After a moltitude of live concerts and countless frustrating experiences, I have become quite careful on how I position my percussion instruments on my stage especially when very large audiences are involved. I believe it is a good technique to organize the percussion set up in blocks so that the sound engineer is able to use appropriate microphones for the various percussion instruments in use. For example I tend not to mix 'wooden sounds' with 'metallic sounds' as they have different transient peaks and so require different microphone types (e.g.: I would not clamp a cowbell on top of a conga or position bongos next to wind chimes, etc.). For this reason, after many discussions with experienced sound engineers, I place all my instruments on stands and have developed a sort of circular set up that allows me to move around playing various instruments simultaneously without having them to sonically interfere with each other and therefore getting more chances to hear and be heard!

I have been a Meinl Percussion endorsee since 1997 and most recently I am also endorsed by Duende. Although I possess a plethora of many ethnic percussion instruments, I draw my knowledge and inspiration from Afro Cuban and Brazilian traditions. My set up is arranged around congas, timbales and bongos, which I consider the mechanisms of my percussive 'engine'. Furthermore I incorporate a djembe and a doumbek to add a more exotic sound texture. On recording sessions I generally overdub parts separately, however, on live gigs I have all the instruments on stands and positioned so that I can play them simultaneously.

At the centre of my rig I have a set of three Meinl wooden congas (quinto, conga and tumba) or two depending on the type of gig. I prefer the sound of wooden congas to that of fiberglass ones because they have a more natural tone and are better suited for recording although they do not project as well live. I have received very positive comments from several producers and sound engineers on how easy it is to capture their sound without the use of equalization.

Next to the congas I have a set of Meinl timbales which are positioned on a more or less 90-degree angle in relation to the rest of the equipment. I have several cowbells as well as blocks clamped on it in a Cuban fashion. I often play ostinatos on the bells while playing other rhythms on the congas and such set up allows me to do that.

My bongos are simply fantastic. They are a set of Meinl 'Free Ride' and, although I enjoy tuning the 'macho' really high, I have never broken a skin!
If the stage set up allows it, I would position a djembe next to the tumba to achieve a deeper bass tone and a more 'Afro' sound and a doumbek next to the bongos for a more 'Middle Eastern' flavor.