Volcano Congas from Hawaii - Any info

[Facundo]

Now trying to get back to the topic I will assume the Volcano's are more on the long sustian type drum.

T

Tonio,

Thanks for the feedback. Yeah, as best I can tell from road tests of those that have them I think they are long sustain. Although, I wonder how different the various woods they use sound i.e monkey pod vs koa vs mango.

Facundo

[windhorse]

I think it is also important to mention the issue of "playing to the room". Too often I have heard drummers playing the same volume all the time. Rooms that are very 'live" do not need to be approached the same as a room that has sound absorbative properties. You hear this a lot with gimbe players but conga drummers can be just as guilty.

This brings to mind something that happened sometime last Spring when my conguero buddies and I played 4 songs for a group of folks who had just had a meeting in a large wooden room behind the auditorium at Chautauqua park in Boulder. My friend who had gotten us the gig brought in his rare set of plastic coated gon bops. For those drum geeks in the crowd, I'm not sure what they're called, but they're black with heavier than the usual Gon Bop hardware. They are louder than freeking hell, and you couldn't hear any of our singing though we were straining really hard! Thus, our first tune almost completely cleared the room. People were holding their ears!
This room though was certainly no ordinary room of it's size. It was easily 300 feet square and about that high, but the walls, ceiling, and floor were all hard wood paneling without anything to absorb sound.
So, I ran out to my car and we all yanked my four Mahogony Sols into the frey, and about 3/4 of the people who ran outside came back in and danced with smiles the rest of the time!
so, yeah, the room matters a great deal!
You really need soft sounding drums when there's un-amplified singing or instrumentation.
You can get away with hard wood or plastic drums outside maybe, but in a sound reflecting chamber, you gotta be soft!

Hey Windhorse,

I may be splitting fine hairs here but I think your situation well illustrates my real point. You could have eased the pain on everyone's ears by adjusting your touch and lowering your volume. This is not always easy to do when you are acustomed to playing from high chest level. My point was that there are rooms that are so live or even drums that project so well that the needed volume can be had with a lot less effort. I have to wonder why you guys used the other drums over your sweet maghogies in the first place? Also, in my personal practice I have found a whole "new drum" in just doing my exercises from the wrist. The control you develope as well as a greater range of volume that comes from this is amazing.

Facundo

Understood,, and of course my point is that it also depends on the drum.
Some drums are louder - albeit when you hit a tone with "regular" technique..

Yeah, I suppose you can back way down,, but then are you as hyped and able to groove when you're tapping lightly?? Sure, you can say, well you "should" be able to. I'd agree...
But, I can't count on my friends to back off! Nope,,, ain't going to happen!
BTW, the only guy that tapes is the loudest player at his own "regular" technique level. He hits really hard.

Yeah, we used those Gon Bop plastics because Chris, the guy that got us the gig was psyched about having his be the ones we used. You guys I'm sure all undserstand this one..
So & So says, "Hey lets play here, and I'll bring my drums!", "Everyone thinks,, dang, I really like mine better, but he loves those fricking things so I'll grin and bear with it.."

And this is pretty much agreeing what many of our postings are saying, that everyone seems to have a different ear for what they like best.

[109-1176549166]

Allow me to explain why I say this is all subjective. First and foremost what one person considers as the best drum may be another persons last choice. This is because of how they play and what aspects of the drums tonal qualities is most important to that person. Some like an almost dry tone to their drums with what Matt Smith calls a "short note". That is, an open tone that is short with little to no sustain. Others like an open tone that is long that give a big open that tends to have a long sustain. Both oak and mahogany give long notes. However, mahognay is sweeter and oak is round and woody. However, none of this is "whimsical" or "arbitrary". It is "biased" towards and based on one's personal taste and there is nothing wrong with that.

In a conversation I had with Matt about this he noted that drummers who play raggae tend to hate drums with long notes. Of course, raggae and rumba are two different musical styles but the same also holds true for rumberos as well with regard to the tonality of their drums. I agree there may be some "criteria" as you call them that may hold true across the board but the final choice made by any player is subjective to that person. That is assuming that the construction the choices is relatively equal. No one wants a drum that is put together with poor glue and subject to cracks or will go out of round.

Never the less the choices made of available woods will also vary from one player to the other. Oak, ash, maple, maghogany as well as a host of exotic woods all have different tonalities as well as different responses to the touch. I personally dislike LPs but there are many in this forum that love them. I also think that many of the short comings of LP drums get lost under the hands of the various master players that endorse them. LPs get the endorsements because of the perks they offer and not because they are the "Strads" of congas.

Facundo

Facundo,

The way I see it, we are basically in agreement with one another. Whatever difference we might have is, I believe, a matter of word semantics, specifically regarding what you and I mean and understand by the phrase "all subjective".

In summary, I'd distinguish the various qualities of congas (or any instrument for that matter) under the following categories:

- Bad

- Good

- Better

- Best

Congas are placed under any of these categories on the basis mainly of tangible (therefore, measurable) criteria, such as: the type, quality and durability of the wood, hardware, skin, construction, etc.

There are not only one but several congas under each of the categories. And where to place certain congas under any of these categories can be based on various reviews by both experts and users and other reliable evaluation.

Mind you, in no way am I absolutely saying that congas in any of these categories belong there "black-and-white". There can be congas the belong in the "grey area" between adjacent categories.

Ultimately, players choose their congas within a given category or categories on the basis of their preference(s) and/or need(s), which is/are admittedly subjective.

This is why I said that determining the quality of a conga is not ALL subjective. There are bottom line objective criteria.

I hope this makes my position clear once and for all. No more splitting hairs, OK? :;): :laugh:



Edited By mjtuazon on 1187062350

[Whopbamboom]

I, for one, am somewhat accustomed to choosing a particular drum (or drums) for a particular application. It seems quite obvious to me that if there are differences in the sounds of the various congas that are available, then some will be more suited to a particular application and others will be better suited for another application. I'd imagine that this is one potential reason that some folks have several different sets! Bottom line in my mind: different sounds are for different applications, and it all boils down to personal tastes in choosing those sounds for the application at hand.

[pcastag]

I loved my skin on skin cherries, but they did not suit my needs or taste, same with my bauer lites. I reconized the craftsmanship that went in to making both sets of drums, but at the end of the day wasn't really getting the brightness from either set. Bought some DW Gon Bops specifically because I wanted a set of oak drums, and I had played Akbars Sol oak drums before. Although they are neither as beautiful or as classic looking as my Skin on Skins, I am more than happy with the sound. I recognize the value of the hand made drums, and loved jay's craftsmanship, but in the end the sound was what was more important, and a SPECIFIC sound, since jay's drums sounded awesome, but again weren't bright enough for my tastes.
PC

[Thebreeze]

The one thing that you should find out is how hard these woods are. Some woods can be so hard that they do not serve well as a conga drum. An aquaintance of mine said some of his Volcanos have a ringy sound to them. I remember another person I know bought some Del Cielos many years ago and that wood was so hard that he had a hard time trying to get the ring out and finally sold them at a loss. I don't have anything against Volcano, just advise that before you spend so much money on some drums that you should try your best to actually play some if possible.

[Thebreeze]

One last mention about the expensive hardware( which is no doubt where a lot of the purchase price is going to), reading where MaSSivdrums spoke about the strenght of stainless steel tuning rods versus (MILD) steel. I have never had one snap on me. They would most likely strip before reaching that point. Anyone that might want to address that in a more inexpensive manner might do the following... A person I know has an lp classic quinto. He really cranks it up so what he did was replace his tuning rods with the thicker lp tuning rods that come on the LP Fiberglass Galaxie Congas and others. Problem solved. The bottom line ( unless you are a collector and just want your house full of beautiful drums) is the sound first, looks second.

[109-1176549166]

The bottom line ( unless you are a collector and just want your house full of beautiful drums) is the sound first, looks second.

Thebreeze,

Well said!

And a very warm welcome to you, brother, to our CongaBoard forum. There's a wealth of information here to benefit the newbie and the veteran player as well.

[109-1176549166]

I loved my skin on skin cherries, but they did not suit my needs or taste, same with my bauer lites. I reconized the craftsmanship that went in to making both sets of drums, but at the end of the day wasn't really getting the brightness from either set. Bought some DW Gon Bops specifically because I wanted a set of oak drums, and I had played Akbars Sol oak drums before. Although they are neither as beautiful or as classic looking as my Skin on Skins, I am more than happy with the sound. I recognize the value of the hand made drums, and loved jay's craftsmanship, but in the end the sound was what was more important, and a SPECIFIC sound, since jay's drums sounded awesome, but again weren't bright enough for my tastes.
PC

pcastag,

There you go, bro! Well said. I'm in full agreement with you here.

There indeed are certain minimum tangible (objective) requirements for a drum to pass the benchmarks of meriting the honor and accolade of being "A (not THE) best" drum. But once it's up there with other "best" drums, then the acquisition of it ultimately boils down to the acquirer's personal need(s) and preference(s)



Edited By mjtuazon on 1187390502

[109-1176549166]

Some woods can be so hard that they do not serve well as a conga drum. An aquaintance of mine said some of his Volcanos have a ringy sound to them. I remember another person I know bought some Del Cielos many years ago and that wood was so hard that he had a hard time trying to get the ring out and finally sold them at a loss. I don't have anything against Volcano, just advise that before you spend so much money on some drums that you should try your best to actually play some if possible.

I can easily imagine how a very hard wood can be a factor towards a drum having a ringy sound. They reflect or project sound more than softer woods. My Toca practice congas, which are made of fiberglass (read "very hard"), have comfort rims and Remo Fiberskyn heads, are quite ringy.

Your last sentence, stating "before you spend so much money on some drums that you should try your best to actually play some if possible", is both sage and common sense advise. Unfortunately, not everyone has that luxury.

In my own specific case, much as I wanted to, I didn't have the opportunity to be able to actually play any of the selection of drums that I narrowed down to: Sol, Timba, Isla, Gon Bops California and Moperc. No local music store, even Guitar Center, had any of these brands in stock--not even the Gon Bops California which, surprisingly, has a long waiting time (average of 3 months).

Other than the excellent quality of the woods and hardware, craftsmanship, great price and relatively short waiting time (2 months or less), I decided on the Islas (without actually hearing their sound and being to play them) mainly on the basis of their growing reputation and reading user reviews, such as those made by Onile and others on this forum and Charlie via phone.



Edited By mjtuazon on 1187397903

[Tonio]

I think the denser the wood, it would assist in conducting or transmit the ring that may be born from the metal used. I find stainless steel has a more flat or subdued tone to it than metal, even when the SS is thicker. I actually tried this with a grill-SS vs chromed grill. Not exactly rocket science, but it was quite apparent.
Thinking of the mass produced stuff and the laminated 2ply wood, may be stronger, but the dense properties and alot o metal may be the result of the ringing. Of course the skin and mounting design does add to the character.

T

[Thebreeze]

Thank you Mjtuazon, for the welcome and reinforcing words. I hoped my point of view would have been received in a positive manner and it was. Thanks also Tonio. I look forward to contributing whenever I can as long as I know it is constructive and not just words.
Thanks again, and thanks for the welcome.

[Whopbamboom]

I find stainless steel has a more flat or subdued tone to it than metal

Stainless steel IS metal, but of course you know that. Was there a different word you meant to use there, other than "metal"?

[109-1176549166]

Thank you Mjtuazon, for the welcome and reinforcing words. I hoped my point of view would have been received in a positive manner and it was. Thanks also Tonio. I look forward to contributing whenever I can as long as I know it is constructive and not just words.
Thanks again, and thanks for the welcome.

Thebreeze,

You're more than welcome! I look forward to your reading your contributions.

[Tonio]

I find stainless steel has a more flat or subdued tone to it than metal

Stainless steel IS metal, but of course you know that. Was there a different word you meant to use there, other than "metal"?

WBB, yes SS is metal. Actually its a iron alloy w/ a certain amount of chromium. Some have a certain amount of nickel, both which probably aids in a subdued tone?
Steel or iron has carbon to make it hard.


Thats about all I remeber from Science class But something about SS seems to make a different tone. Though I think the the non corrosion(rust) properties are great for conga hardware!!

T