Manufacturers, brands, skins, maintenance, stands, sticks, michrophones and other accessories for congueros can be discussed into this forum ...... leave your experience or express your doubts!
Yeah, they're nice looking.. And they sound better than they look! Really!
Of course, that is subjective and not everyone agrees on what is the best sound or how to go about getting it.. But, wow! The tones are extremely mellow, full, and round. Bass is really present and big, like the huge thud of a Howitzer - probably due to the large diameter towards the top end of the drum, like the old Valjes. The slaps, muffs, and rim shots are really easy with a minimum of overtones. Everything seems to jump out of the drum with ease. My friends are all amazed and very complimentary. The Mahogany wood is finished not with laquer, but lightly with what we think might be walnut oil.. The heads are the funky dark color and extremely thick. The bands are pressure fit and tight. The hardware is so strong that one can imagine dropping the drum right on the lugs without changing the tuning.
Most of my friends play Gon Bops, and these Classics can be played in tandem - the two low drums with the Gon Bops on quinto and segundo as if they're the same family!
Akbar is an excellent drum maker with an eye for detail and was willing to go way down on his price for someone he didn't even know. Kudos to a fabulous drum and its maker.
Nice looking drums. When I was at the Sol shop a few months ago, I saw a few of these "in the works" but they weren't on the market yet.
The "funky dark" skins might be similar to mine. Akbar (owner of Sol) re-skinned my drums last summer with some thick dark skin that he said was from Peru. In any case, I like them.
Glad to hear the good report regarding the local drum maker.