Gon Bops - The right price?

[CongaTick]

Dear forummers,

Old guy I met at a party gig has two old oak Gon Bops for sale. These are from the early/mid 70s, and seem to be in pretty bad shape. Quinto (IQ-3414) has some very slight stave separation. He replaced parts of the circular wooden band himself which doesn't match as well with the original. The hardware on the drum is still intact and decent, but hooks have been replaced with Home Depot galvanized hardware hooks. Lots of dings and scratches. Comes with stand for sit-down playing. The Conga (IC-3414) shell staves are still tight, but lots of dings/scratches. Hardware same as the quinto-- Home Depot hooks,etc. Also with stand. Heads on both are good. They both sound good. He wants $400 for the pair, but am relative newbie, and don't know anything about these drums. Is this a good price--best as you can tell?

CongaTick

[Isaac]

They were great drums in their day - but a bit fragile and prone
to cracking. If you can refinish them and have the skills to do your own restoration - they're fairly priced. Be prepared to spend som more $ if you plan to restore them by a pro.
If they are the deluxe Oak
series with the wood center bands - not metal - then I would avoid them. They made those for a limited time and they weren't the best. I once owned 2 sets - the Mahogany which are fantastic and the Oak, which were lemons in my opinion.
For $400 you could buy a great ready to use top conga, and buy the matching Tumba in the future. It's good to start learning on one drum.

~ ISAAC ~
Funky Tradition / Rep. for JCR Percussion
funkytradition@yahoo.com

[CongaTick]

Thanks Isaac,

Greatly appreciate your assessment and advice. Anybody else?

CongaTick