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Thread: Bongos or Djembe?

  1. #1

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    Default Bongos or Djembe?

    Hi guys, I'm back, I want to get back into drumming but I just can't have a kit since I live in a condo, I'm thinking either a bongo or djembe but know nothing about either. Give me your opinions about both if you would Just looking to jam a bit and get back into the groove

    PS Since I've been gone I became a grandma

  2. #2

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    A cajon or digital drum pad might be good choices too. My friend has bongos and lives in a condo. He plays in a band with those bongos.

  3. #3

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    Congratulations Grandma!!

    If you don't have anyone below you, you could certainly go with an e-kit. I have one for when I need to keep it quiet for the neighbors or when my family doesn't want to hear me and I have a serious drum-jones that needs to be attended to. Works out great.

    If you can't do that, I vote for djembe. Always seems to be more challenging than bongos to me. You can get so many sounds out of them if you know what you're doing. I don't so I make it sound like a giant single bongo.
    Last edited by G-man; 08-14-2014 at 08:42 PM. Reason: .
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  4. #4

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    Well my, my.... howdy stranger! Great to see you again!

    Susan, the two drums are very different. It really comes down to a matter of taste. I'm not an expert but you might be able to do a little bit more with a djembe in your average band than a set of bongos. I'm not positive about that. Not sure if you know but the cajons are now extremely popular. You might consider that as well. They even make them with snares in them.

  5. #5

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    I have an e-kit, it's in the attic, I need something I can just whip out and play when I want Plus, we just renovated, no drum kits allowed

  6. #6

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    Hey drummer, nice to see you! I hope you've been well

    I'm not really interested in playing in a band, I just want something to have fun with Where is Bongo Bro!!! LOL!

  7. #7

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    I highly recommend a cajon for your purpose, you'll be amazed at the sounds that you can get out of it.

    Welcome back!
    -Mike


    "We don't stop playing because we grow old.
    We grow old because we stop playing."

    "I wish that my playing reminded people of Steve Gadd. But they seem to confuse me with his little known cousin... E."

    "Snare drums happen."

  8. #8

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    I recommend a djembe between the choices you've given us you can get a variety of sounds out of them if you know what you're doing, I'm not sure about bongos because they have never really fit my play style. My hand percussion set consists of a cajon, a jungle kick, a djembe, shakers, a tamborine, and a crash cymbal, of all those instruments the cajon is the most versatile, but a djembe is a close second in my opinion.
    Wear hearing protection.

  9. #9

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    Another vote for the cajon.
    Jack

    May this be the best day you ever had and the worst you ever will. Trinity House Mudslinger.

  10. #10

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    No drum kits allowed? Who's rule is that?

  11. #11

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    cajon is probably the better choice. I would say between the two I play my djembe more then my bongos and I have more fun when I play it too. Over both If you had the $$$ I would pick 2-4 congas.
    Sabian!!!

  12. #12

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    I vote for a Cajon as well. It's a drum kit in a box...literally. But....why not get a Cajon, a Djembe AND some bongos. You're gonna end up getting them all sooner or later anyway.
    -Brian

    "Too many crappy used drum stuff to list"

    Play the SONG......not the DRUMS!!!

    "I think that feeling is a lot more important than technique. It's all very well doing a triple paradiddle - but who's going to know you've done it? If you play technically you sound like everybody else. It's being original that counts." ~ John Bonham

  13. #13

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    I've only played on one cajon (one made by Pearl that my nephew owns), and at this point, I really can't see what all of the fuss is about (I'm open to it being user error!). I'd like to try a couple of different ones to see if my opinion changes.

    Between bongos and a djembe, I'd go with the djembe. I used to play a set of congas and bongos on our worship team, and I can get just as many (and probably more) usable sounds out of a nice djembe than I ever could with a set of congas and bongos. I'd suggest one of those Remo djembes that's actually tunable with a drum key as opposed to the rope. Resale on these is pretty poor, so I'd look at getting a used one if possible.

  14. #14

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    I can get more mileage out of a djembe than I can with bongos. With a djembe, the low end bass sound can in a way be like a 'kick' whilst the cracking highs that you get with the skin close to the rim can be your 'snare', if you're inventive and controlled enough, but any decent drummer can adapt to that. Whereas with bongos, you're stuck with a lot of high end tones only. Mind you, the high end of bongos go really well with the various low and high tones of a conga set, but that's another thing altogether. Hand positioning and extracting tones out of both congas and bongos take a but of time, but with a djembe you only really need a few basic type of strokes and their combinations to get started....unless you're really going to dig into studying West African rhythms for years on end.....then that's another world of rhythm altogether.

    Hmm....have you ever seen and maybe considered one of these?

    "...it's the Paradigm Of The Cosmos!" Stewart Copeland on Youtube

    668: The Number Of The Guy Next Door To The Beast.

    "A random act of kindness; it keeps my heart in shape!" - Late8

  15. #15

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    Thank you everyone, I'll let you know what I get

  16. #16

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    Quote Originally Posted by drum_chick View Post
    Hey drummer, nice to see you! I hope you've been well

    I'm not really interested in playing in a band, I just want something to have fun with Where is Bongo Bro!!! LOL!
    He pops in here now and then. Not as much as the old days but still participates.

  17. #17

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    For newer members, Drum Chick was a regular for many years. She's cooler than an Eskimo on a Harley!

  18. #18

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    Quote Originally Posted by drummer View Post
    For newer members, Drum Chick was a regular for many years. She's cooler than an Eskimo on a Harley!
    LOL drummer, you always make me laugh I missed it here I think I'm going to get a cajon. I think, for me, it will be perfect!

  19. #19

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    Can't imagine trying to start a Harley in sub-zero temps...
    -Brian

    "Too many crappy used drum stuff to list"

    Play the SONG......not the DRUMS!!!

    "I think that feeling is a lot more important than technique. It's all very well doing a triple paradiddle - but who's going to know you've done it? If you play technically you sound like everybody else. It's being original that counts." ~ John Bonham

  20. #20

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    Quote Originally Posted by drum_chick View Post
    LOL drummer, you always make me laugh
    Thanks, that was an original.

    The cajon is a good choice. I think you'll have fun with it. Great to have you back Susan.

  21. #21

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    DC! It's good to see that the drummer in you is still there, and congrats on being a grandma.

    I think the cajon is a good choice, and I would defintely go with the djembe over the bongos. I just think the djembe is more versatile. I do prefer my djembe over the cajon, if only because I prefer the fell of the head of a djembe to the feel of the harder surface of the cajon.

    I know this is probably a little after the fact, as I'm late to the party, but I thought I'd put it out there anyway.

    Good to see you back DC!
    Quoting gonefishin: Just have some bacon with ya when you go pick her up..........youre an instant chick magnet.





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  22. #22

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    Quote Originally Posted by pastor_bob View Post
    DC! It's good to see that the drummer in you is still there, and congrats on being a grandma.

    I think the cajon is a good choice, and I would defintely go with the djembe over the bongos. I just think the djembe is more versatile. I do prefer my djembe over the cajon, if only because I prefer the fell of the head of a djembe to the feel of the harder surface of the cajon.

    I know this is probably a little after the fact, as I'm late to the party, but I thought I'd put it out there anyway.

    Good to see you back DC!
    Thanks PB, I may get both Good to see you!

  23. #23

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    I've been gigging on cajon for years. The first photo is with a classic rock band, I come out from behind my kit for a couple of songs to mix it up.



    The second photo is of an originals band that I'm in. When we released an EP a couple of years back, four of the six songs were done with cajon. (One song had conga and one song was shakers only.)



    And here is a link to one of our tunes that features cajon.

    https://soundcloud.com/green-ridge-r...erican-bailout


    For jamming at the house you can have a blast with a cajon. Enjoy it!
    -Mike


    "We don't stop playing because we grow old.
    We grow old because we stop playing."

    "I wish that my playing reminded people of Steve Gadd. But they seem to confuse me with his little known cousin... E."

    "Snare drums happen."

  24. #24

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    Quote Originally Posted by drummer5359 View Post



    Where did you find THAT drummer?!? She looks like a force to be reckoned with.

  25. #25

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    I like bongos more in a band setting, but if I had only one of those drums to jam with and I wasn't playing anywhere else but my home or with some friends, the cajon would be it. What's awesome about a cajon is the amount of options you have. There are so many add-ons you can attach onto the cajon (or place around it); blocks, tambourines, castanets, shakers, smaller cajons (LP Octo Snare, Meinl Knee Pad Jingle and Snare Tap), and then there are all the hand and foot mountable itels like finger shakers, ankle bells etc. They even have stands for cajons now where you can play them flat, though I've never been able to try one. A djembe does have more sustain but a cajon sounds much more like a traditional drum set especially if you get some add-on pieces listed above. And, if you don't want to get a stand and prefer sitting on the cajon as most people do, there are pedals to use it as a kick drum as well!

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