New (to me) Congas

[CharlyG]

OK, On a semi-whim, I snagged a conga and a quinto off cl last night. They are natural ,and the brand is Cosmic Percussion. They look identical to the LP Aspire line, made of Siam Oak(looks like to me) in Thailand in 1998. Interesting tidbit, the quinto was mfg on 8-4-98 and the conga 9-4-98 Some bruises but not too bad, and a double braced HEAVY stand. The new CP Congas are 9 and 10 inch so I 'm thinking they made these before they put out the Aspire line.

They sound great ,and it looks like original heads. I have no idea how long a conga head lasts so that would be helpful if someone knows.

Now I need to visit youtube to learn the strokes and patterns.

No wrench came with so I'll hafta pick one up. pix later today...

[midgard]

Congratz on the new drums! Will be interested to see the pictures. Once you start slapping skins, you are gonna be hooked!

There are many beginning videos out there, several of them listed in past threads.

Here is a decent place to start though:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKbv_moMyuo"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKbv_moMyuo[/ame]

[Gretschhead]

OK, On a semi-whim, I snagged a conga and a quinto off cl last night. They are natural ,and the brand is Cosmic Percussion. They look identical to the LP Aspire line, made of Siam Oak(looks like to me) in Thailand in 1998. Interesting tidbit, the quinto was mfg on 8-4-98 and the conga 9-4-98 Some bruises but not too bad, and a double braced HEAVY stand. The new CP Congas are 9 and 10 inch so I 'm thinking they made these before they put out the Aspire line.

They sound great ,and it looks like original heads. I have no idea how long a conga head lasts so that would be helpful if someone knows.

Now I need to visit youtube to learn the strokes and patterns.

No wrench came with so I'll hafta pick one up. pix later today...

Congrats Charly on your new congas! CP was indeed the line that the Aspires replaced. The CPs are a better sounding drum than the aspire in my opinion, though the finishes aren't as nice. Heads can last anywhere from 1 year to 30+ years, so its hard to tell if they need a change without seeing them. If you're still using the single washer on the tuning lugs then you should be fine, I've had drums with stacks of 15 washers and the heads still sounded great. Lets see some pics!

[CharlyG]

And the PIX

[pastor_bob]

Congratulations Charly! Those are great looking congas!

[CharlyG]

It turns out, other than 4 minor scrapes(into the wood but where you can't see) where the stand holds Them apart, I got off all the marks with some 00000 or so(I forget how many zeroes) steel wool, and that same steel wool cleaned up the stand! I paid 200 bucks, and with the heavy duty stand, I think i did fairly well.

And THANKS!

[BongoCajon]

It turns out, other than 4 minor scrapes(into the wood but where you can't see) where the stand holds Them apart, I got off all the marks with some 00000 or so(I forget how many zeroes) steel wool, and that same steel wool cleaned up the stand! I paid 200 bucks, and with the heavy duty stand, I think i did fairly well.

And THANKS!

You did great CharlyG! Get ready to get addicted to Congas! Keep a clean dust rag handy for the kit to brush it off every once in awhile....

[gonefishin]

Sweet looking set , I love the natural finish , and youre going to get a good warm sound of them .

[kona]

And the PIX

Nice looking drums CharlyG. They should be sounding pretty good with that stand too.

The heads on my congas lasted 30 years before I changed them. They probably should have been changed at 29 years though.

Good fun! Ya - isn't youTube great.

[bongobro]

Charly, change the natural finish to red stain and you have my wood CPs!

I bought my black fiberglass CPs in 1987 and still have the original heads on the tumba (although, Kona, ya make a good point about replacin' them! ). The red ones came on board in 2002; that, and my Remo Poncho Sanchez tumba which I bought in 2005, make up my congas...

CP was the mid-range of the three LP line offered back then; Matador was the cheapest. CP was also the name of the set drum line that LP was selling back in the late '80s--which didn't sell too well--so the Matadors and CPs were merged into what is now the Aspire lineup in the early 1990s.

Take care of them. bro' and you won't be disappointed!

[Tazmania]

Very nice ad you got a super deal!

[CharlyG]

Well, that is cool!!!!!!!

Someday I hope to get a tumba (may fave tone). There are a couple around, one is Toca, and the other is a brand I haven't heard of but it is Siam Oak. Do people mix brands as long as the wood is the same, or no?

[Gretschhead]

Well, that is cool!!!!!!!

Someday I hope to get a tumba (may fave tone). There are a couple around, one is Toca, and the other is a brand I haven't heard of but it is Siam Oak. Do people mix brands as long as the wood is the same, or no?

Lots of people mix brands, just use what sounds good. Like bongobro said he uses CPs and a Remo Pancho Sanchez, completely different drums and materials. I'm currently using 2 oak drums with a mahogany tumba. I believe L4C is also using a mixed setup, so it really doesn't matter, its all about tuning them differently. I even know guys who play a 4 drum setup using 2 congas and 2 tumbas just tuned differently.

[CharlyG]

What if anything, is the diff between that double braced stand I got with em as compared to those individual stands that they just set in? Any advantages or disadvantages to either one?

[bongobro]

Charly, hate to answer your question with a question, but--

how are you gonna play them? The double-braced stand is great for congueros who stand when they play. This enables you to jump from the congas to the timbales or other percussion instrument if you're doin' multiple instruments in your band. One drawback to the stand-up stands is that if you have only one conga in the stand, the stand could tip over and damage the drum if it isn't balanced properly.

Traditionally in Latin bands, the conguero plays seated. In Cuban folk bands, each drum is assigned to a drummer, but even guys like me who play multiple congas and bongos both find the seated position comfortable and easier to move hands from one drum to the other. This is where the individual stands come in handy. Some our of our conga brothers have four congas or more (kona, for example), and the individual stands can make it easy to set up a pattern they're comfortable with.

Try playin' them both ways and see which way is more comfortable for you.

By the way, my red CPs and my Pancho Sanchez tumba sound awesome as a team; tuning or detuning them as needed makes the difference. In that legendary "7 congas tuned in E minor" on YouTube, there are three or four different types of conga materials used...and bro', that sounds sweet!