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Hi there,

Just a quickey from a newbie ..... My cheap ole congas came with baskets to sit em in, thing is most of the videos i'm seeing on youtube show the congas just sitting on the floor, no baskets or stands. I'm guessing this will effect the tone of the congas?

So, should I be playing mine with them standing on the floor? do I need to tilt them slightly? If I have to tilt em, which one or both?

Thanks for helping out ....

Boston wrote:should I be playing mine with them standing on the floor? do I need to tilt them slightly? If I have to tilt em, which one or both?

Definetely, that´s the most common, comfortable and suitable way to play congas. You only need to tilt the drum in front of you, be it a conga or a quinto.

Boston wrote:I'm guessing this will effect the tone of the congas?

Yes, the flip side being that your congas won´t be that loud, but that also depends on the surface you put them on:
An ankle-deep carpet will swallow most of the sound, while a hard floor-board reflects much more of the sound waves.

But basket stands (especially Meinl steelys) are not bad either, in a gig they come in quite handy, also if you play other instruments (timbales...) as well.

In general sitting down is better for a conga newbie IMHO. You learn to exercise the basic tones better. At least that is my own experience

Hope this helps.

Mike

P.S: Some - including me- use sound boards when playing on carpet.
The worst thing yuo can do is to get those nasty LP Rubberfeet...

Thanks fella,

Have tried them out tonight just sitting them on the carpet (not that deep a pile though) and my cheap ole staggs sound so much better. A lot less ringing from the 10", and certainly quite comfortable playing em from a seated position.

Think i'll have a retune tomorrow as I think I'll achieve a much closer tone to what I'm expecting with them sitting on the floor.

thanks again ...

You are very welcome, brother!

Yes, tuning has to be adjusted a tad, as you might have to tune up a tad when you play seated.

Cheers,
Mike