What would you consider the ideal 2-conga set?

[Miguel7]

OK, so here's the deal: I've been blessed with a new job, and I'm thinking I'd like to save up some $ for a really nice pair of congas (probably new LP Matadors; those PR Heritage congas look awesome and are used by a band I like lol). But since I can probably only afford to get one at a time, I have a couple questions for those of you who really know your drums ( ):

1. What would you say is the "ideal" or "correct" 2-conga set?
- Quinto/Conga,
- Quinto/Tumbadora, or
- Conga/Tumbadora?
The goal is to eventually have all 3, but that is a LONG-term goal lol. Also, to answer a question in advance, I play mostly salsa, merengue, and Puerto Rican genres like plena and jibaro music, which is why I really only need 2 drums).

2. What is the difference betwen the Matador and Aspire series congas? (I have Aspires back in FL but since the job is in CA I'm not sure they're worth trying to ship cross-country). The only differences I'm seeing on the 'net are price and appearance... are they longer-lasting, better-sounding, or something like that? Or are you paying for the nice design)? If there's not much of a difference I'd like to save several hundred bucks and just find a way to ship the Aspires LOL.

[pcastag]

Conga tumba, for Salsa no hay otra combinacion mejor, unless it's tumba tumba!

Hardware on the matadors is better than the aspires.
PC

[Miguel7]

Tumba tumba - no creo que he visto eso.

But don't most sets (double sets I mean) ome quinto-conga? I was thinking tumba-quinto but I like your tumba-conga idea. Mind if I ask why that particular combination?

[Omelenko1]

Conga and tumba if you're going to be playing Latin music. You will need that thick "mazacote", marcha gorda for the tumbao. So conga and tumba is what you want.

Dario

[Anonimo]

POST REMOVED BY THE AUTHOR

[Miguel7]

To the first question, it sounds like conga/tumba is best for salsa - but what about merengue/plena/bomba etc? The conga/tumba combination does sound cool. I've always used quinto/conga for tumbao/marcha but I'd be interested to hear it with conga/tumba.

To the second question, is there anything else besides the hardware that separates the Matadors from Aspires? (it was funny to see Aspire on the "worst" list lol.) Is the sound any different? How about the heads? It's stuff like that that makes more sense to me; I don't know much about hardware aside from how to tune my drums.

[ABAKUA]

Yes, hardware, skin and shell construction is inferior on the Aspires. They are called Aspires because as soon as you get them, you will aspire to own decent drums.

[Miguel7]

LOL wow - that's a good one! I can kind of see that (actually isn't that why I started this thread?)

So anyway, does everyone here agree conga/tumbadora is best for salsa/merengue etc?

[vinnieL]

conga/tumba and the matadors are good congas true work horses. For the money they are great.

[Miguel7]

Thanks for answering my questions on this. Anytime we're talking crazy-expensive drums it's always a good idea to get the 411 from ppl who know their stuff.