Hand drums for recording

[biggator6]

Wanted to get some ideas.. if I were to pick up some hand drums for the studio - mainly congas/bongos - what would you recommend?

Brands, models, sizes, quantity? Wood or fiberglass? etc, etc.

[drumzealot]

LP Classic congas are always good. Kinda of pricey new. Recommend wood over fiberglass but either will work. Conga sets usually come with three basic sizes;
quinto (smallest)
conga (middle)
tumba (biggest)

If you can only get one, get the quinto. They provide a clearer bass tone. Then the conga. Then the tumba (mine gets little use).

Bongos: mid level LPs should be fine. CP bongos are good too.

Get 2-3 different cow bells
1-2 agogo bells
1-3 shakers
2 tambourines

[RubixGroove]

I can vouch for the LP stuff, the bongos especially.
Usually something I just take to parties around here if
my band/other bands aren't playing! Always a great sound,
just avoid humidity... obviously!

Keep 'em tuned up and you barely need to touch 'em to cut
through even the most stoic of mixes!

[toolskid]

Originally Posted by RubixGroove

Keep 'em tuned up and you barely need to touch 'em to cut
through even the most stoic of mixes!

Thats a sure way to go through a lot of heads... Its definitely advisable to slacken off the heads of your congos/bongos after a session...

[RubixGroove]

Roooooight! But when you're playing, those bongos need the cut!
"Keep 'em tuned up..." doesn't mean keep constant tension on the heads,
just means keep 'em sounding good!

[videoteque]

Congas aren't easy to play, so most players will have their own. I would buy some cheaper toys/things: shakers, djembe, cajon, rainstick...

[ElMosca]

Originally Posted by biggator6

Wanted to get some ideas.. if I were to pick up some hand drums for the studio - mainly congas/bongos - what would you recommend?

Brands, models, sizes, quantity? Wood or fiberglass? etc, etc.

You can usually save $$$ by buying used hand drums. A lot of congas end up gathering dust in garages.

Fiberglass is acceptable for casual use, if you can find and install good natural hide heads on them. My preference for a size to begin with is actually the middle drum, aka the "conga." IMO, the conga has more usable bass tones than most quintos (the smaler size). Otherwise, I agree with drumzealot about the tumba (the largest drum) being the least used one.

Brand preference is subjective after a certain price point. LP, Toca, Meinl are all good brands if you look beyond the entry level.

In addition to a pair of bongos and one or two good congas, see if you can also start a crate of small goodies: shakers (small, medium and large, both metallic and non-metallic), scrapers, vibra-slap, cowbells (various sizes), woodblocks, tongue drums, jam blocks and brazilian frame drums and agogo bells. RMV is a good brand (with US distribution) for the frame drums. LP makes good agogo bells, but if you can find a Gope, or similar Brazilian brand in ATL, you'll be better off.

Have fun,
++aldo

[joeq]

Originally Posted by videoteque

Congas aren't easy to play, so most players will have their own. I would buy some cheaper toys/things: shakers, djembe, cajon, rainstick...

I agree

better off with djembes and dumbeks for the casual bangers

nothing worse IMO than monotonous, "drum circle" type playing on a big old conga.

any one who can actually play the conga almost certainly has one, and it is almost certainly better than the one you will get, so if you are looking for percussion stuff to make available for your studio clients, stick to more forgiving instruments.

almost anyone can get two distinct tones out of a dumbek, for example, without knowledge of particular strokes or technique. That's what it is for: "dum" and "bek"

[biggator6]

well - it'll mostly be for me to play (I stopped taking in clients a long time ago!).. and I'm willing to learn how to actually PLAY the things - I just don't want to waste money on entry level stuff if it won't record well (assuming I can get a good sound out of it).

[XXXEsq]

I've played percussion for many years (as well as electronic music). I highly recommend LP drums. Some of the Toca and Meinl stuff isn't bad, but I prefer the LPs. Avoid the entry level stuff. The Performer series aren't bad to learn on (I did) but they don't record very well. Matadors and Classics are fine with the right heads. I recommend you match your bongos to the series of drums you buy to get a more balanced tone. I went with the full set of Giovanni's (T, C, Q, RQ + B and Dj) which are the best drums I've ever owned, bar none. And with natural heads tuned well, they record beautifully!

[RubixGroove]

The above is very true!


/signed