congaplace.com

Greetings,

I live in a small town in New Zealand. I'm looking to get started with Congas but don't know if I can afford a set right now. We don't have a big range where I live and they are quite costly.

Could I start with just one or should I save up for a pair?

The brands I've seen here are Tycoon, Meinl and Sonor

I was considering a single ' Meinl Headliner' 11" Conga (HC555 BLUE BURST)


Thanks

Absolutely, one conga is fine to start out with. Your going to need to learn the strokes,
tones and hand movements first before you even need to think about using two drums.

A perfect start!

Thanks guys, that's what I wanted to hear. And it makes perfect sense.

I always recommend starting with one drum, and this was what
my first teacher also recommended, but you should start with
the correct size. A conga is the 11 3/4" drum.

The 11" is a smaller head Quinto , generally for soloing over other congas.
To get a better foundation, the middle size is where
to start.

Isaac

One Conga drum is a great way to start. A single conga could keep you busy for a long time. Welcome and enjoy learning.

I agree with Issac , but most and foremost find a good knowledgeable teacher, we don't want you developing bad habits.
Enjoy
Olsongo

I would just like to add , I owned a set of Headliner model Meinls , they are entry level (toys) IMHO . I would go for nothing less than Meinl Marathon classics if you decide to bulid up on your set to 2 or 3 in the future you will find your limited in the Blue burst Headliners . Id say they compare to LP Aspire . I swaped mine after realising my error . It just depends how serious your going to take to the Drum .
One drum will be ok until you have learned the basic patterns .
My 2peneth

Marco

While I wouldn't be so presumptious to disagree with Isaac's advice, I will note that there are plenty of experienced folks out there that will recommend a quinto over a conga for your first drum, and plenty more who'll say it doesn't really matter. You'll learn a few things differently and you'll have different issues to re-learn when you add a second drum but you won't be making a big mistake with either one.

Jibaro wrote: a quinto over a conga for your first drum, and plenty more who'll say it doesn't really matter.

I've never heard that advice before. IMHO a quinto is less suitable for a beginner's first drum than a conga or a tumba.

The beginner needs to be able to get both hands on the drum and get the full range of tones a drum
provides. A larger drum is much better for that. Also the pitch of a conga or tumba is better suited to
playing marcha or tumbao with other musicians.

11" 3/4 is an excellent choice, no doubt. But then again I have an older LP 11" drum
that give me everything the 11" 3/4 give me. It has a great bass tones and in my book
is not a quinto just an 11" "tres dos". If I am not mistaken the tumbadoras head sizes
back in the day in Cuba were not as big as todays drums. They started getting bigger
here in the states. But anyway, IMHO go with the 11" 3/4 .

PS: I think the great Cuban percussionist Candido plays with (3) fiberglass LP 11" 3/4
tuned in such a way that he can play melodies on them drums like nobody's business
all day long. Comes to show the range of the 11" 3/4 drum.

bongosnotbombs wrote:The beginner needs to be able to get both hands on the drum and get the full range of tones a drum
provides. A larger drum is much better for that.

By that measure a supertumba would be the best and no one is recommending that. I contend that a 11.75" is only marginally better than 11.00" for learning hand placement and the OP is unlikely to learn poor technique on a quinto that can't quickly be unlearned when he adds a segundo.

bongosnotbombs wrote: Also the pitch of a conga or tumba is better suited to
playing marcha or tumbao with other musicians.

And a quinto is better suited for playing rumba and solos.

Everything is relative. The OP can now make a more informed choice; either of which will be fine.

Jibaro wrote:And a quinto is better suited for playing rumba and solos.

What sort of rumba is it you are thinking of where a beginner plays the quinto?

HOLA MY PEOPLES, JUST GOTTA PUT IN MI DOS CENTAVOS. I WAS TAUGHT TO START OFF WITH A TUMBA, LEARING HOW TO GET EACH AND EVERY TONE ESPECIALLY A SLAP WHICH IS HARD COMING FROM A TUMBA. LEARN THE RHYTMS ASSOCIATED WITH THE TUMBA THEN MOVE ON TO THE CONGA. NOW THE TONES MUFFS AND SLAPS ON THE CONGA ARE MUCH EASIER TO ACHIEVE. HENCE LEARN THE CONGA RHYTMS. NOW YOU MOVE ON TO THE QUINTO; IT WORKED FOR ME. ALAFIA

While a beginner can certainly learn just fine on an 11" inch drum (tuning the drum down to segundo or tumba pitch, and provided he/she doesn't have large hands), I don't see any benefits of doing that over using an 11 3/4" drum. And I do see plenty of benefits (like those mentioned) to learning on a larger 11 3/4" drum. Seems pretty clear cut to me, as to most players here.