congaplace.com

So I've had good success with my rope tuned miniConga and wanted to take it a step further. For a few years I've been working out the hardware, (mostly in my spare time). I finally got the equipment together to make the hardware from raw stainless. It's all hand made in my shop. I learned so much doing this so I'm glad I did it by hand, however... In the future I'll probably have the parts laser cut for better consistency. I've got a local place that'll do it for a reasonable price. I'll still be bending / welding / drilling, but the side plates and ears for instance will all be perfect.

So here it is...





I'm putting the final coats of finish on the conga and will update here when it's all done and put together. The matte finished stainless looks so good against the glossy walnut conga. I'm really excited to be offering conga drums now!

Hey Kevin,

Really looking forward to seeing the final result of your efforts!

You've done a beautiful job.

Isaac

Finally! The finished photos! I love it!

Walnut wood construction with a yellowheart band. Stainless steel hardware 100% hand cut/bent/formed with a matte finish, and a thinner mule skin for a quick attack and pop.

This is a smaller quinto - Now it's time for the big boys!

Disclamer: I did not ninja chop the stainless - if attempted this could lead to days of un-play. I just meant that I made all the parts from raw stock in my little shop (no outsourcing)

I've seen your djembes, nothing like them around. I am confident that not to long from now your Congas will be on the Volcano Conga level.

That is a sleek looking quinto, very clean looking, aesthetically pleasant to the eye;
and walnut such a beautiful hardwood. What are the dimensions (height, head size)?
How it sounds? Excellent job KevBo.

Thanks for the complements! I was a bit hesitant going into this because I didn't want to be the djembe builder that makes crappy congas to just say I can make them. I've seen some below par djembes out there from excellent conga builders and didn't want to fall into the same category. I know I've got a few things to tweak still but I believe my years of building djembes / ashiko / and dunun has taught me a lot that carried over to the congas. I hope I get the orders to continue this adventure

This quinto is 30 inches tall with a 9 inch head - more of a super requinto haha. It was commissioned this size and I figured it would be a great first project.

It sounds good. I headed it with a thinner mule and it's got a really nice pop to it. I wasn't sure how high to tune it as I'm use to playing lower congas or super tight djembes. So I cranked it till I got a really tight, crisp slap and even tone all the way around. It sounds excellent held above the ground or tilted, and it sound really good on hardwood floor, but pretty muffled on carpet. I assume this is common but I am just now getting into playing congas more so might be something that I experiment with. I built a djembe before for someone who always wanted to play it on the ground without tiling the bottom, and I cut a series of holes around the bass to let the air out so the bass would resonate. In the future I might play around with this idea - a conga set that has the bass and resonance of being on a stand, but on the ground.. ?? I don't know I dream too much that's why it takes so long to get anything out!

9" super-quinto, nice. Yes lifting the drum off the floor
allows the sound waves to come out more freely. Some
players lift their main conga drum off the floor to alter
the tone. A mule head on the thin side seems to be a
good match for the drum, thick heads like mule can be
really hard on your hands specially in winter.Keep dreaming
and the good work up.