Have I only realy got pennys?

[Skin_Basher]

Hey guys, I'm new here and i'm looking to get myself a set of congas I'm limaten to buying them from http://www.music123.com as they ship to the UK and because of the exchange rate i get a truck load for me money, Anyway what i need to no is what is the best set of 3 congas I can get for around $300,
I'm going to be playing them on my compositions and its well weird instramental classical symphony typre stuff.
Thanks in advanced.

[mjw]

Would they really deliver to the UK for free? Maybe if it was a small book or a CD - congas are big and heavy, and shipping costs would be at least $100.....

That said, the price for a set of 3 Meinl Luis Conte's isn't bad.

$300 for three congas is way less than most people would spend - especially if you can't get a good look at the drums, hardware, skin quality etc. As with all musical instruments, you get what you pay for.

[onile]

Alafia Abures!
I hope that you are all well and blessed!

Welcome to the forum brother Skin_Basher!

I'm afraid that brother MJW is correct, "you get what you pay for." This having been said, and given the stiuation of shipping which you mentioned, and I believe that someone else on another thread also said the same thing. Well, you should really consider your options (not that you haven't mind you). Continue shopping on-line to get an idea of "universal costs" of conga drum sets. You may not be able to pick up a good set for $300, but if you consider your options more carefully, you can get a set that can get you past the first hurdle of playing.

The "lower" end of any companies product will always be what is offered at that price, no disrespect intended, just facts. You can shop for a good "cheap" set, but for that money, as mjw stated, you will get what you pay for. Look closely at what your needs are; are you going to play-out with them (play in a band), and if so, what type of music will it be? If it's latin/salsa or something closely related, then you need to consider that factor also. Look on Ebay, sometimes you can pick up a really good set for good money, not as expensive as from a company.

Brother Diceman, is located in London also, he's pretty informed about the percussion scene in the area, and maybe shooting him a p.m. (private message), asking him his advice, you may be able to avoid shipping charges all together, providing he knows of a local shop to buy a set at. Are you wanting to buy a set for learning, or playing in a band?

Either way, I wish you luck!

Many blessings!
Onile

[Skin_Basher]

Well, So from whats said im going to need to eather fork out more money or go with eather a smaller set.
I realy dont want to go much more expencive although there is quite a large tolarance, and im all open for opinions on smaller sets or diffrent set-up's.
So fire Away (i'm going to be using it for multitracking on my own compositions)

[onile]

Here are a couple of sites I just picked that have drum sets (2 congas) within the price range you are looking for! Keep in mind however that the head sizes are also small (10" and 11"),

http://www.thedrumworks.com/Meinl_H....nd.html
http://www.thedrumworks.com/Pearl_P....ts.html
http://www.drumcentral.com/handpercussionpics91.htm
http://www.drumcentral.com/handpercussionpics120.htm
http://www.westcoastdrums.com/meheco.html
http://www.westcoastdrums.com/peprproficos.html
http://www.westcoastdrums.com/gonbotuseco.html
http://www.westcoastdrums.com/lpplsewoco.html

The issue with small heads like some of these offered at this price range is, if you have medium to large hands, it may be difficult to execute various techniques on them. I included Gon Bops' lower end model "Tumbao" series. Although it is their lower end drum, it has great sound to it.

Suerte!
Onile



Edited By onile on 1131732251

[Skin_Basher]

Hey thanks onile,
So now the question is witch one of thoes shall I get?
What would you guys get in my situation?
Thanks

[Charangaman]

Skin_Basher...

In my humble opinion it would be a better investment to buy just One good Conga than a bog-standard set of three...

Otherwise check out pro-percussion in Kentish town or the drum shops in tin pan alley for second hand..

[onile]

Sound Advice brother Charangaman!
Hopefully, patience is in plenty! :laugh:



Edited By onile on 1131997843

[Charangaman]

Indeed.. I speak from experiance, for instance you could purchase these..

http://www.footesmusic.com/category.asp?category=22

Very cheap and not TERRIBLE but a lot of hard work to get nice sounds - it will hurt your hands as the rims are too high and as onile says: The Conga is too small at 10"..

Whatever you decide, remember the golden rule - Try before you buy..

Suerte

[TigerBongo]

Hi Skin_basher - welcome to the fold dude.

Hey - just a word of warning about buying off any of the online websites - the prices are great on most of them (pretty much cheaper than anywhere else) - but I'd be surprised if any of them offer free shipping outside of the USA.

I live in NZ - and haven't come across any that offer free shipping. Most of the online outfits also only use companies like UPS, Fedex etc - so ain't necessarily cheap. That said - because they are large companies - they do getting the shipping costs for a fraction of the price that an individual could with UPS, Fedex.....

The Only online companies form the states that I've found that'll ship internationally are:
http://www.music123.com
http://www.wwandbw.com (same comapny as music123)
http://www.midwestpercussion.com
http://www.steveweiss.com
http://www.lonestarpercussion.com

Try these out and see what's managable.

Otherwise ebay it!......I'm currently waiting on a set of 3 LP Patato Congas from the US (any day now). I negotiated shipping via USPS (4-6 weeks economy parcel post) at a total of about USD$250 for all 3 drums. UPS, Fedex, DHL were all about USD$1200-$1500 for shipping!!!

Good luck man.....let me know how it goes.

Craig



Edited By TigerBongo on 1132049139

[rumbaman]

Hey how is everyone today great i hope . I have a set of meinl exclusives but they ran about 350 each . If you realy get a cheap set you will regretit later when it just does not sound as you expected. My friend had a pair of low end Tocas and they where excrutiating on my hands , think about what you are going to invest your money in . Much cheaper may be more expensive in the long run.

rumbaman