ISLA PERCUSSION - Discussion, Quality, Experience, etc

[yusef33]

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[Lonz]

I know what you mean, Marco. I must have watched the video Mario sent a few thousand times. I will put some pictures up. Thanks for the good words.

Hey Lonz ,
your not going to be sleeping much untill they arrive . Mine still exite me every time I play them whch is every day and nice colour choice I have same set of three . after 16months they are still opening up with new voice and are sounding amazing . welcome to La Famalia Isla .

Marco
be sure to add some pics and give my best to mario if you speak soon .

[Lonz]

All three drums, Quinto and 2 Congas have arrived. Workmanship on drums was excellent. All have a sound that's even better than anticipated. One small glich. The skin went bad on one of the Congas, in transit, so I will have to replace it. If anyone knows a good supplier, I would like to hear from you. Many decades ago, I replaced a head of one of my first drums with mule skin. It was easy to get in those days and relatively-cheap. However, the skin turned out to be thicker than I needed it to be. What did I know, I was a teen at the time. I think I had the wrong side out, too, because there were some hair follicles exposed. I know better, this time. Medium-thick Cow will do the trick - follicles-in. Anyway, pictures will be posted soon. Mario did a great job. I think these will become family heirlooms.

Lonz

[umannyt]

All three drums, Quinto and 2 Congas have arrived. Workmanship on drums was excellent. All have a sound that's even better than anticipated. One small glich. The skin went bad on one of the Congas, in transit, so I will have to replace it....Anyway, pictures will be posted soon. Mario did a great job. I think these will become family heirlooms.
Lonz

Lonz,

Congratulations! I, too, own a set of 3 Islas (quinto, conga and tumba) and am very happy with the sound which is fat and dry. I use them mostly when I play with a low-volume, acoustic/unplugged band. (I also own a set of 4 Gon Bops CAs (quinto, 2 congas and tumba which I prefer for playing with a loud amplified band.)

If the skin on one of the congas went bad in transit, don't you think Mario should send you a replacement as it isn't your fault? I do; that is, unless you can't wait. It shouldn't be an issue with Mario.

Do share with us your photos. Thanks in advance.

All the best,

[windhorse]

what do you mean "the skin went bad"?

[Lonz]

You make a good point. The Quinto and Conga that arrived today arrived a week after the first Conga was delivered. I have to assume all were shipped out on the same day. These two had to have been held up in some storage area or delivery truck, out of Mario's control or my control. I'm chaulking this one up as one of those nobody-to-blame situations, except maybe the postal-delivery system. The delivery delay had me on edge.

All three drums, Quinto and 2 Congas have arrived. Workmanship on drums was excellent. All have a sound that's even better than anticipated. One small glich. The skin went bad on one of the Congas, in transit, so I will have to replace it....Anyway, pictures will be posted soon. Mario did a great job. I think these will become family heirlooms.
Lonz

Lonz,

Congratulations! I, too, own a set of 3 Islas (quinto, conga and tumba) and am very happy with the sound which is fat and dry. I use them mostly when I play with a low-volume, acoustic/unplugged band. (I also own a set of 4 Gon Bops CAs (quinto, 2 congas and tumba which I prefer for playing with a loud amplified band.)

If the skin on one of the congas went bad in transit, don't you think Mario should send you a replacement as it isn't your fault? I do; that is, unless you can't wait. It shouldn't be an issue with Mario.

Do share with us your photos. Thanks in advance.

All the best,

[Lonz]

what do you mean "the skin went bad"?

[Lonz]

Here are two from my new set.

Beautiful work; great sound:

[vinnieL]

Does the drum head look like it has mold? if it just smells weird put it out in the sun for a while that might help the skin may not be bad it's worth trying. Also you can wipe the head with alchohol then coat it again with oil or manteca de corojo or some like olive oil also.

[Congadelica]

I am sure Mario would not have sent you a drum with a skin that was bad . But Im guessing here it is maybe a little fungie built up with humidity and in transit . My skins were fine although they did have a peculiar smell when they first arrived . but now they sing sweet music and smell great .
Id try cleaninig with alcahol and re apply some Ebo and a little sun like vinnie mentions .
Ofcourse if the skin is bad Im sure Mario would not think twice to send you another . maye you could post a pic ?

Those Tumba`s are going to be giving you so much pleasure they look sweet .

Marco

[Lonz]

You are absolutely correct about that.

I am sure Mario would not have sent you a drum with a skin that was bad . But Im guessing here it is maybe a little fungie built up with humidity and in transit . My skins were fine although they did have a peculiar smell when they first arrived . but now they sing sweet music and smell great .
Id try cleaninig with alcahol and re apply some Ebo and a little sun like vinnie mentions .
Ofcourse if the skin is bad Im sure Mario would not think twice to send you another . maye you could post a pic ?

Those Tumba`s are going to be giving you so much pleasure they look sweet .

Marco

[Lonz]

I should have considered you guys would come up with a solution from experience. I wish I saw this earlier. If there is one constant in this life, there is always something new to learn. Thanks.

Does the drum head look like it has mold? if it just smells weird put it out in the sun for a while that might help the skin may not be bad it's worth trying. Also you can wipe the head with alchohol then coat it again with oil or manteca de corojo or some like olive oil also.

[Lonz]

I want to make something very clear. Two good things have happened in recent months. I found this forum. I purchased three Islas. I happened onto this forum by chance. It was an eye-opener. To find out that there are so many people who love the Conga and Bongos as much as I do is a great thing. It was through this forum that I learned about Mario Punchard's work. And it turns out that what was said about him and his work was no exagerration. Mario is a great guy and his craftsmanship is excellent. To have drums made personally for me is light-years beyond buying something made on an assembly line in China. My three new Islas is the best purchasing-decision I've made in a long time. When I said they would be family heirlooms, in a recent post, I was not kidding.

Lonz

[windhorse]

Yesterday, we brought the set of Isla bata up the mountain to the lesson. We mounted straps, tuned the heads, and put goop on the Iya, and later just a bit in the center of the Itototele. The sound was so nutty, soft, and beautiful that we couldn't believe it! They're the best sounding bata I've ever heard!!!!!!!
Thanks so much Mario!!
I love them!

[bongosnotbombs]

Dave,
Let me know how that "goop" works out, I need some for my Iya too.
However, my itotele is just fine without it. The bells are sounding good too.