuned in a long time and stored in a humid place.

Then, what is left if the conga head, the skin.

While keeping in mind that the skin is a replaceable part, if the conga you’re checking needs a new skin you should consider 3 things:

1. the added cost required for the new skin
2. you’ll have first to buy the conga, then to change the skin to finally check the sound
3. a damaged skin can indicates that the conga wasn’t treated with love… check the pictures below to see what I mean

Injured conga head (but still sounds good!)

Fancy coffee table!

Good look finding your next conga… and no matter how new it will be…  SUENA HASTA QUE SE ROMPA EL CUERO!!

Did you like the article? We’d love to hear your comment!

Technorati Tags: buy, conga, drum, how-to, latin percussion, lp, mainl, pearl, percussion, used

Your Neighbor

If you like me are leaving in an apartment you know what I’m talking about.
Start playing a nice tumbao and what is a fantastic sound for you will be a terrible noise for your neighbors.

In this article the Percussion Conga Staff will clarify some concepts about soundproofing and will give practical advises to let you keep on (or start!) playing… and your neighbor keep on greeting you on the stairs

.
.

Soundproofing vs acoustic treatment

First of all, let’s be clear about two very different things: what is acoustic treatment and what is soundproofing?

Acoustic treatment is for making the sound in the room good.
Can take some time to figure out how to do it, but there are cheap options.
Blankets and used egg boxes are falling in this category, even if often confused as way to soundproof the room.

Soundproofing is for keep sound in from going out and keeping sound out from coming in.
This way, you don’t disturb your neighbors or other room attached with the house.
Real soundproofing takes enormous amount of time, effort and money, plus, bass frequencies are the hardest to treat.
If you want to prevent sound from travelling through walls you need to put up some heavy dead material like concrete, gypsum plaster (dry wall) etc.
Foam won’t change anything in this situation.
So, what do we want to achieve?

We want to start or keep on practicing and playing conga drums in our apartment without neighbors calling the police every time.
Hence, we want to find affordable ways to achieve soundproofing without transforming our house in an anti-nuclear bunker.

.

.

Soundproofing: your room or your congas?

As said, if we don’t want to build a bunker we need to get smart and instead reduce the effect of hitting our congas.

There are 2 effects that we need to take care of:
- the vibration
- the sound

.

Reducing vibrations

Congas are producing and developing sound through vibrations from the conga head down to the shell and eventually conducted down to the floor.
So, the first thing we want to deal with is the vibration going through the floor straight to your downstairs neighbors, the more affected by your passion.

For the directly transmitted sound, the best way is to put a thick rubber mat under the area where your congas as well as your seat are.
The best kind of rubber would be a thick, compressible, dense, closed cell foam material like what they use to make some mouse pads.

For the best results, specifically made soundproofing mats like the following are recommended:
ATS Acoustic Panel 24x48x2 Inches
Auralex 4MF24 4 Mineral Fiber Insulation; 3-2′x4′x4 Panels
This really helps a lot, as these mats are able to absorb vibrations and “trap” the bass frequency.

.

The sound

The best way to keep the volume down is…. not to play. But that kind of defeats the purpose, so we need to find alternative ways to play generating less sound.
Here are some tips collected from different coungueros, that really work well, you just need to try and find the best one for your situation:
- get a towel on each of your congas. Try different thickness and see the result. You can also try to put a t-shirt on the conga, to “wear” them.
- put some towels or pillows inside the conga shell. This leaves a direct access to the skin and it will muffled the sound. Just add as many towels as you need.
- try wearing some thick cotton gloves. It’s hard to get good slaps, but for speed exercises and rhythm it deffinately helps. Open tones aren’t much affected.

Personally I have a thin towel on the tumba and a pillow inside the conga.
This is because I’m not working much on the tumba and I can live with the muffled sound, but I really need to practice my slaps on the conga

Someone suggests to buy practice congas like the LP Giovanni Hildago Compact Conga or the Pearl Practice Conga.
It’s not quite the same as playing the lovely full drums, but you can put them in your lap on top of a sweater or something, and even play them in your car parked somewhere.
For more information about the Compact Conga check out this previous article from the Percussion Conga Staff: LP Compact Conga Giovanni Hidalgo video review

.

.

Make your enemy your friend…

The best option of all is go for a diplomatic approach rather than a military solution.
Talk to your neighbors, tell them you’ve this great passion but that you understand that what you call sound is for them just noise to get rid of.
Tips about how to be diplomatic:
1. tell them about your great passion, but that you understand that what you call sound is for them just noise to get rid of
2. schedule your playing for times when the neighbors are doing other things or are out
3. involve them in the process by telling them what you are doing to control the sound and asking them to tell you if the sound level is ok or too loud

Hopefully this tips will help you to keep on playing, or start practicing at home!

To study more about soundproofing, there are good books about acoustic.
Two books very recommended are:

F. Alton Everest. Master Handbook of Acoustics
Rod Gervais. Home Recording Studios: Build it like the pros,

These are both well respected, very readable books that will get you started understanding how to build a soundproofed room.
Although they are written about building recording studios, practice studios are very similar in their acoustic design.

What is your experience?

Auralex Studiofoam Designer Kit Charcoal Gray

Price: $108.99

(35 customer reviews)

4 used & new available from $108.99

4 Corner Bass Trap – 12″ x 12″ x 24″ Acoustic Sound Foam Kit – SoundProofing and Deadening – Made in the USA!

Price: —

(1 customer reviews)

0 used & new available from

Credits:
This article is mostly based on this great Congaplace.com forum thread available here:
http://www.mycongaplace.com/forum/eng/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=384
and upon on personal experience in the subject.

Technorati Tags: conga, drums, lp compact, percussion, practice, sound, soundproofing

I found these 5 (five!) video lessons by Heinrich Klingmann (http://heinrichklingmann.com/) very useful to start playing with combinations that allow to prepare a set of “bullets” ready to be shoot during your improvisations. It’s a whole 45 minutes video lesson, starting with simple “around the beat”repetition and growing up, everything clearly explained and shown in action! So, get focused and happy practicing!!

Continue reading to see Heinrich’s videos.

Don’t forget to comment the videos and all the credit is for Heinrich Klingmann (http://heinrichklingmann.com/) Thanks Heinrich! – Percussion Conga Staff

Resources to learn more on Conga soloing:

Mel Bay Rumba: Afro-Cuban Conga Drum Improviation Book/2 CD Set

Price: $22.76

(3 customer reviews)

33 used & new available from $16.99

Legendary Op. 44: The First Book of Conga Solos Ever Published

Price: $24.99

( customer reviews)

12 used & new available from $20.69

Technorati Tags: advanced, conga, drum, intermediate, learn, lesson, percussion, solo, soloing, video

Where to get conga lesson in Cuba?
Where to learn conga drum in Cuba?

One of our readers contacted the Percussion Conga Staff with a good question:

I’m looking for information regarding taking drumming lessons in Cuba.
Could you please recommend a facility or person in Cuba that would offer a week or two experience?

Here are our advices… just continue reading!

First of all, go there prepared: Cuba is the country where everyone is playing and dancing and plenty of people will offer to give you lessons, but few would probably be good teachers.
So it’s important to do some researches first if you want to get the most out of your conga vacation there

One option is to go with an organized trip.

At first they may look really expensive, but the connections that the organizers have, as well as their years of experience, are priceless.
It can be very difficult to make the difference from being a visiting outsider, to being something of an insider, actually getting to be trusted and accepted.
The teachers provided by these tours are known for being excellent, experienced and knowledgeable.
The benefit of the group leader experience and the connections you make are worth the added expense alone, but aside from that you’re getting relatively nice accommodations, plus there are great group events.

Some recommended tours:

Ritmacuba is a French organization which organizes a great music/dance and percussion program in Santiago de Cuba. Our reader Joyce took classes as part of their program in both 2008 and 2009 and will repeat in 2011 too!
They have an excellent program with great teachers. They organize events and “get you in” to places and with people that the independent person would be highly unlikely to be able to do. Also, this year they have been invited by the City of Santiago de Cuba to participate in Carnaval.
More info at:
http://ritmacuba.thelivemusicreport.com/

Chuck Silverman’s 2 weeks program in Cuba:
http://www.chucksilverman.com/ena.html

PlazaCuba programs:
http://www.plazacuba.com/who.html

Boogalu productions:
http://www.boogalu.com/generic_cubaclasses.html

There are other ways of studying in Cuba, especially if you want to stay in Cuba for a longer time and you prefer to “do it yourself” maybe staying in guest houses.

A great one is to get in touch with the Conjunto Folklorico Nacional.
They give workshops in Havana and it’s also a great place to find great players for private lessons.

Workshops are at the International Folklore Laboratories in Havana, 15 days of rhythm begining on the third monday in January and the first monday in July.

Contact details are:
Dirección
Calle 4 #103 e/ 5ta y Calzada, Vedado C.P 10400
Localidad:
Plaza de la Revolución, Ciudad de La Habana
Teléfono
(537) 8313467 / 8334560 / 8303
FAX (537) 34395
Correo electrónico folkcuba@cubarte.cult.cu
http://www.folkcuba.cult.cu

Juan García Fernández – Director Conjunto Folklórico Nacional de Cuba

Did you had conga classes in Cuba already? Let us know your experience!

PercussionConga Staff

Updated on 22nd Jan 2011

Technorati Tags: advanced, beginner, conga, cuba, drum, intermediate, learn, lesson, percussion, tumbadora, workshop

These congas are quite unique as they don’t have a shell, so they are easy to transport and… compact, as the name says! LP Compact Congas are available in 11” Quinto (LP825) and 11 3/4” Conga (LP826), with replaceable plastic skin fully tunable with 9 (quinto) or 12 (conga) bolts that hold the skin on a very solid, metal rim.

A nice stand for compact congas and bongos is available from LP, but I personally found more reasonable to save some money for conga lessons and get myself standard, 40 bucks snare stands like this very solid one:

Pearl S900 Uni-Lock Tilter Snare Stand

Price: $59.99

(10 customer reviews)

7 used & new available from $55.64

I think they are the best congas for beginners for 3 reasons…

Keep on reading this article!

I think they are the best congas for beginners for 3 reasons:

1. when you start playing you have lots of exercises to do, plus you’re excited and you want to play all the time…. so these congas are just perfect as they can follow you everywhere, especially in vacation, that is the moment when you have most of the free time available!!

2. they are less loud than “standard” congas, so if you’re living in an apartment like me you neighborhood will be a BIT less mad at you

3. when you’ll grow up, you will probably want to buy standard congas, but having compact congas can still be an advantages when you’re going to a gig but don’t have much space in the car, or if you want to go by bike (like we do in Amsterdam) or if you need to travel…. so the investment is still good, compared to a set of cheap congas that you’ll never play anymore

Of course, the sound is NOT the same. The tone more affected is the base, because the lack of shell makes the sound just not full, while the open tone is less loud and warm.

People says that the Pearl Travel Congas have a better sound, but I never had chance to play them myself.

If you have experience with them please comment on this article!

But the LP Compact Conga online now:

LP LP826

Price: $183.52

( customer reviews)

4 used & new available from $183.52

Pearl PTC1175 Travel Conga, 11-3/4-inch

Price: $199.20

(1 customer reviews)

3 used & new available from $169.00

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