Re: Seated or Standing?
I have played congas both ways (seated and standing), so here's the bongobro's take:
Traditionally, Cuban congueros have played seated (so scruffy and Gretschhead, you're playing them the Cuban way, as I do--see the picture of my setup in the album section and you'll get the idea!). I prefer playing seated because, as I have learned from experience at Walmart, extended standing makes my legs and ankles hurt! Besides, it feels cool to play them the way the Cubans do (even if mine don't sound the way theirs do!)
Regarding my setup, the CPs are on little rubber feet (available from LP) that raise the quinto and conga about 1 1/2" off the floor, which provides that "percussive thump" scruffy describes when each player plays only one conga. My Pancho Sanchez tumba, however, is flat on the floor; with the acoustics of the church auditorium being what they are, I have had little if any problem with makin' the tumba thunder when needed. Also, with the CPs on feet and the Remo flat, the heads are all the same height, since the Remo is about 1 1/2" taller than the CPs.
However, as PB rightly points out, playing while standing lets you move to the beat (and that Remo strap you see in my current av--and I review elsewhere) lets you walk around and even dance while rockin' the conga (sorta like Desi Arnaz doin' "Babalu"). And if you're playin' only one conga, it's very comfortable and gives you the thumps you need.
Most of my playing starts on the conga (the center drum in that ^-shaped set-up) and shifts off to the quinto, with the tumba providing some tasty accents as needed. And scruffy, my bongos are above and just to the right of the conga, which makes for some fast and easy shifting from one to the other...
Gretschhead, if I ever play a fourth conga (requinto or supertumba), I'll try your diamond pattern! (Actually I have, but they were two sets of quintos and congas, so there wasn't much of a difference to me!)
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
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