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Thread: Lp Giovanni Galaxcy conga

  1. #1

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    Default Lp Giovanni Galaxcy conga

    Who out there owns this brand of conga. How do you like them;the slap;the tone ;the pop. Do you feel that you got a good deal in buying the GIOs?How do you think they compare to other mass produced conga drums?

  2. #2

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    I do, I think they sound pretty sweet for being Asian congas, my quinto has a cow skin from Robert Felcher thats sound smoken hot! Gun shot slaps and warm open tones. My conga sound fine with the the stock head, sounds sweet when its the prymary drum in a conga/tumba set up. I bought mine used and paid what they always seem to go for used $500 to $600 for a pair and I never regretted it although I would not recommend them to anyone witha realy bad back.

  3. #3

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    My quinto sounds the best but lacks the pop of my old toca. My conga sounds just ok as its not tuned high enough,not real good slap however. The tumba sounds great as does the little requinto. I have only been playing since december and after seeing the Aspires at local shops I decided to go the extra and step up to the gios and I 'm very glad I did.

  4. #4

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    I have LP Salsa congas that I'm sure don't sound as good as the Galaxies! But I do enjoy them when I can- right now I find it difficult to get to practice as the kids are in bed by 7:30 and I don't want to wake them by beating on my congas. am still learning how to produce the 'slap' correctly, find it difficult and not sure if it is my technique (probably) or the drums. Not able to get a good pop yet, and the heel-fingers technique gets a pretty bassy sound with the tumbao rhythm. Does that happen with the galaxcies? Am playing around with the idea of getting a requinto, but my drums are 28" so it would be odd (see previous thread on requintos)...

  5. #5

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    I think its just a matter of adjusting your stands ,if you use them. I know a few folks said the requinto was not necessary but I must say I really enjoy the sounds it produces. I play quinto the most,next ,tumba,conga and requinto. I enjoy making melodies from different tones available and also use the cd "Conga Joy 2 on a daily basis.My slaps are weak and incorrect but then I have not had any lessons.What kind of music do you play. I prefer the Afro cuban types as well as melodies.

  6. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by sean valdepenas View Post
    I have LP Salsa congas that I'm sure don't sound as good as the Galaxies! But I do enjoy them when I can- right now I find it difficult to get to practice as the kids are in bed by 7:30 and I don't want to wake them by beating on my congas. am still learning how to produce the 'slap' correctly, find it difficult and not sure if it is my technique (probably) or the drums. Not able to get a good pop yet, and the heel-fingers technique gets a pretty bassy sound with the tumbao rhythm. Does that happen with the galaxcies? Am playing around with the idea of getting a requinto, but my drums are 28" so it would be odd (see previous thread on requintos)...
    Sean, I often times throw a towel over my congas to practice late at night. The sound is almost completely dampened, but you can still get a good practice in with your stroke and hand technique without waking the kiddos. The towel also offers a bit of resistance, so after practicing on it for a while, you will be supprised at the progression of your stroke and speed when playing without the towel. It's like a baseball player warming up with the weighted donut on his bat. Your muscles get a better work out when there is resistance. When the natural rebound from the raw hide is reintroduced your hands will fly.

    As far as the Galaxys go, they are great mass produced congas. They have a quality build and sound. Nice shape, strong hardware, though I wish they would get away from the water buffalo skins, the old bleached "Hand Picked" skins were awesome. I do find them to be a bit over priced though, many of the high end boutique congas like Matt Smith, SoS, etc can be purchased for not a whole lot more. Then again, you don't have to wait 8 months + for them to show up at your door. I also couldn't imagine myself taking a set of Matts or SoS congas out to a gig, those are leave at home congas in my opinion, the Galaxies on the other hand make for a top notch giging rig. Picking them up used is a better approach, as L4C commented, you can usually find a pair for the price of 1 new drum.

  7. #7

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    Lp Galaxy's are some great congas, the fiberglass galaxy's are pretty sweet too but you don't see them as often, maybe because they cost a little more but I noticed when someone buys a set of Mathew Smith's, Skin on skins or Volcano's which are all awesome drums it seems like mass produced congas are not worthy of their hands anymore...funny. Mass produced are built pretty good in my opinion, it's not likely a drum will split do to weather like some of the drums of yesterday.
    L4C

  8. #8

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    I got a set of 4 Fiberglass Galaxys a few years ago just to do studio work - they have never been outside. I use the conga & tumba now and then but the quinto & requinto have very little time on time on them and are just gathering dust. They sound great. The tops are lined with kevlar - 2 times stronger than steel. I haven't needed a bulletproof conga yet but you never know.

  9. #9

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    PsyAbi, I envy you, the fiberglass Galaxy's are some of the best drums I ever played. A Latin jazz band stored their gear and fiberglass Galaxy's where I used to work. I used to sneak in their storage room and go to town on them! They keep em tuned pretty tight so the slaps were like fire crackers. I think they sounded better than my wood Gio's. As for the Kevlar at least you have somewhere to duck and cover!

  10. #10

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    I used to have a set of the fiberglass Galaxies, and I thought they sounded great, not to mention the sweet glitter finish and gold hardware. They were the first "real" set of congas that I owned. They were really loud though and too much projection for the 3rd story apartment I was living in at the time, so I swapped them for some mellower LP Classics. Those drums are solid as a rock, if I was playing gigs on congas regularly, I would certainly look into the fiber galaxies for their durability on the road.

  11. #11

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    Quote Originally Posted by PsyAbi View Post
    I got a set of 4 Fiberglass Galaxys a few years ago just to do studio work - they have never been outside. I use the conga & tumba now and then but the quinto & requinto have very little time on time on them and are just gathering dust. They sound great. The tops are lined with kevlar - 2 times stronger than steel. I haven't needed a bulletproof conga yet but you never know.
    In one of the Latin Percussion catalogs circa 1987, Martin Cohen is quoted in an interview about the sturdiness of LP drums; the story was told of a bus explosion in one of the more politically violent Latin America countries (I think it was Colombia). Supposedly the blast destroyed the bus, but seen in a picture of the wreckage was a set of three LP congas, looking relatively unscathed...

    of course, man, when you're hammerin' out the beat on the congas, you need some serious strength under your hands!
    keep the beat goin' ... Don't keep it to yourself!

    Charlie

    "If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away." --Henry David Thoreau, "Walden," 1854

    "There's a lot to be said for Time Honored tradition and value." --In memory of Frank "fiacovaz" Iacovazzi

    "Maybe your drums can be beat, but you can't."--Jack Keck

  12. #12

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    BB - Thank you for that story. I'm not going to pass up any chance to retell it.

  13. #13

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    Hey FF,

    now that you've had your whole conga set for a while, how is it going? Do you take lesson, learn from video/books?

    Do you use the requinto much?

    Am in the same boat, purchased mine this year, around Februay and March. Just wonderin'!

  14. #14

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    Oh ,I'm very happy with my Gios. I use the requinto some . As I have stated my practice time is spent playing along with the CD ,"CONGA JOY 2" I have not had the chance to play with other players yet.I'm looking for class to expand my abilities. For anyone interested in Gios,you can save a lot of money by carefully searching for the best price. I saved two hundred per drum.

  15. #15

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    I picked up an older set of three in almost perfect nick around six months ago. I swapped the mounts for some Aspire slide mounts (waaaaay better than the fiddly wingbolts). By mounting a second slide mount on the quinto I can have all three drums on a pair of double stands. This is far more stable than a dual stand. (BTW, when I swapped the hardware, I noticed a darkening of the finish due to UV. It wasn't a huge difference but it is noticeable if you look really close.

    I got my set for $800 (ordinarily used ones would go for around $1200 or so) but there was one small issue: a non-penetrating crack on the quinto.

    I started out with Aspires and they were okay to start on but they are slightly smaller (10/11/12) and the tone was fairly dead (okay for melodic playing but not for lead tones). Then I moved up to Matadors (standard sized and better tone). Then I went with the ash Galaxies. These are quite noticeably better than the Matadors. Among many other things, I assume that the ash made a difference. (Note that "siam oak" is just a BS term for the wood from a rubber tree. It just has a slight visual resemblance to oak It is not a variety of oak tree.)

    The tuning does make a difference. If I am not going to be using them for a period of days I'll loosen the nuts. I found that if all I need to do is to practice my chops and need to play quietly, this works for both - sounds like crap though. I agree with the towel thing. It does the job when you need to practice quietly in pitch.

    The one thing I hate about the ash Galaxies is the looks. The grain is too visually harsh for my taste but nobody else cares and it's the sound that matters.

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