Sekooa conga (?)

[FrankieM]

Hello everyone. I’m a new member. It’s an honor and true pleasure to join all you other conga aficionados.

My brief background: I’m a non-Hispanic who long has had a passion for Afro-Cuban percussion. I’m an amateur musician with piano being my main instrument. I also play timbales (LP TP model) and bongos. (I play mainly so-called classical piano – classical music being my other musical passion along with Latin.)

I grew up in NYC in the late 50’s -- an era when Latin, or “Salsa,” music was widely popular. I used to frequent the old Palladium, witnessing and dancing to many “battles” between the two Titos (Puente and Rodriguez) as well Machito, La Playa Sextet, the two Palmieries, etc. I have the clave feeling deeply ingrained in me.

One of the biggest thrills of my life is when my sister had a surprise birthday party for me back in the 80’s. I walked into her family room and there was Charlie Palmieri on keyboard and Orlando Marin (who my brother-in-law knows well) on Timbales, along with someone I didn’t recognize on guitar and my brother-in-law (a hobbyist like myself) on conga. I sat in on bongos.

I recently treated myself and purchased the Giovanni Hidalgo bongos. I now want to purchase a good set of congas and have decided that the LP Classics are my best trade-off between performance and cost.

Many years ago, my wife bought me a conga as a birthday present. It has a “Sekooa” emblem. She purchased it from a local "Mom and Pop" music store. I recently did an internet search and could find only Sekooa guitars.

A question: has anyone here heard of Sekooa congas? A brief description: it is true Conga size (11.75”), white painted wood, tunable and has a narrower than usual bottom opening, at least compared to modern LP Congas. Its skin is mounted in a way that hides the rim under the skin. I’m not knowledgeable enough to know what kind of skin it is but I’d guess cowhide. In any case, it really has a more than decent sound for a “no-name” drum.

Since I am strictly a hobbyist, and the fun for me is in soloing, I plan to start by adding an LP Classic Quinto. I appreciate that the more standard approach would be to add a Tumba but then my “inferior” drum would be the Conga. At the same time, the Sekooa has a good bass sound, probably because of the narrow bottom opening. So I likely can get away with tuning it lower than the usual Conga note. I recall reading somewhere that a larger tuning gap between drums was more common in the past. Any guidance/comments about any of this?



Edited By FrankieM on 1171470871

[CongaTick]

Welcome Frankie,

Though I canot give you any specifics on the [B]SEKOA, this forum offers a treasure chest of pros who will help you. Sounds to me like you've got a solid background --like you said, for the clave. And geez -- what a birthday surpirse jam that must have been! Stay tuned to the forum for a more substantial response than my humble welcome to another drum bro.

[FrankieM]

Much thanks for your welcome, CT.

I happened to notice your post in another thread here that mentioned you have Ardientes. How do you like them? I was strongly considering them. But, they seem to come only in the Conga, Timba set. As I stated, I’d really like to start with adding a Quinto.

But maybe retiring my Sekooa and starting with the Ardientes is a better idea. I can always add a Quinto later – maybe a Matador which I’d guess is comparable to the Ardientes.

I noted with interest the point you made about the rims being unimportant to a good player. I also recall reading that the old flush kind of rims generally give crisper slaps.

Again, this is all based on my reading. I’m truly a neophyte on the subject of congas (as is probably all too evident already. ) In fact I’m struggling a bit in starting to learn to play them properly because I used to use the finger-thumb rocking motion from the bongo Martillo in place of the true heel-tip movement in the rare times I played conga. Didn’t sound too, too bad when I was drowned out by the other instruments. I also cheat on the slap by pressing my other hand into the drum when I play a slap. Hopefully it’ll only take me a few years or so to correct these mistakes. :;):



Edited By FrankieM on 1171486212

[CongaTick]

Frankie,

Love the Ardientes. The didn't burn my pocket and their quality for the price is excellent, having stood me in good stead throughout a consistent gig schedule in clubs and bars. I did replace the heads with mule skin, which brings them to a new level. Again, thread here cover mule hides thoroughly. You're right about only having the conga and tumba available. I tune the conga high to almost quinto level, tune the tumba up to almost conga level, and added an old 1970's Lp tumba for my low drum. The rims are not an issue depending on technique.

The slap is a consistent thread here on the forum, so check that out because it is always a major hurdle faced by congueros starting out. Unfortunately, it is much like riding a bike, dificult to describe on paper or on the web...but the forum pros and the existing threads will give you enuf basics for you to understand the technique, the mechanics and the pitfalls. . Bottom line, when you finally hit it, you'll know it and will continue developing it. It WILL not take you a year, depending on how often you practice.

Best of luck and go for the Ardientes. Look forward to your next post.

[Isaac]

Hi Frankie, welcome to the congaforum. Possibly you can post a picture here of your
Sekoa congas? I hope you will give Nicky a call. He can teach you congas & bongos
as well. A lot of people only think of him as a Master Timbalero, but he played congas & bongos
first. He did a stint as a youngster on bongos with Eddie Palmieri also. You'll definitely
leave his place on a much higher level in terms of your drum knowledge and inspiration
to take it further, then when you went in. We all can get in the "zone"
with the right amount of practice and concentration. Nicky lives in the zone.

~ ISAAC

[FrankieM]

I was intending to post pictures of my Sekooa conga as Isaac had suggested. I was also intending to widen my search again for conga brands and models. But about two weeks ago, on impulse, I bought myself an LP Classic Conga and Tumba (natural with gold hardware) along with LP278 stands for both.

Regarding the Sekooa, I presented it for a trade-in and the salesman, after examining it and playing it, offered me $12 (I kid you not!), mainly out of charity. So I took it back home, along with my new drums. When I played the Sekooa side by side at home with my new conga, I immediately realized what a piece of junk the Sekooa really is.

By the way, I just bought the LP Classic Quinto along with another LP278 stand.

I really appreciate the inputs here. You might have noticed that I began with a conga and tumba, based on the advice given in another thread here on the CongaBoard, even though it appeared I was committed to starting with a quinto. Of course, two weeks wasn’t an excruciatingly long time to wait to add the quinto. :;):

[JohnnyConga]

He Homey Frank...Bienvenido a CongaPlace....Im from "Da Bronx"...first let me say I believe your conga is Japanese...or possibly Phillapino.....I had a drum as u described back in 1970 and the skin was "stiched" over the crown...BTW tell Orlando the next time u see him that I have his Old Jenco Vibes i got from Raul "Afro" Sayans and I use them today with my bands...see below....once again WELCOME!.....tu pana "JC" Johnny Conga...

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