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I was looking at some videos where the seated player was using a bongos stand. In some other videos the player was holding the bongos the traditional way between the legs. Now, for myself, I prefer the traditional way because I feel closer to the instrument (not just physically), and believe I have more control over the texture/tonalities/transients.

Another issue to me with the bongos stand I was looking at, is that the bongos are held by a tensioning nylon belt solely on the center block and nowhere else. I have no doubt the belt/stand hardware is plenty strong, but to me all the mechanical stress from playing now will focus on the drums and center block areas near the crossing bolts. I know there are reinforcement plates inside the two drums, but I can't help wondering about the perennity of such setup.

So I was curious about what the long time players here do prefer (stand or not), and their thoughts about it.

Hello.
Good question.
It depends on the weight of the bongo, and then on the wood species (hevea/rubberwood/"Siam oak" is lighter than other wood species), and on how long you play, how you feel while playing, if you play only bongo in a band or switch to other instruments, etc.
A stand is very useful, and your remark about the center block makes sense. I protected mine with a piece of rubber, I'll post some pics later on (I'm on the "wrong" PC by now).
I use this model when I need it http://www.baguetterie.fr/stand-bongos-meinl-13901-professional-position-assis.html or https://www.thomann.de/fr/meinl_tmbs_bongstativ_sitzend.htm

Since you live in Paris, you can go to La Baguetterie and try it out "in real life".

I appreciate it because of the T-bar, which is very useful. I don't tighten the screw too much because I want to spare the center block, as you said.
Using a stand is very useful if you play several instruments - you can push the stand slightly aside if you need to play something else. And it relieves you from the stress of holding / tightening the instrument between your knees. And furthermore, some drummers have to move/rotate the hardware around (1/4 of turn) because the lugs hurt them.
There's another model by Gon Bops, but I think it's expensive and hard to find in France, and one made by Gibraltar (a friend of mine uses this one and is quite happy with it), but I believe it's no longer made.

Hope it helps.

Chtimulato wrote:Hello.
Good question.
It depends on the weight of the bongo, and then on the wood species (hevea/rubberwood/"Siam oak" is lighter than other wood species), and on how long you play, how you feel while playing, if you play only bongo in a band or switch to other instruments, etc.
A stand is very useful, and your remark about the center block makes sense. I protected mine with a piece of rubber, I'll post some pics later on (I'm on the "wrong" PC by now).
I use this model when I need it http://www.baguetterie.fr/stand-bongos-meinl-13901-professional-position-assis.html or https://www.thomann.de/fr/meinl_tmbs_bongstativ_sitzend.htm

Since you live in Paris, you can go to La Baguetterie and try it out "in real life".

I appreciate it because of the T-bar, which is very useful. I don't tighten the screw too much because I want to spare the center block, as you said.
Using a stand is very useful if you play several instruments - you can push the stand slightly aside if you need to play something else. And it relieves you from the stress of holding / tightening the instrument between your knees. And furthermore, some drummers have to move/rotate the hardware around (1/4 of turn) because the lugs hurt them.
There's another model by Gon Bops, but I think it's expensive and hard to find in France, and one made by Gibraltar (a friend of mine uses this one and is quite happy with it), but I believe it's no longer made.

Hope it helps.

Thanks Chtimulato !
This Meinl stand does seem better since both drums are supported from underneath.

Here it is. As I said, I put a piece (two pieces in fact) of rubber between the center block and the shells to avoid cracking.



This set also has reinforcement plates inside of the shells, as you mentioned, but if a set hasn't have these plates, you can make some with a piece of thin plywood (5 mm). You just have to soak it a little while so it can take the concave form of the inside of the shell, and then tighten it. I did that on another set.

Chtimulato wrote:Here it is. As I said, I put a piece (two pieces in fact) of rubber between the center block and the shells to avoid cracking.



This set also has reinforcement plates inside of the shells, as you mentioned, but if a set hasn't have these plates, you can make some with a piece of thin plywood (5 mm). You just have to soak it a little while so it can take the concave form of the inside of the shell, and then tighten it. I did that on another set.

Thanks. I read that on this specific Meinl stand and for some people, the round bar underneath the drums was extending too much beyond the Macho and Hembra, and was getting in the way of the knees. Did you have that problem ?

To answer your original question, I prefer to play bongos seated in the traditional way for reasons similar to those the OP listed, better sound, more control, better integration with the instrument. If I were to play bongos while simultaneously playing congas and perhaps other instruments such as clave or bell with my foot, I might reconsider, but I don't have those skills at this time. In Cuba I have seen percussionists who play 2 congas, bongos, timbales, bell and guiro all from the same seated position, 2 or 3 instruments at a time and changing in different parts of the song. They could not do this without a stand. It didn't sound the same as 3 or 4 percussionists playing, but did provide good backup for the groups they were playing with. I find it amazing but prefer to stick to the traditional style of one person and one instrument at time (bongo/bell).