ImproMedia - Conga Stands

<body text="black", link="black"> <center> <h1></h1> <div id="note" class="PopStyle"></div> <script type="text/javascript"> </script> <a name="conga.stands.1"></a> <table width=100% cellpadding=5 cellspacing=0> <tr> <td width=999* valign=top><p><p>The <a href="http://www.lpmusic.com/Product_Showcase/Whats_New/compact_conga_large.html" target="_blank">LP Compact Conga</a> is a very portable instrument. Because there is no heavy shell they're small and pretty lightweight so transport is a breeze. This makes them ideal for exercises on holiday or on the couch, but this characteristic also renders them great candidates for inclusion in a portable set.<br> <br> It is a pity that ordinary snare stands are advised for this instrument because these are not at all designed with weight optimization in mind. The two snare stands that I used to carry around with my compact congas weight over 5 kilos, almost more than five times the combined weight of the two congas together.<br> <br> Because ordinary snares also tend to be rather thick, the stands have to be used in their up most position making them rather unstable. I had a feeling that there was a project in here...</p></p></td> <td><img src="/p-httpd/images/1160847541.jpg" alt="" width="350" height="298" border="0" hspace=6 vspace=5> </td> </tr> </table> <a name="conga.stands.3"></a> <table width=100% cellpadding=5 cellspacing=0> <tr> <td><p><p>LP recently introduced some kind of adopted timbales <a href="http://www.lpmusic.com/Product_Showcase/Whats_New/cmpct_mount.html" target="_blank">stand for mounting two compact congas</a>. However these seem to be designed with stability rather than weight in mind. The fact that there is one combined stand for two congas might make it less stable. Another drawback might be that the congas are not to be repositioned as freely as when they have their own support. Such a solution could be difficult to push away when you need some space for your bongos.<br> <br> This sounded like a nice project. The aim being to create a lightweight stand for the compact congas without suffering too much stability. If speed of installation and mounting was gained, so much the better. With the snare stands there also seem to much knobs and bolts to fasten and adjust before you can play. I had it happen to me that my conga slowly got lower and lower because I forgot to fasten a screw somewhere. </p></p></td> </tr> </table> <a name="conga.stands.4"></a> <table width=100% cellpadding=5 cellspacing=0> <tr> <td><p>With all this fresh on my mind, it did not take long to realize there where probably more people looking for more elegant solutions. When I coincidently visited a percussion shop in Groningen (Stiggelbout) I came across their own stand for the compact congas. Straightforward: A ring with three iron (height adjustable) legs, locking in the three holes at the bottom of the compact conga. Very stable but not very lightweight and it needs installation time every time because the legs need to be adjusted.<br> <br> Legs, or any other parts, that come apart only seem economical during transport. The drawback is that one lost screw renders the whole thing unusable and you still need time to set it all up while in practice the perfect height will be the same every time.<br> <br> Designing stands for my own playing situation also gave the possibility to make them relatively low. This is because I have a small snare that I use to play on top of one of the congas.<br> <br> <br></p></td> </tr> </table> <a name="compliatie.draaiwerk"></a> <table width=100% cellpadding=5 cellspacing=0> <tr> <td align=center> <img src="/p-httpd/images/1160846375.jpg" alt="" width="735" height="275" border="0" align=center hspace=6 vspace=5> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><p> </p></td> </tr> </table> <a name="conga.stands.2"></a> <table width=100% cellpadding=5 cellspacing=0> <tr> <td width=999* valign=top><p><p>Studying an aluminum folding backdrop used at convention booths (a friend of mine happened to own one of these), eventually led to an small drawing and some experiments. After building some prototypes with straws and small wooden sticks, I had enough confidence to start constructing the real thing. I had to freshen up a little bit on Pythagoras, sinuses and co-sinuses to calculate the pipe lengths and fired up the lathe (see pictures above). Per stand four outer X-crosses (two 8 mm. aluminium pipes each), and two pyramids build out of four 6 mm. pipes where necessary. The end bits (drilled so the snap into key-rings) had to be made by hand on the lathe. All in all, especially if you decide to make two of them directly, a considerable bit of work. Besides a handful of these key-rings, 32 ends of 6 mm. and 32 ends of 8 mm. where needed.</p><p>To fix the stands to bottom of the compact conga rims, I came up with two sets of four small blocks that fit into the key-rings on one side of each stand. Per conga, two of these are fixed and two are made adjustable so the playing surface can be slanted a bit to mimic a traditional conga. See photographs below.</p> </p></td> <td><img src="/p-httpd/images/1160845060.jpg" alt="" width="250" height="218" border="0" hspace=6 vspace=5> </td> </tr> </table> <a name="compliatie.mounting"></a> <table width=100% cellpadding=5 cellspacing=0> <tr> <td align=center> <img src="/p-httpd/images/1160847207.jpg" alt="" width="735" height="275" border="0" align=center hspace=6 vspace=5> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><p> </p></td> </tr> </table> <a name="conga.stands.5"></a> <table width=100% cellpadding=5 cellspacing=0> <tr> <td><p>The completed stands are shown in the image at the top of this page. They have already been put to good use in practice. Both aluminum stands together only weigh a mere 500 grammes! Before use, the support cubes must be fitted under the conga rims by screws. This is mainly because I did not dare screwing and drilling directly in the aluminium of the compact conga rims. Some quick-lock system here should make an additional improvement, and will save even more time. Another possible (near) future addition may be some rubber caps fixed to each leg on one side of the collapsible stands to stabilize the instrument better on smooth surfaces. </p></td> </tr> </table> <a name="conga.stands.6"></a> <table width=100% cellpadding=5 cellspacing=0> <tr> <td width=999* valign=top><p>The construction already proved firmly enough for my playing style (but perhaps this is not too virtuoso yet) and I certainly have come to the conclusion that they are just as stable as the heavy snare-stands that I used before. So I consider this project more than succeeded. On the picture you can see the final result and right next to that both stands used in the theatre. I'm sitting behind the Steinway (where I seem to sit right on top of, bit of a weird picture). This was during a show in the <em>Oosterpoort</em> theatre in Groningen (final of the NSK theatresports 2006, the actors are the <em>Fluffy Suicide Bunnies</em>). </p></td> <td><img src="/p-httpd/images/1160850908.jpg" alt="" width="458" height="250" border="0" hspace=6 vspace=5> </td> </tr> </table> <script type="text/javascript"></script> <ul class="menu" id="menu"><li id="d-1087212011" class=" cms_parent"><a href="/en/1087212011">ImproMedia</a><ul><li id="d-1087220762" class=""><a href="/en/1087220762">Effects</a></li><li id="d-1087220833" class=""><a href="/en/1087220833">Musical</a></li><li id="d-1087220789" class=""><a href="/en/1087220789">Image Beaming</a></li></ul></li><li id="d-1087229610" class=""><a href="/en/1087229610">Background Info</a></li><li id="d-percussie" class=" cms_parent"><a href="/en/percussie" title="Live Percussion">Live Percussion</a><ul><li id="d-rhythm" class=""><a href="/en/rhythm" title="Salsa rhythms">Rhythms</a></li><li id="d-conga-stands" class=""><a href="/en/conga.stands" title="Conga Stands">Conga Stands</a></li><li id="d-salsaband" class=""><a href="/en/salsaband" title="Salsaband">Salsaband</a></li></ul></li><li id="d-1087222686" class=" cms_parent"><a href="/en/1087222686">Live SFX Console</a><ul><li id="d-1093779731" class=""><a href="/en/1093779731">Sounds & Music</a></li><li id="d-1087222895" class=""><a href="/en/1087222895">FoleySFX</a></li><li id="d-1093646378" class=""><a href="/en/1093646378">AcoustFX</a></li><li id="d-1093687086" class=""><a href="/en/1093687086">Foley OS X/Linux</a></li></ul></li><li id="d-livescore" class=" cms_parent"><a href="/en/livescore" title="LiveScore">LiveScore</a><ul><li id="d-in-en-uitvoer" class=""><a href="/en/in.en.uitvoer" title="Input and Reports">Input and Reports</a></li></ul></li><li id="d-1087222754" class=" cms_parent"><a href="/en/1087222754">Technical</a><ul><li id="d-1087223102" class=""><a href="/en/1087223102">Downloads</a></li></ul></li><li id="d-gallery" class=""><a href="/en/gallery" title="Gallery">Gallery</a></li><li id="d-1087221847" class=""><a href="/en/1087221847">Contact</a></li></ul> </center> <script type="text/javascript" src="/p-httpd/_cms/os/awstats/awstats_misc_tracker_cookie.js"></script><noscript><img src="/awstats_empty.php?nojs=y" height="0" width="0" style="border-width:0px; display:none;" alt:"awstats" /></noscript></body>