Members saxcop2 Posted July 4, 2011 Members Share Posted July 4, 2011 I'm going to buy some congas to play around with. I am not a percussionist but a guitar player. They have to be under $300. They have to come with a stand. I'm considering one of these. Opinions please http://www.americanmusical.com/Item--i-PEA-PFC202623-PAK http://www.americanmusical.com/Item--i-RHY-RT5501-LIST Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rdrummer322 Posted July 4, 2011 Members Share Posted July 4, 2011 Excellent choices by the way. I haven't had a lot of experience with congas, but I do have a lot with drums and have often had conga players jamming with me, and have spent time fooling around with them over the past 40 years or so. The wood congas are of course going to have a warmer tone (you notice this tone after the initial attack). The fiberglass congas look wonderful and will definitely play louder, but will have a brighter(sharper) tone after the attack. It really depends on what you are looking for, but I like the bongos with the congas set up in the Pearl alot, and seeing how you are not a drummer and will probably be doubling the percussion I think they would be the most fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Carminemw Posted July 4, 2011 Members Share Posted July 4, 2011 I have owned a set of LPs and a set of Gon Bops...LPs were fiber glass and the Gon Bops were wood. Traditionalists will say wood, but I like the LPs better. You may even want to check into those sampling things now-a-days...tends to make the playing a lot easier than learning all of the proper techniques for pops and slaps... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members saxcop2 Posted July 4, 2011 Author Members Share Posted July 4, 2011 I went ahead and got the Pearl set. $247.00 shipped. Nice deal.Thanks for the replys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kmart Posted July 5, 2011 Members Share Posted July 5, 2011 Better move anyway. If you HAVE to get a pair of drums, and they HAVE come with a stand, and they HAVE to also cost $300 or less...you weren't likely to get a truly good set made out of natural materials, IME. BTW, that's a lot of HAVE to's, IMO, ahead of some things I'd consider first...like HAVE to not be a POS, HAVE to sound decent, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members saxcop2 Posted July 5, 2011 Author Members Share Posted July 5, 2011 Actually the wood ones at this price point were cheaper. How much should a non drummer spend on congas that he doesn't even know how to play. If they sound bad I wont even know. So it made perfect sense to put limits on the question I was asking. Yet all you could do was blow smoke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 1001gear Posted July 5, 2011 Members Share Posted July 5, 2011 Entry level with those considerations; the only wrong choice would be like, " I bought a snare drum. It was cheaper." Four drums with stands is a very good start. The down side is: getting good tone and generally playing well will hurt your sax hands; bones, skin, nerves and all. So enjoy yourself but don't over do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kmart Posted July 5, 2011 Members Share Posted July 5, 2011 Actually the wood ones at this price point were cheaper. How much should a non drummer spend on congas that he doesn't even know how to play. If they sound bad I wont even know. So it made perfect sense to put limits on the question I was asking. Yet all you could do was blow smoke 1) Exactly, and wood drums at that low of a price will be a total crap-shoot quality-wise. That's not to say that the fiberglass drums at that price will be a ton better, though. 2) How much should a non-drummer spend on something he doesn't know how to play? Depends; do you want to enjoy playing the drums, or come to hate them because they sound like crap and fall apart on you? The bit about if they sound bad, you won't know is BS: do you have ears? 3) It made perfect sense to you to put the limits on what you were asking, because you don't know the item you're asking about. What I did wasn't blowing smoke; it was pointing out a serious flaw in your decision-making process, as clearly stated in my opinion. You DID ask for opinions, didn't you? Why yes, yes you did. Let's flip the scenario: I'm a drummer. If I jumped into a guitar forum and said "I don't know anything about guitars, but I want to buy an electric guitar and amp so I can RAWK out. The guitar has to be silver sparkle and come with a gig bag, and the amp has to have built in distortion & effects and it all has to cost under $150" and showed two links to entry-level, lower-quality packages, then said "I'm considering one of these. Please give me your opinions"... ...and then went ahead and pulled the trigger on one of them just a few hours later anyway....you'd be well within reason to point out the potential foolishness of my actions too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members saxcop2 Posted July 6, 2011 Author Members Share Posted July 6, 2011 Reading your first post Kmart it seems that you have a preference for "made out of natural materials" This was the point of my thread, but you didn't say anything about the basis for that opinion. That was the question I wanted answered. secondly you didn't tell me anything about the choices I was considering or what to look for or suggest an alternative. That would have been of equal value to me. Instead your post was intended to point out what you believe is my foolishness. Yet as I have pointed out you did not give one example to support your opinion in the first post. The drum forum is very slow here. It is not like the electric guitar forum where I would get several answers to a guitar question within a half hour. The one guy who resopnded and seemed to be familiar with congas said they were excellent choices. I got 15% off and free shipping for the 4th of July sale. I had to act fast finally the thing I didn't tell you is that I intend to have my wife play around with them and dont intend to play them myself at all. I play sax and guitar. I got fiberglass so she could haul them easier. As a guy with 26 guitars I would not recommend you buy a Gibson if you decide to pickup a second instrument. I'd recommend you start out with the $150 package deal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kmart Posted July 6, 2011 Members Share Posted July 6, 2011 As a guy with 26 guitars I would not recommend you buy a Gibson if you decide to pickup a second instrument. I'd recommend you start out with the $150 package deal As a guy who understands that junk is junk, and cheap price almost always indicates equally cheap gear, I now know I wouldn't consider your advice on buying a guitar/amp. When the hardware on those drums starts going south, maybe you'll understand what I mean better, I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rdrummer322 Posted July 6, 2011 Members Share Posted July 6, 2011 Have to agree with saxcop on this one. He made it clear it was simply to mess around with, nothing serious, and wanted our opinions between 2 choices. You are right Kmart, neither would be professional level in any sense of the word. I think saxcop already knew that if he was looking at conga prices. I think Saxcop made a good purchase, exactly what he was looking for, and will enjoy them a lot. If he wants to upgrade later he will know better about what he wants. We have often advised young kids about their first drumset, we all know about the rules of thumb to follow in these recommendations, but this is a completely different situation. Hope you enjoy the congas and come back to let us know how they sound to you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kmart Posted July 6, 2011 Members Share Posted July 6, 2011 We have often advised young kids about their first drumset, we all know about the rules of thumb to follow in these recommendations, but this is a completely different situation. Personally don't see it as any different a situation at all: age of a 'noob' makes no difference (aside from an adult generally having an easier time understanding that quality costs more). Note that I'm not saying to buy the best/most expensive pro-quality drums. Not even close.But I don't care if it's Little Johnny's first snare drum or the future Mrs. Ex-Wife's new hobby or what, in my experience, you buy low enough quality and you immediately cut down the likelihood that the player will enjoy the purchase.For congas, those budget rims and hardware mixed with what I'd guess to be no technique/training will make for some unhappy hands, that's almost certain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members keith david Posted November 22, 2019 Members Share Posted November 22, 2019 Hello Conga & Bongo enthusiast . I am 58 years old and have been playing since 1978 = quite a while now. I have played every conceivable type of Drum kit from all manufacturers from Rogers to DW . And Congas & Bongos from CP - LP . I have owned and played the very expensive wood versions in the LP Giovanni series. The LP Matador Series & the LP Performer series = ALL WOOD SHELLS. . But over the past couple weeks I have ventured out to check out some Fiberglass sets. I can tell you will all my years of playing Live & in the Studio sessions. I have found that the Pearl Havana Series that are FIBERGLASS are GREAT in all aspects. Sound Quality and outstanding features. I have a special order in for every size Peral Makes in the Havana Red Tiger Stripe Finish = 11" Quinto - 11.75 Conga - 12.5 Tumba CONGA'S & Both matching Bongos. They are not that expensive in my book for what I am getting and due to the Black Friday sales event I will be getting the entire set for less money making them much more worth the price I will pay. As far as scratches . I have used many different types on cases/ bags. I suggest the Roadrunner Series made for Guitar Center. They come with a 2 year warranty. And they replaced them Immediately when the zipper pulls broke off . If you purchase these Conga bags of which have wheels on them. You may want to use a thin piece of wire or thin steel type key ring to loop through that zipper pull space to add support to that zipper pull tab. I highly recommend this Pearl Havana series set to all players. Young Old Pros & Novices you will not be disappointed at all. Again I have played some of the most expensive LP Giovanni sets and these Pearl sets come as close to them as possible and if you tune them correctly they will sing like a bird for you in all settings. Go check them out you will not regret it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Voltan Posted November 22, 2019 Members Share Posted November 22, 2019 hey... welcome kd... just thought i would mention that the last post on this thread was july... 2011... some of the old farts around here will jump about necro thread bumping... myskef? im known to bump an old thread or two now and again.... sometimes just because... (see above) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^. other times because, like this one, its full of pertinent info... welcome n00b ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Voltan Posted November 22, 2019 Members Share Posted November 22, 2019 it was cool seeing an old carmine poast... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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