PEARL'S NEW TRAVEL CONGA

[burke]

Hey Pearl reps:
Is Pearl going to make another size or do you buy two of the same and just tune them as conga/tumba?

[congamyk]

^ another size would be good.

As someone said before these things have to be tuned WAY up, then they sound fine. I like the slaps I get.
The open tone does ring a bit but hey it's not a real conga .... take it for what it is.

That's why they call it a "practice" conga. :p



Edited By congamyk on 1186465891

[burke]

I think Pearl calls them Travel Congas and LP calls them Compact Congas

Respectfully

[Firebrand]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuvSFOJgsPw

That's a video of me reviewing the congas in comparison to an LP classic at my home....no mikes.

They're excellent sounding...definitely gig worthy. I'd put them at the quality level (sound wise) of an LP Matador conga. More resonance and higher quality than LP Aspires, but somewhere in between Matador/Performers and LP Classics. Honestly...mike them well, EQ the sound on them (more bass/resonance on some...higher treble on the Quinto), and you really cannot tell the difference in a mix of other musicians.

Unmiked, I'd say they're about 85% the resonance of a professional conga. Perfect for practice, class/workshops, and acoustic gigs. If an electric bass and piano is involved, bring mikes...but perfect for percussion-only or trios/quartets.

I'd play them anywhere, with the proper amplication. It's mostly other people's hangups and discomfort with how new this concept of a portable conga is, that forbids me from using them at all places. they got great sounds for any application I may need them in, and I play in trios, salsa ensembles, and latin-jazz sextets and so on.

Best of all....I could fit 4-5 of these congas, plus their stands, in ONE of my standard-height Gator conga bags. ONE BAG! Pearl has a winning combination with this product.

[burke]

Nice review and great melodic tuning of the 3 drums.

I pretty sure the stand you showed is exactly the same ones I bought - they were cheap (Yamaha) and pretty much do the job.

[onile]

Vaya Mis Hermanos!
I hope that you are all well and abundantly blessed!

Como Esta Mi Hermano Firebrand!
Suenan bien los PTCs tuyos!

Here are some other samples of what the Pearl Travel Congas sound like when they're tuned to preference. I have them mounted on my personally designed stand to mount 4 PTCs. One of the videos shows 3 PTCs mounted, this was my first version of the stand.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHKLdSgfePk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7o2cvmTGPQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXquHyj80xk



Suave!

Onile!

[onile]

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

I've obviously got a lot of time on my hands, so much so that I'm constantly imagining ways of decreasing the amount and weight of equipment I take to a gig!

These Pearl Travel Congas (PTCs) are incredibly convenient for just that purpose. Not to mention that when tuned to preference, they sound wickedly close to full-sized congas. In anycase, I've managed to start taking out four PTCs to any gig I deem proper to do so (barring any Salsa gigs of course). Since my main bread-n-butter is from "corporate gigs", I've been using them more than any of my other drums. Here is the set up and carrying case that I've conveniently placed all four of them into, including 4 Sennheiser mics, 4 Monster XLR cables (2 "Y" cables, just in case), my "epon" (manteca de corojo), ear plugs, flashlight, all purpose tool, tape, and advil. Did I miss anything?

Suave!

Onile!

[onile]

here are a couple other pics.....

[ABAKUA]

Awesome!

[onile]

Vaya Mi Hermano Abakua!
Espero que todo este bien contigo Papa!

I'm actually considering unloading my gon bops pretty soon, they're actually the heaviest drums I own and I don't use them much at all.
These four little guys have made most of my gigs up to date, except as I stated, if it's a salsa gig where the full authentic sound is required then it's my Matthew Smiths or Islas.

Chevere Mi Hermano!

Onile!

[ABAKUA]

how much would u want for them?

[onile]

I haven't really given it much thought, but I would be willing to let them go to a good home for $57,998.47, or $1400 + shipping! Remember that they are immaculate, and have some beautiful skins on them (got them from Moperc). The sound is, as my good friend "Nacho" would say..."Fannnnntastic!" Also, the rims are like I prefer them and that's close to the playing surface, someone else may want to mount their own skins to customize them to personal preference.

I actually paid $750 each for the two - 13.25" and I don't remember what I paid for the 12.50". A screaming deal don't you think? I don't believe they'll sell though, in this current financial market, folks just don't have the cash.

Any wheys! Cuidate Papa!

Onile!

[ABAKUA]

Well I may have the cash, and honestly, shippin aint that much to here.. Give it some thought Tony.
Hit me back an email & we'll talk.

[gitpu]

pearl's seem to have a nice sound just got the fibreglass tumba 245 canadian taxes in

[umannyt]

Vaya Mi Hermano Abakua!
Espero que todo este bien contigo Papa!

I'm actually considering unloading my gon bops pretty soon, they're actually the heaviest drums I own...

I can definitely relate to this. My biggest Gon Bops CA (tumba) is your smallest and I'm already complaining (well, sort of) about the weight.

But, I'm not complaining about the sound. They really cut through during live amplified band (translation: loud) performance. Of course, the Remo Crimplock Symmetry (Fiberskyn) heads that I recently installed help.

But, for playing with softer music, I still prefer the big, fat sound of my Islas.