Ben Gunn from Beijing, China
Subject:
Great Sound in Small Package
Quality:
I would rate this as a high quality product. I had already been using the PTC1175 prior to purchasing the PTC1250, which is also a great product.
Ease of Use:
There were no specific instructions included with the instrument. A special foam handle tightening wrench is include. This in combination with the upwards facing tunning bolts makes it very easy to tune while already mounted in a stand. Regarding tunning nuts, the attachment point of the tightening bolts stick out of the contoured rim, which somewhat defeats the purpose of the contoured rim. Actually this isn't really a serious problem, it just means you have to rotate the drum to position your hands in a place between the bolts (this is easily achieved since the bolts are well spaced). I don't find this to be a real problem, but in this case the competing LP Compact Conga has the upper hand since the bolts attach beneath the rim.
Sound:
Overall the tome is very impressive; however, one must take into account that you will never get the same kind of sound out of it as a full size conga due the small wooden shell. Despite this limitation I still rate the tome of this instrument very highly. Like all travel/compact congas the bass tone tends to be a little lacking. I have compared it to the LP Compact Conga (I this case I compared the Pearl PTC1175 with the LP equivalent), and would have to say that in terms of bass tone it definitely has the upper hand.
Value:
The product is priced competitively.
Durability:
The item is solidly constructed and thus appears to be quite durable. Since I have only just bought it I cannot comment on its long term durability.
Do you own this product?:
Yes, I recently purchased it through this website
Date submitted:
14 October 2009