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!

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!

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.

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.

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.