Drummer Cafe Community Forum

I'm new to the congas as well as this site. But I was wondering if someone could tell me how to properly tune the congas? Is there a particular note for each drum or do you go on what sounds good?  

Also, do you mic the drums at the top or bottom?

Thanks!

Congas are tuned in fourths for most folkloric tuning.
But of course, with modern or contemporary written music, you might be playing other intervals.

Do - Ray - me - Fa.

So, from one drum to the next, it's Do Fa.

The tension on the head should be even all around the lugs.
I usually check that by tapping about an inch or two away from the edge and listening to overtones while hitting lightly all around the drum, tightening and loosening until everything sounds the same all around the drum.

it seems like most every drum has a "sweet spot" in tuning - where it just sounds sooooo right.   then, with multiple congas (and because life isn't always fair) the sweet spots of each indvidual drum don't always match the intervals that you want between them so, you have to fool around and experiment and compromise and just be very patient until you run out of time and say "well, that's not bad - let's play"

Of course, don't forget that the sweet spot will move around on you sometimes - temperature and humidity, the room, seated vs. standing, heads stretching or having been replaced with a different type, phases of the moon, etc.  

Windhorse gave you a good starting point but allow yourself lots of time for just messing around to find what you like - as he said and I'll emphasize:  keep the tensions even all the way around the drum head - don't be tempted to get lazy and just twist the lugs closest to you.   depending upon the drum/head combination, you can warp the shell with uneven tensioning.

Good luck!

oh, the mic'ing thing.

Opinions vary but almost always mic the tops.  I like condener mics overhead by at least a foot.  I find that 1 really good mic will usually get the job done.  Two is good sometimes but I generally have to choose to put my 2nd mic on my rack (for bells, blocks, chimes, etc.)

I do not generally like "close mic'ing" but some folks do.   For me, I think you want to remember that you are mic'ing the whole drum - not just the head.   I've been tempted to mic at the bottom, too but I have never gotten around to trying it.  I think you'd need to mix it just right to get what you want.

Maybe some of the studio guys in here can help - I'm just a live player.  My "studio" work has been limited to working with some folks I would classify as "serious hobbyists".

Just like with Tom Toms, the number of congas you are using will influence the tuning you use. Traditional tunings between two congas is typically a Perfect 4^th or Perfect 5^th, with the Perfect 4^th being more common (http://community.drummercafe.com/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=11057;start=msg122472#msg122472).

If you understand solfege, as windhorse was describing to you, the Perfect 4^th would be Do Re Mi Fa ... singing a Major scale ... while the Perfect 5^th would be Do Re Mi Fa So or Sol.

When I use three congas, I typically use the Perfect 4^th interval or the Minor 3^rd ... Do Re Me. Mi is the syllable used for the Major 3^rd; Me is used for the Minor 3^rd. If you don't know your Minor scales, then use the interval Re - Fa or Mi - So. The more drums you have, the smaller the tuning intervals will more than likely need to be. I heard a piece of music a few months ago that used a chromatic octave of congas!

All of this doesn't mean a hill of beans if the drums don't sound good. Work with congas and find out where they sound the best. Then try to get the intervals described. If it sounds good in the music and sounds good to your ears, that's all that matters.

When I'm in the recording studio, I will tune my congas so that they sit well in the mix, then work with whatever interval I choose. When playing live, I tune the drums so that the sound good and work well with the majority of the songs.

It's physically impossible to get an exact pitch out of a membranophone (aka drum), although it will sound very close, so don't worry about tuning to an exact, specific pitch. Achieving the approximate interval is what is important.

Yep, and we tend to start with the low drum since you can hear the "out of tuneness" the most on the low drum.
then, the intervals get adjusted on successively higher drums.
Al's right about the drum having its own resonant frequency, and depending upon the type of drums you have, they'll either be made to accomodate the fourths, or perhaps not.

What you're trying to do traditionally with a conga is reduce the overtones as much as possible. In our folkloric circles, we are most impressed with the dullest and softest of tones with little or no ringing sound.


And for mics,, get 'em through musician's friend - -via this website!
Apparently Bart gets credit,, which means it's good for all of us.

Audix D2s are what I use, but I don't really know anything about mics these days.

Something to consider also is how many individual players are involved .... I adjust my tuning at times to fit better with my comrades drums. I like to hear individual voices from each of the instruments.