Recording Congas

[deeper]

Originally Posted by justinmichael

I have heard that the John Hardy M1's and some 421's get the job done nicely..

Yeh, that should work fine. 421's and almost any preamp.

[hle144]

Couple of 421's, Api pres, good conga player, maybe a mic pointed towards the ground of the drums,....Good to go...

[soentkensound]

Salsa,(where conga;s are the basis)
In the liveroom with the band try API/57's
Overdubbing 414's both pointing at the centre.
Both good for a nice "slapsound while keeping de "marcha" powerfull

Pop,(lighter congasound)
try 184, or akg 451's nice

greets

[seanmccoy]

My wife is quite the conga player and has a beautiful sounding set of Valje drums. 421's have worked great with whatever pre I've run them through, but first choice out of my collection is 312a's or Pacifica. I've also use my KM140's with good results—a little more bite on the slap than the 421's, but not quite as fat. Keep in mind that this punchy, slappy sound is usually favored for Latin music, while a less in-your-face, darker log-drum sound is often preferred for African. While I always prefer hearing the skin grabbing the head, I would probably opt for an LDC with a bit slower preamp for the latter style.

[mdjice]

i used sm 57s with Avalons 737 and it sounds pretty damn good

[TonyBelmont]

421's work fine.... API's are good for this application, or BAE 312a's, etc.

[cowrange]

I like a spaced pair of sm58's angled in towards the congas.

[Lee Cardan]

Funnily enough I've had best results so far with the AKG C418

something about them is just perfect for hand percussion. very responsive and punch but at the same time extremely smooth. They love compressors too

these guys

[waxx]

i've recorded them with 421's on the downside and a old stereo AKG SDC (model i don't remember) on top with excellent result. Like anything percussive an api (or similar) pre is excellent, but other possibilities (nevesk, clean) can also work i think.

[lectric]

Beyerdynamic MC930 with a Great River MP-2Mh, 4 feets Over the congas and a Beyer M160 far and squashed with a Expressor 651 for add the room energy. Big and fat congas¡¡¡¡

[la grange]

pair of 414 Uls close miking(4") into randirks for modern and neve for the cuban bootleg touch!

Oli

[tonio]

Originally Posted by justinmichael

So, I have a couple questions..


2. I know this isn't the right forum to ask, but I am looking for a conga session player who has amazing skill and experience located in the Los Angeles area? or even a conga player who has high-end gear that can record and send files over the internet?
anyone have any referrals?

thanks!
Justin

What are you looking for? I might be able to help you .

Let me know.

BTW, 421, 414, Sm57, Sm81 EV408, Beyer M201, M160 many options, depends on the tune/style and the role of the congas.

T

[Drumrecording]

I recorded Luis Conte few weeks ago and Lenny Castro was in my studio. On both sessions I used on the Congas U 47 Fet an C 12 VR. PreAmps were V 276 from Siemens plus Monster Cable

[1radicalron]

Just finished a Session with Conga. I used a Heil PR-40 thru a John Hardy m1. = Sounded Lovely!

[TTatman]

Coincident pair of U87s between the drums, above the player's hands.

[boedoconstrictor]

Spaced pair above player's head, U67's or Elam251 into Neve, playing with trim pot. Warm sound.

[smoke]

Originally Posted by justinmichael

2. I know this isn't the right forum to ask, but I am looking for a conga session player who has amazing skill and experience located in the Los Angeles area? or even a conga player who has high-end gear that can record and send files over the internet?
anyone have any referrals?

thanks!
Justin

The best conga players in the world live in Washington DC.

[_Morph_]

It heavily depends on the style, on the song itself and the intended mix.

For example, if it's a heavy mix, you can record them in mono with an omni in between them (a good omni will give you awesome results); for a spacious conga mix, record with a spaced pair of SDCs; for an open yet firmly centered pair of congas capture the sound with an MS combination...

The possibilities are immense.
And different mics will cope with different congas in different ways, there's no easy answer concerning microphones and preamps.

[recordinghopkins]

Originally Posted by seanmccoy

My wife is quite the conga player and has a beautiful sounding set of Valje drums. 421's have worked great with whatever pre I've run them through, but first choice out of my collection is 312a's or Pacifica. I've also use my KM140's with good results—a little more bite on the slap than the 421's, but not quite as fat. Keep in mind that this punchy, slappy sound is usually favored for Latin music, while a less in-your-face, darker log-drum sound is often preferred for African. While I always prefer hearing the skin grabbing the head, I would probably opt for an LDC with a bit slower preamp for the latter style.

I got a great result this way with 421s on my valjes... the 57 on the compact conga is placed (after experimentation) for thumb rolls, fyi. By the way, a great way to get a cool "artificial" thumb roll is to put a rubber superball at the end of a fairly stiff piece of wire, and drag it across the head with varying force. Neat trick, and it sure beats midi.

The piano blanket was to combat stand rattle.

[pan60]

nice!!!!!!

[recordinghopkins]

Originally Posted by pan60

nice!!!!!!

Thanks, posting on this thread actually made me remember that I was thinking about selling them, they stay bagged up most of the time. I just posted them in the classifieds section of GS if you want to see more pictures.

http://www.gearslutz.com/board/gears...ls-pre-lp.html

[pan60]

i have some Djembes and bongos, lots of noise makers.
some day i will add a set off congas.

[tapehiss]

i like my congas really snappy, because low-end on a conga often turns to mud when mixed with other instruments IMO.
so when its congas in a full band mix, i use three 451 eb's, one on each top, and one underneath the middle of both.

if its acoustic music and the congas can be mixed in with more low end to fill in the spectrum, i may ad an audix d4, or d6 for extra punch.

[parachutestudio]

Originally Posted by TTatman

Coincident pair of U87s between the drums, above the player's hands.

Thumbs up for this. Live, you could never do it. But in the studio. one stereo pair, even for three congas is preferred by me.

[salomonander]

beyer m101

[Etch-A-Sketch]

Originally Posted by justinmichael

So, I have a couple questions..

1. What are the best pre's and mic's for recording some congas?
I have heard that the John Hardy M1's and some 421's get the job done nicely.. any suggestions?

2. I know this isn't the right forum to ask, but I am looking for a conga session player who has amazing skill and experience located in the Los Angeles area? or even a conga player who has high-end gear that can record and send files over the internet?
anyone have any referrals?

thanks!
Justin

For me, I've had the best results using two C414 TLII's, each one facing straight down, one aimed at the outer edge of the left conga, the other aimed at the outer edge of the right conga. Both about 16" ~ 24" above the drums. If it's a 3 conga setup, put the mics on either side of the center conga. Also, make sure the congas are on a hard floor (wood perferred) and not carpet.

As for a conga player. I'm really good friends with Walfredo Reyes Jr. Walfredo Reyes Jr: Drummer, Percussionist, Composer, Producer: Official Website He lives in the LA area. If you are interested in hiring him, I can put him in touch with you or you can email him through his website. He is a really nice guy, very personable and approachable.

[4blades]

Originally Posted by TTatman

Coincident pair of U87s between the drums, above the player's hands.

That's my choice too, but with a 414 pair.

[Saxon-of-a-son]

I was thinking of posting a thread like this. I have some hippies coming in to record. It's a three-man ensemble, with a guitarist, a floutist, and one spectacular hand-drummer.

The drummer's got a a three-conga set with bongos, too. I can't experiment untill he comes in with the drums, but don't want to waste too much of the group's time.

It will be a live jam, and I was thinking about a pair of overheads on his 5 drums (maybe 103's), but don't want to pick up too much guitar or flute. So I wonder about mic'ing his drums individually.

Here's what I have to work with on this project: SM7b x2, e906 x2, e609 x2, SM57 x4, SM 81 x2, TLM 103 x2, U87 x2, UMT 70s x1, Audix D6 x1.

The flutist is probably getting an MD441U, and the guitarist a pair of C42's.

Any advice?

[loh90]

i recently tried just 1 coles 4038 positioned as an overhead about 1 foot and a half to 2 feet off the heads. granted I was in a nice room, but came out with really natural sounding congas.