Pearl Travel Conga - 11.0" or 12.5" sizes

[debbie]

ok i think i 'll go for the quinto then!
i must say i have never been able to find a sound i like with the 11.75, i think having another one will help me tune it better. i was wondering how you tune yours? do you go round one by one or criss cross? half turns or full ones each time?
thanks!

[burke]

Many thank's Onile,

I've been playing them relatively low energy and on carpet (I'm living in an apartment while some work is being done on my house) so they haven't moved around much. However I can see that being an issue down the road so your simple but elegant solution is appreciated and most likely be something I will use.

Hey Debbie,
I too found them a little harder to tune than my 'real' conga's and as good as they are ... they still are what they are. In terms of finding their sweet spot I went to the pearl demo website and used the video's as a guidepost and that helped. Cross drum tuning and quarter turns(even smaller as you get closer to what you are after) is the way to go. I must admit those welded, unbraced pieces of metal sticking so far out that you screw into unsettle me a bit and I have visions on them snapping off ... but on the other hand I can only assume Pearl tested these under rigorous conditions and hopefully over engineered them.

Separate but related note - the texture/feel of the synthetic skins is the thing I find most off putting personally. But I'm pretty sure that's just unfamiliarity on my part and with time it will become less noticeable.

[debbie]

thanks for that but could you tell me more about this 'sweet spot'? it's a new term i only just heard! cheers

[onile]

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

As for tuning the PTCs, I go across like a trap player tunes their drums. I do a quarter turn, then with the tip of my finger I tap the head (about 2 to 3 inches from the edge) to hear the sound. I continue this until I'm able to hear roughly the same tone all around the 2 to 3 inch area of the drum. I also used a Korg Chromatic tuner to help with the tuning pitch of each drum. The interesting thing about tuning them is that you can get them a lot closer to a specific note than a regular conga and they maintain it for longer also!

As for the "sweet spot", my personal reference is that it is the spot where you find the perfect tone of the drum. Play around with it, you'll find it, but also find the various sounds you can produce on them (manoteo/hand techniques), slap, finger tip, palm blah blah blah!

Many blessings!

Onile!

[burke]

"sweet spot" Yup, what Onile said.

[congamyk]

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

This is really a simple, light and sturdy set up! Check out this video!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBI6aOiFUeA

[debbie]

great info onile, i've tried your suggestions and the ptc already sounds loads better! will tune it again when the quinto arrives.
you mention using a chromatic tuner, is a guitar tuner ok or does it have to be a special one? just wondering because we have a korg guitar tuner here, i tried using it but couldn't make sense of it.
thanks again

[onile]

Alafia Abure Debbie!
I hope that you are well!

As for the guitar tuner, I wouldn't really know, you see I got the idea of using the chromatic tuner from the bass player of the latin jazz band I work with. It just tells me what note each drum is tuned to, if a "b" whether it's a sharp or flat, and so on with each drum.

I'm currently working on putting together a bracket to be able to tilt the main drum to make it more comfortable while playing. If it works, I'll post some pics and info on how it was done. Abure KingKonga and I both agree that this is one of the concerns with the current stands for these drums, others may also share this concern, we'll see.

Many blessings!

Onile!

[korman]

is a guitar tuner ok or does it have to be a special one?

The guitar tuners only have those six notes to which the guitar strings are normally tuned to. So that would not be of much help for conga tuning. What you need is a chromatic tuner which can tune to any note. There are programs for computers (some even free- or shareware) that can do the same thing.

[debbie]

thanks korman, i've downloaded one and am testing it out....

[onile]

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

Here is a stand that I've created to hold 3 Pearl Travel Congas (2 - 11.75, 1- 12.50). I didn't want to have to carry 3 Travel Conga Stands to any gig, plus my throne, mics, cables and mixer, so I designed and developed this stand using other Pearl hardware:

1 - Pearl Tom Holder (for the middle drum, this allows me to "tilt" the drum as I would a full-sized drum)
2 - Pear Adapters (used to attach and stabalize the designed Z-bar for the side mount Travel Congas)
1 - Pearl Travel conga stand
1 - Pipe cutter (I bought the least costly one at Lowes Hardware $8.00)

I took the Pearl Tom Holder with a gear tilter and fitted it into the stand tube that came with the PTC-Stand. I had to fit it part way by hand, then I put a cloth on the bar's bottom and used a hammer to gently pound it up to the hilt. This was necessary in order to allow it to fit in the vice tightner on the stand (this is what holds it steady and allows you to raise or lower the drums height). I used a pipe cutter to cut some of the excess pipe, and used some of the excess pipe to fit on the application end (the part where the PTC actually mounts to the stand).

I designed the "Z-bar" and took it to a welder I use for special projects such as this. He suggested using "stainless steele" for it's strength and lite weight. He added a 45 degree support bar at the bottom to sustain up to 30lbs. of pressure (assuming that is the amount of pressure used when playing).

Next, I used the Pearl Adapters with 3 attachment segments to hold the "Z-bar" to the stand.

I know, I have way too much time on my hands, but someday I will thank myself for it!

[onile]

Here is what the stand looks like.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXquHyj8 ... ture=email

Incidentally, the two arms/wings fold inward for packing away and hauling by loosening the wing nuts on the Pearl Adapters used to attach it to the stand. This makes it easier to place on my cart, or carry by hand.

[Firebrand]

I'm intrigued by this product. I never was really attracted to the LP Compact congas...but maybe it was because I already own 6 LP Congas (3 Fiberglass Patato...3 LP Wood Classics).

Still..I just played a gig in NYC where I was forced to take only 2 congas with me (I felt like Anga in his video...when he said he feels "weird" playing 2 congas after jumping to 3, 4, or 5....you miss the colors and ideas you can create with more than 2). I had no choice...the drummer was using my portable Traps Drumset (which was a hit at the show...sounded GREAT), and the bass player brought all 3 of his basses...and we all fit into his sedan car...so...I was assed out (2 conga night).

After watching some videos about the Pearl Travel Conga (the one with the easy setup and breakdown and the one with Marc Quinones, Bobby Allende and Richie Flores, with Anthony Carillo in the background), I wondered what it would be like to be able to take 3-4 Travel congas...and 3-4 snare stands in ONE bag...and put them all in the backseat...with space to spare for other stuff. Amazing.

My question is: without amplication...how do they sound? Are they significantly softer than regular congas (can someone give an estimated percentage). I liked the sound I heard on the videos, but those are miked and I often have to play small clubs where there is no amplication for the congas.

I'm attracted to the idea of a wood bottom. I believe that helps the sustain of these drums, vis a vis, the Giovanni Compact congas.

Bueno...give me some thoughts on them. As much as I hate wasting money on extra gear....the thought of playing 3-4 conga gigs with MINIMAL labor in carrying things is TOO attractive to ignore.

[onile]

Vaya Mi Hermano Firebrand!

I've gotta tell ya', I've played out with my set of "4" PTCs, with a modified LP Gio Practice Conga rig, (still a bit more hardware than I was wanting to carry with me), but I WAS amplified. I can't stress enough (maybe I've become a panzy over the years) but I don't play anywhere without my mics. That's why I invested in the small mixer (I can mic up to 4 drums with XLR), I just send a line-out to the house PA (usually the leader of the group has the PA), and I'm done. The beauty of the PTCs is that they have as close a sound to "real" congas than any other non-full-sized conga invention out on the market. I place my PTCs in a 16" x 20" Tom Case by Beato, actually it fits 3 PTCs comfortably and I carry the 4th one in it's PTC case it came with.

Now, If I'm playing with only 3 PTCs, then my rig consists of: 3 PTCs in the Tom Case; my gig bag (contains mics, cables, and everything else that one might need in an evening); this "newly" created stand (shown in previous post above); my drummer's throne; my mixer (Behringer 1202FX); stand for mixer. All of this fits in my car, and on my Roc-n-roller cart if needed. I'm working on minimizing this to pack it all into a Meinl Timbale Case and a hardware bag.

I think working with the PTCs is feesable if working a Latin Jazz or Jazz venue, however if working a Latin/Salsa/Folkloric venue, I will pull out the big guns (Ritmos/Islas/Patatos/Fats/GonBops). Nothing like bringing a knife to a gunfight!

Many blessings!

Onile!

*If you click on the pic you can see that I have my PTCs amplified!

[debbie]

wow onile, totally impressed!
so i now have the quinto ptc and i'm very happy with the sound. i'm still experimenting with the sound on the 1175 ptc to get it to sound like a tumba, not quite 100% convinced yet but i'm sure that's down to me and my ear. all in all i'm very happy with these 2 now they make a great practice set up and i have bought 2 cheap (pretty crap but will do for the moment) snare stands so look forward to nicer weather and some outdoor jamming sessions!