Pearl Travel Conga - 11.0" or 12.5" sizes

[PRDRconguero]

Anyone have any of the later-released pearl travel conga sizes, specifically the 12.5" size (PTC1250)? I have two of the 11.75's, and am toying with the idea of swapping one for a 12.5" to get a deeper sound.

Just curious about how it sounds. Thanks.

[KING CONGA]

I think that you should go ahead and trade it, as it is the sound on these travel congas is limited so you would indeed benefit from a 12.5.
I also know this much, these pearls sound 100% better than the ringy, over toned LP's, maybe because the heads are made by Remo, no offense to anyone just the facts
J.F.I. I have used both types of drumms.

[onile]

Alafia Abure PRDRconguero
I hope that you are well and abundantly blessed mi hermano!

I have 3 Pearl Travel congas, 2- 11 3/4" and 1 - 12 1/2", I can tell you personally that the sound is actually great for this type of instrument. I use them mainly for my "Corporate" gigs, they don't really care if you have actual size congas or not, just the sound. I actually brought them to a latin jazz gig I do regualarly and several percussionists were amazed at the sound produced by them. As you know mi hermano, it's up to you to tune them to the best pitch possible. I actually used a Korg tuner to tune them, and they don't lose the tune.

The great thing, in my opinion, is that they are extremely lite and portable. I can fit all three into a 14" x 20" Beato Tom case. I took the mounting system made by LP and slightly modified it to be able to mount two on one stand, I add another by including a snare stand if I wan't the 3 together.
Hope this is helpful

Many blessings

Onile!

[korman]

I took the mounting system made by LP and slightly modified it to be able to mount two on one stand

Onile,

What modifications were necessary to do this?

Thanks,
K

[onile]

Abure Korman,

The modifications I had to make were simple and were done without cutting the mounts themselves. As you know, the LP Compact Conga double mount is designed for their own product and is supposed to clasp onto the rim of the compact conga. The Pearl Travel congas however, are 3 1/2" high and therefore the rubber ends cannot reach thereby attaching to the rim. What I did was remove the inside screws (four of them towards the inside mounts) and I inserted hard rubber tubes which moved and held in place the rubber ends. The adjustable ends (on either outside end of the mounts) were left untouched. The inside part of the Pearl Travel Conga is smaller than the circumference of the LP Compact conga and so I adjusted for the difference. The rubber ends don't pinch the rim now because they can't reach it, however they press up against the body of the Travel Conga holding it in place quite well.

[papichombo]

I really think that you will be happier with the larger size. Maybe you can sell the other 11-3/4" and use the money to help pay for the 12-1/2"? I never did try to tune one regular size conga down to make it sound like a tumba. I know at first some people did because pearl only had one size, but now they have three. I also don't think that you could tune the regular size one up high enough to make it sound like a real quinto, but the 11" quinto really sounds great. I actually think it sounds more real then the two larger sizes (probably because a real quinto doesn't have too much base to begin with, so it doesn't sound that much different.

Hope this helps

[KING CONGA]

Abure Korman,

The modifications I had to make were simple and were done without cutting the mounts themselves. As you know, the LP Compact Conga double mount is designed for their own product and is supposed to clasp onto the rim of the compact conga. The Pearl Travel congas however, are 3 1/2" high and therefore the rubber ends cannot reach thereby attaching to the rim. What I did was remove the inside screws (four of them towards the inside mounts) and I inserted hard rubber tubes which moved and held in place the rubber ends. The adjustable ends (on either outside end of the mounts) were left untouched. The inside part of the Pearl Travel Conga is smaller than the circumference of the LP Compact conga and so I adjusted for the difference. The rubber ends don't pinch the rim now because they can't reach it, however they press up against the body of the Travel Conga holding it in place quite well.

PRDRConguero do consider this, the issue that I had with the single stand for both congas, no mater how it is that you modify it, was that you truly are limited to the positioning of the congas where as is you purchase two individual snare stands you could pretty much position them anyway you want which would make them more comfortable to play.

[PRDRconguero]

Overall, I am very pleased with the sound produced by these drums. Anyone here have any recordings of these things mic'ed up? Curious on how they sound in a performance setting.

King Conga,

I believe you meant to direct your reply to Onile, but I use two separate snare stands. I bought my two drums and stands slightly used, so that's the setup I was dealt. It is nice to have one stand for both drums, but I do prefer having two separate stands.

I do agree with you about the positioning advantages...but even positioned perfectly on single stands, bass on open tones is understandably not strong.

Also, since I am a seated player, I am already accustomed to tilting my primary drum. If I was a standing player, I guess having both drums on a double stand would be fine. To each his own.

Onile, are you a seated or standing player?

And PapiChombo,
I think I'm going to ask for the 12.5 as a christmas gift from the boss....I mean woman lol. I'll then get rid of one of the congas (I'll let the board know first). The small sound improvement the 12.5 can provide may be worth the investment; especially if I can recoup some of the cost by selling one of my 11.75's. Before all that, I have to try it out and see how it sounds.

Thanks everyone for your input.

[onile]

Vaya Mis Hermanos!

First of all, Abure KingKonga you are very right, the postioning of the travel congas are limited big time when using this LP mounting, or the Pearl Travel Conga Mounting stand. I can definitely feel the difference when I play them, compared to having the "snare stand" set up. My primary objective with this particular set up was to minimize the amount of equipment used for the gig (Corporate Exclusively). I have my stand (which holds two TCs), my throne, and my Beato 14" x 20" tom case which holds up to 3 TCs, but I only use two and a small camera case which holds my mics and cables. I arrive to a gig, set up and tear down before everyone else, this I truly enjoy.

I am a seated player, I have however, tried playing standing up with this particular stand and...... The problem that I faced with standing is that they tend to travel (no pun intended). The amount of pressure used when playing the drums themselves, moves down the stand thereby moving it, so I had to continue repositioning myself. This is a good arguement for playing these drums seated, at least for me it is.

Espero que todo este bien con toditos ustedes!

Suave!

Onile!

[Victorius]

where I could buy these travel congas in Germany??

[debbie]

i was wondering if PRDRconguero had got his new 12.5 travel conga and if he was happy with it? i have one 11.75 and want to get a second one but can't decide whether to get the quinto, the tumba or another 11.75! after reading this thread i think i'll get a different size one but not sure which.....

[KING CONGA]

i have one 11.75 and want to get a second one but can't decide whether to get the quinto, the tumba or another 11.75!

You probably want to go with the quinto, I believe the sound contras will be better balanced plus you can always tune the conga to a tumba.

[burke]

I recently got the quinto and the 11.75 - works for me.

Last time I looked at drum kits was back in the stone age so when the guy in music store showed me the cheapest snare stand (Yamaha SS-650 about $60 each in store) I was amazed how sturdy it was compared to what I remembered snare stands being. Bought two of those and am very pleased. Of course this only works for playing seated - but that's how I play anyhow.

Also put a tee shirt over them and you've got a pretty reasonable and quiet apartment practice set (which was one of the main reasons I got them).

[onile]

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

I had noticed these stands last year, but not quite sold on 'em as of yet. The main reason is the same as Abure KingKonga had expressed, the positioning of the drums (tilting at an angle for playing comfort), they are pretty stationary with these stands, unlike the tilting component of a snare stand. Now, if somehow these two ideas could be merged together then we could possibly have a happy ending to all of this!

Abure Burke!
I originally bought the snare stands (3 of them), Pearl models and they too would travel, or move quite a bit while playing them, that I had to figure out a way to keep them together, but if you look at the picture below you'll see a "connecting device" that helps with that, seated or standing.

Many blessings!

Onile!


Pearl's Travel Conga stand is designed specifically with two things in mind: rock solid stability, and lightening fast set-ups and pack-ups. The stand includes a "Y" bracket that attaches to the bottom of your Travel Conga and mounts to the stand centered directly under the drum for maximum stability.

The Travel Conga stand comes with a carrying bag that includes a pocket for the optional PPS50TC Bridge that connects two stands together to minimize creeping while performing. Two Travel Congas (bags for Travel Congas are available separately) and two stands can be carried with ease while having one hand free for signing autographs. Model #: PC1100TC for 11" Quinto List $132.00, PC1175TC for 11.75" Conga List $132.00, PC1250TC for 12.5" Tumba List $132.00, PPS50TC Bridge List $29.00

[onile]

here's the mounting bracket for this particular stand....