Quinto on the side or middle position?

[JohnnyConga]

\Just so u know u can download those videos to your 'favorites' if you have Real Player...And Yes I Saw Gio's solo, and man many before that one too, over the years...ooooweeee...he hurts ya ......but hey one of a kind, thats for sure....."JC" Johnny Conga...

[rumbaman]

WOW what a great site that congahead.com . I always can count on you guys to turn me on to something new . I did not know of this one thank you .

rumbaman :laugh:

[El Boni]

Hey, just saw this discussion, so I'll stick my oar in.

I play 4 congas in a diamond formation too, which seems to me the most ergonomically efficient, like Onile says.

I have a quinto between my legs, and then in descending pitch, a conga to the right, a tumba to the left (tuned to G), and a lower tumba (tuned to F) directly in front of the quinto. I haven't seen these super tumbas, but my tumbas seem to sit naturally in their respective notes, with good resonance, so I'm happy enough.

This set-up suits me for all styles of music - I just practice everything with this set-up, as I don't want to be moving my drums about mid-gig if a different rhythm comes up.

That is before I moved to Hong Kong. Transport is a real issue here, so these days I'm almost always on 2 (conga/tumba) or even 1 conga (in which case I bring the.... conga). Old skool!

B

[yoni]

Like ABAKUA, I like the lowest drum on my left, even though I'm also right handed. But I switch 'em around sometimes for fun. Playing 3 congas I now put them in a close triangle instead of in a row and this allows me more varied coss-overs. Or with 4 drums I'll use a close diamond-shaped pattern. Quinto in the middle for each pattern, but again, I may shift them around for a different spin on things, if the music isn't too arranged.

[windhorse]

I've been experimenting lately with four drums again. I was originally taught with the big guy on the right, the next down away and in front, the conga on left, and the quinto between legs. But this means that your doubles on Bembe are with your left hand. And with Guaguanco, using the lowest drum as the bomba note doesn't make sense.
So, I tried the set-up in the picture. It uses the quinto as "super" quinto or requinto, and the high conga between legs becomes dual purpose quinto and high conga. The big one center and away becomes an extra low note, just when you want accent - like bomba on Guaguanco, and hitting the one on Bembe with the left hand.

I may make a video soon of what I've been working on, but it isn't without controversy around my friends! They've been saying for me to cease and desist in this endeavor.
They're saying that I should only play multiple drums in the way they are usually set up for salsa. I can see their point, but I'm still in the experimental phase of my playing, and don't see myself as a competative self-marketing salsa gigger guy..
I'm just learning, applying, and using my brain..
:p

Attachment: http://mycongaplace.com/forum/eng/uploa ... w4drum.jpg

[Mike]

Yesterday I got the Angà Mania-DVD.
Wow, Angà is blowing me away, man!

5 congas and my superhero

I was blessed to see him live once (in Bonn with the Afro-Cuban All Stars a couple of years ago), also on the Toca drums like in the vid.

Watching him play is a mind-boggling experience indeed!

I´m not in the least capable to follow all of his dazzling tricks (technique apart), but I´m someone who is not afraid to emulate... So I grab my five congas every now and then, take a look at the DVD, have a look at the script and ... off we go... :;):

Sorry, I´m a bit off-topic. Positioning five congas follows a rather straightforward idea: Quinto in the middle and everything else more or less around it...

[zwar]

ho

for me the most important thing when playing 3set is to have a short way to deeper tones both to the left and to the right. so my highest tube is centered, tumba and conga to both sides, depending on the style of music. exception is playing bembe with no other conguero with me, then i put da quinto on the left, tumba centered and conga right, quinto for backing pattern left hand, tumba and conga to feel free right hand.

zwar