I'm taking the plunge and ordering my first set of congas. A drum maker I know produces six sizes: requinto, quinto, conga, tumba, super tumba, and the "bomba". Where should I start? Heard it would be best a go with a conga and a tumba for now. Maybe add a quinto later. Will be playing mostly Cuban,  World, and some softer music from Rastafarian and Indian spiritual traditions. Thoughts?

Yeah, I'd considered that  . . . a bigger range. I don't know a lot about this because I'm a new player, but I'm think the quinto could be tuned down if necessary. Right? I'm working with Tom Alexander over at Volcano. Seemed like a good idea to invest in good instruments that will hold, and probably increase in value. www.volcanopercussion.com

I would go conga (11 3/4 is pretty standard) and tumba (12 1/2 the usual size.)  The conga can be tuned pretty high until you get the quinto, and the tumba will give good low end.  I wouldn't try to tune the quinto down...it begins to sound dead after a point.  Tuning up is usually quite effective.  I did this with my second set, and am now waiting on the 11 inch quinto.  I can't afford volcanos, but the theory should still apply.  The wood on those (koa, I think) is the most gorgeous I've seen.  I'm sure they sound great too.  Go to www.congaplace.com and do a search.  I'm sure people have first hand experience with them.

God bless!

-Ron

My new quinto was shipped today!  EEEEhah!  Okay, let's face it...I know I'm not in any need of a six drum setup...still something tells me all six will end up in the same room sooner or later LOL.  Yhe plan is to simply use them as sets of three for church and practice at the studio...then use 4 or 5 at gigs (already done those). Still, knowing me, a six drum setup will probably sneak in eventually, totally defeating the purpose of reducing the hauling load.  Still very happy.

God bless!

-Ron

I ended up getting a Volcano quinto and tumba, figuring I could tune the tumba up if necessary. I tried this combination in a couple of small sessions and it worked fine.

I can also tweak the my EQ to raise or lower the tone of both drums to a certain extent as well. I independently close-mic the drums with Audix D2's and run them through a Mackie mixer and Roland keyboard amp. Works great.

I would love to talk about the Volcano's, but they are still being made as we speak -- takes about three months, which, by custom-drum standards isn't bad. So, it will be a while before I can report back and post some images.

I ordered the Monkeypod shells, which unfortunately, I can't show you right now either, because the maker, Tom Alexander, apparently pulls the images from the site when the when wood runs low. But trust me, they are beautiful.

Meanwhile, I've been playing a Gon Bops California series tumba and quinto, which is what I was referring to. To me, the Gon Bops are really heavy and have a distinct ring to them that I don't care for, so those are going back this week. But I like the quinto/tumba size combination.

It may not be traditional, but I've found I like to run the drums through an amp. You don't have to beat the hell out of the drums or your hands, you can hear yourself play over the other instruments, and you can tweak the tone as well. Next, I'm going to experiment with an Lexicon effects unit to introduce some subtle reverb and chorus.