What is the difference between wooden and fiber glass conga shells?
Fiber glass Conga shells produce a rich, powerful tone with a precise attack. They are usually lighter than wooden shells and less sensitive to temperature changes. Special heads such as REMO NUSKYN or Fiberskyn3 Heads are ideal when playing “open air”. Traditionally, wooden congas have a warmer, more mellow sound with less overtones.
When I buy my congas, how many, and which sizes do I
buy?
Unfortunately, there is no single correct answer to this
question. The typical professional player will use the three most common conga
drums, a quinto (11" head size), a conga (11.75" head size) and a tumba (12.5"
head size). If you are interested in playing professionally, and consider
yourself a serious musician, you should consider purchasing all three sizes
allowing you a variety of playing options . For the student or the amateur
player, you should consider purchasing at least two drums. My recommendation
would be to purchase the conga and the tumba, as they are the most common
pairing of two drums. If you are a novice, or a drum circle enthusiast, you
should probably look at a single drum. The conga would be an excellent choice.
It gives you the best of both worlds; you can produce the low-end tones that
come from the tumba, or the high- end slaps that traditionally come from the
quinto.
Is greasing the tension hooks on my congas (and
bongos and djembes) important?
Yes, it is. In order to ensure the easy tuning and long-life
of your hand drums, the application of some sort of lubricant to all tension
hooks is essential. Congas, bongos, and djembes normally come equipped with
natural skin heads. Skin heads are much less pliable than plastic heads (as on a
drum set). This means that it takes a great deal more tension to tune the drum.
Lubricating the tension hooks allows for smoother tuning and helps to prolong
the life of the tension hook itself.
How should I tune my congas? Are there specific
notes that they should be tuned to?
Conga tuning is a great deal like drum-set tuning. There is
not a specific tone that any one drum should be tuned to, but there are some
guidelines. The main thing to remember is that the drum must be in tune with
itself. No matter what pitch you tune to, every tension lug point on the drum
head should be tuned to that same pitch. The pitch of the drum is up to you. You
may want to tune high, you may want to tune low. Remember that every drum has a
specific pitch that produces that best tone and most resonance. You may want to
take some time to experiment and find that pitch. As for tuning multiple drums,
again this is a personal choice. The most common tuning would be to tune your
conga drum first (to whatever pitch you desire), and then tune the tumba a
fourth below it and/or the quinto a fourth above it. A fourth is simply a term
for a specific interval between pitches. An easy way to remember a fourth is the
song "Here Comes the Bride." The two notes in the singing of that song
constitute a fourth. If the conga is tuned to "Here_," then the quinto should be
tuned to "comes the bride" (a fourth above). For tuning the tumba, the pitch of
the conga would now become "comes the bride," and the tumba would be tuned to
the pitch of "Here" (a fourth below). Again, tuning is very subjective and this
is only one method. Also, be sure that you detune your congas after each
playing. Natural heads are affected by temperature and weather, and can stretch
out and lose tunability. Loosening the tension between playings will prolong the
life of the head.
