I have owned my GonBop California series oak conga and tumba since I bought them in 1980 along with the bongos. I refinished them 2 years ago.
Recent pic at a Reggae concert. wish I had a matching Quinto.
[IMG]http://www.drumchat.com/picture.php?albumid=597&pictureid=5102[/IMG]
That's a beautiful,collection, Vibes!!!
No bongos sound like gon bop. I had a beautiful set of these stolen at a festival a few years back:mad: I still have withdrawls for them. I was lucky to visit the Pomona Gon Bop factory in ~94, just before it closed, when I needed a replacement skin. What a great company with finely crafted instruments. Never have seen or heard their timbales, though.
Since joining this community, I've seen vintage Latin hand drums made by the big drum companies. Does anyone know how they compare to the more traditional latin instruments besides being wrapped in flashy patterns?
Brian
Old School you will find that congas are a lot of fun to learn and play. Getting started on the right technique path is vital and after that you will make any drum sound good. Give yourself a year to develop the basic techniques and there are lots of good dvds out there. A good teacher will reduce your learning curve too. I've owned lots of different conga drums and I've found that heads are the most important aspect. Newer drums come with cheaper heads so one approach is to get decent older drums and change to better (pricier) calf heads. I've heard a nearly-trashed set LP Matadors sound amazing with decent calf heads. I restored a set of old Gon Bops that sound sweet and had original heads for not a whole lot of money. Our forum brother Kona would be a good source of info and he owns the most to-die-for set of Valjes on the planet.
Chappy
Thanks for all the feedback to date. I really appreciate it!Bowing
Just when I thought I might be ready to pull the trigger I had a little talk with a gentleman who recommended that I invest in a single drum of higher quality in lieu of an inferior conga set (conga & tumba?).
According to him, most players only use the primary piece anyway. Being a total novice in this area I've got no clue. I recently saw an LP Aspire set in a sunburst finish at what I thought was a very reasonable price. I thought it might serve my current needs but maybe it wouldn't be wise to spend the money on something like that. Any thoughts?
Just wondering, do you think a pair of these are hard to come by? From what I gather, they are ASBA. I would imagine that there would be lots of demand, due to the Sgt. Pepper linkage. Are these congas stave construction with the alternating dark/light stripes? I know next to nothing about congas... And what about those "congas" that Ludwig made, weren't they outlfitted with regular triple-flange rims, to be played with sticks or mallets? I think some of those are rare/valuable, too-- especially in the less common wraps, true? Great thread topic, enlighten me!
As a conga player/percussionist,there is nothing more annoying than a drummer playing congas. . . . like a drummer would. First off if you do not take the time to learn proper technique you are robbing yourself the opportunity for the best possible sounds. Secondly you are raising the potential for injury. Thirdly its disrespectful to the art and history of the instrument. FYI
A nice set of LP's or Toca drums Quinto and Conga [Small/Medium] size. The largest one is the Tumba. . . Not needed but great for a 3rd pitch.
Burger Sulsbruk had a great video for beginners to advanced. Richie Gajate as well as the afore mentioned above. Get good drums [used] so when your technique improves your can really appreciate the difference. Otherwise you will be selling them down the road for "real" ones. Lp aspires may be inexpensive but. . . they sound it.
Good luck have fun PRACTICE carefully,slowly and correctly. . .You are basically slamming your hands onto a wooden edge over and over. . . [COLOR="Blue"][SIZE="1"]BOOM[/SIZE][/COLOR]
Congas are a fantastic, cool, fun and really versitile instrument that take no technique at all to begin playing. In my previous performing life, conga was my main instrument. I started with cheap fiberglass congas, BT quickly got a wood set. Unless you spend a lot on a fiberglass LP set, the congas by LP, Toca, CP, Rhythem Tech...are lighter shorter than standard sizes and wood congs sound WAY better. This is only important if you want to learn traditional technique in which you sit on a throne behind your drums with your "conga" between your legs and your other drums positioned to the right (for a rt handed player). The light, fiberglass drums tend to move around a lot. It you're just gona mess around, or are simply interested in learning conga rhythms, the cheaper fiberglass drums will do great. I still have my set of Matador congas by LP consisting of a conga (the main drum of the set) and a larger tumba. Many professionals use 3 drums, adding a super tuba on the deep end, or quinto on the high end.If your interested in vintage, look for GonBop. It's owned by DW now, was the first American manufacturer of Cuban style congas beginning in the 50's. LP has been making congas for a very long time, and their curved drum ring design (like a slingerland stick saver hoop) is the most comfortable to play IMO. Ive seen GB and LP on eBay & CL ranging in the $200-700 range, but you can score individual drums, even pairs, at much lower periodically. I actuall have a single, in fair condition, GonBop California series, conga from the 70's I was thinking about selling. I'll post pics if you're interested.There are tons of instructional videos on YouTube. I just found this one by "El Rey"(the King) of the congas, Poncho Sanchez. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNQ3dLJKgro&feature=youtube_gdata_player It's a nice introduction to conga technique. seating position, vocabulary, etc... Truth be told, I learned by playing along to music I liked and learned technique and specific rhythms later on.Have fun!!!BrianWalking
This video on tuning gives you wrong info conga tune by shape of barrel they are what is call a un tuned instrument.
I have a question. How does the Pearl Folkloric Edition Conga, Tumba and quinto compare to other sets? Is the sound worth the investment? I am seriously considering purchasing a set and learning to play. I am a vocalist and I sing Jazz, Latin Jazz, Pop and Old standards (Ballads etc.) and incidentally, I hate rap. What advice can you give?
Black Dada Nihilizmus
