I got a Bongo

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A1A2

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I got a bongo(those short African hand-drum) and don't know exactually what to do with it, so here are my questions and hopefully some of you can help out

1) Can someone recommend an artist/song where I can hear how bongos are supposed to be played?

2) How would you go about micing it?

Thanks

AL
 
You find bongo's in a lot of salsa songs..

And I rememember a tune from a few years ago with bongo's in it, something with 'Don't drive me crazy bout that boogiewoogiewoogiewoogie' but I can't remember the artist or the song name :D.

Micing it, no idea. I would start with a dynamid at the bottom maybe and a condensor aimed at the top maybe. You'll just have to experiment.
 
Watch some old episodes of "I love Lucy". They are also great to bring along to poetry readings so you can accent the verses. I prefer to play butt bongos but to each his own.
 
These guys are useless. :D Well, some of them are okay, but not in this thread for your question.

Well, bongo's percussion, right? I'd try to get my hands on two things if I was gonna seriously get into percussion like bongos and such:

1 a really good sounding room (there's a forum here for getting a good room sound)

2 a good small diaphragm mic (check out the mic forum if you want to enquire further in that regard)
 
dobro said:
These guys are useless. :D Well, some of them are okay
Click to expand...

I hope I am OK:D

Axel, that was the song I intended.

Dobro, I agree with you on the small diaphragm, but I noticed that when you extra mic percussion on the right place with a good dynamic, you can get that extra 'toooomb' sound out of it. I once managed it that way with a Djembé, and the combination of the mikes sounded very realistic.
 
Yo A1A2 & AOK:]

"Bongo bongo bongo, I don't want to leave the Congo, O Ho, no, no, no, no...."

Who knows the next line?

The group CHIZIL has a cassette out there with such bongoee tunes: Bjork, Bjork, Fettucini Manfredo, Not So St. Thomas, Rio Con Brio, Lusty McRusty, etc.

Should give you enough Bongo bang.

Green Hornet:D

Keyboard player and writer of many of the tunes is a good friend of mine who lives in the Grand Rapids area -- Dick Reynolds -- a real talent.

:D :D :p :p :cool: :cool:
 
Hey, guys:

really appreciate the inputs. Maybe I should have asked the micing part after I get back to the US, where my gears are, but, anyways, here are my mics: C1, sm57, AT 4041, D112
What are the usual ways to mic a bongo? The bongo I got came with 2 pieces, a big and a small hand-drum. Sorry I can't experiment around before asking this. Should I use the small dyaphram (AT 4041) only like Dobro suggested or can I, for example, use the 57 on the another side or C1 as overhead, or D112 inside the bigger drum, and etc???
Next, the room(surface). I am guessing I need a hard floor to place this bongo on instead of carpet, correct? or should I get a stand for it (for recording purpose)? Room-wise, I really can't do much about as a poor student, so, I will work on the micing techniques and where to place the bongo for now.

Thanks for all the help, I am starting my mp3 search now :)

AL
 
It would be easy to say 'you need different mics', but we won't get into that.

First and often forgotten - even bongos need tuning. Tuned right they sound brilliant, with dead skins and bad tuning they sound bad. Just like any other drum.

Second, bongos are very midrange and very loud. Therefore mics like a 57 might be a bad choice, as they have a similar frequency peak, which will make a bongo sound very hard and spikey.

With your mics - I'd definately use the C1, and place it at least 3feet forward, 2 feet up from the instrument. If you have 2 C1's - that's even better.

For studio recording I'd use a matched pair of Neumann KM54's, for live stuff I'd use Sennheisser E604 clip-ons
 
Hey, Sjoko! Hiya!


"I noticed that when you extra mic percussion on the right place with a good dynamic, you can get that extra 'toooomb' sound out of it. I once managed it that way with a Djembé, and the combination of the mikes sounded very realistic."

That's interesting. I'll drag my 57 out of its mothballs and try it on some percussion. Thanks. :)


Green Hornet - I don't know the next line, but I can tweak the first line a bit. It goes: "Bingo bango bongo I don't wanna leave the Congo". Talk about music from a different era...
 
A1A2 said:
1) Can someone recommend an artist/song where I can hear how bongos are supposed to be played?
Click to expand...

eagles' Hotel California... :D
 
Yo Dobro:

Your memory astounds me; of course you are right -- it is "Bingo Bango Bongo.

The second line in part is: Bingo Bango Bongo I'm so happy in the Congo I refuse to go...."

The ensuing words are blasts against city life as I recall.

Different era? Yea, verily, I was a child.

Green Hornet
 
sjoko2:

Thank you for stopping by! I will definitely try the C1 when I get back. I have a question, a silly one, how do I tune a bongo? I mean, I know how to tighten them and make them sound sharper, but how do I know when they are "in tune"?

Thanks for all the inputs, I will look those songs/artists up :)

AL
 
There is a lot about tuning drums and percussion on the net,
http://www.harmony-central.com/Drums/faqs.html is a good place to start and ask questions.

Tuning drums is one of my 'hang-ups', and in over 30 years of recording I have met but a few drummers and percussionists that are really masters at tuning their instruments. Of couse those are the people I will still call for sessions, people like Aynsley Dunbar, Jota Morelli, Aerto, Bara. They walk in, listen (or read) the material, get to work on their instruments and in no time at all you are recording - and it will sound great.

While some people know how to make their instruments sound ok ... there is also a, forgotten in 99% of cases .... question of what key a song is in.
Just think...... if you are recording a song in D, but someone plays an instrument, like a bongo, conga etc., with a predominent tone in a D sharp, the whole song will grind on your nerves.

Oh, almost forgot, Bongos are Latin, not African
 
When you tune the bongo tune each lug just a little bit and rotate tuning around the drum. It's VERY important to tune the instrument down after playing it each time, or you risk damaging the drum head/skin.

I bought a good stand for my bongos because it's difficult to record when you are holding them. They aren't cheap though and mine was almost twice the price of the bongos.

I use a Rode NT-1000 large diaphram condenser about two feet above the drum and one or two feet back. Just experiment. A large or medium diaphram mic works well because of the strong mid-range and bass.

A lot of the playing is done near the edge of the drums and you slap the drum with your fingertips to produce a clear articulate sound. You kind of "snap" your fingertips. When you hit the drum in the center you use more of your palms and it's more of a mellow bass sound. Turn your radio to a contemporary jazz (smooth jazz) station and play along. Usually those rhythms are good for bongos and congas. Any Santana album is good to play along to.
 
sjoko2:
Thanks for the link, I will definitely check it out. About tunning, since there are 2 pieces, I assume the bigger one should be tuned to the key of the song, how about the smaller one? is there a certain rule or it's really up to my taste?
Bongo=Latin I will keep that in mind :)

Wide Awake:

Thanks alot for the techniques! I have a question, I have seen Congo players wearing some kind of bend-aid around their fingers. What are those for? for the sound or protection for their fingers? Cuz it sure hurts my fingers after playing bongo for awhile.

AL
 
A1A2 said:
I have seen Congo players wearing some kind of bend-aid around their fingers. What are those for? for the sound or protection for their fingers? Cuz it sure hurts my fingers after playing bongo for awhile.
Click to expand...

Congas are really tough on your hands, especially if you play them hard for hours in a live band. You don't need to hit bongos as hard, it's more of a finess instruments compared to congos. I wouldn't put anything on your hands. Start out slow and build up your hand strength.

Bongos have really been important to me because I use drum machines. Having some real instruments mixed in with the drum samples makes grooves much stronger. I also use shakers, tambourine, and triangle. I'm currently looking for some woodblocks to add to my studio. I'd like to have conga drums but I'm running out of room for any more gear. :)
 
A1A2 said:
Thanks alot for the techniques! I have a question, I have seen Congo players wearing some kind of bend-aid around their fingers. What are those for? for the sound or protection for their fingers? Cuz it sure hurts my fingers after playing bongo for awhile.
Click to expand...

Most percussion players tape their fingers. I always just assumed it was medical tape but I never bothered to ask. You should be able to get it at any drug store. It's the same stuff they use to wrap bandages but make sure you get the cloth type of tape.
 
Some of the greatest sounding bongos I've heard recently are on the title track of Joe Sample's latest CD: "The Pecan Tree".
 
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