GonBops by DW

[Jongo]

Well I was elated and now I am just confused. I was excited to see the Gon Bops California model, it looks fabulous! I seriously hope they sound as good as they look. They look like they would have a great sound. Now I am confused as to who is making what and where. So the shells are Sol but the hardware, specifically the rims looked like a Sol rim as well, just the lugs are a Gon Bops shape. I would like to get a chance to play these, I wonder how quickly they will be distributed. I guess these really are not Gon Bops but a Sol hybrid (which is not a bad thing) but they are using the Gon Bops name for marketing because it carries a lot of clout. It's all marketing but it works, we are all talking about them.

[mco]

I ordered a pair of the California Series bongos from my local DW dealer. He spoke with the people at DW and was assured that the drums are contructed in the US, although I'm still not sure where the hardware is coming from. The lead time to get these drums is 4-5 months (!). I'll report back (late summer or early fall, I suppose) when my bongos are delivered.

[Tonio]

mco, please keep us posted 4to 5 months? woah.

I remember a buddy of mine got some GonBops before they closed shop. He actually returned them because one of the lugs broke and went flying when he tried to tune it up-at a gig no less. Luckily it hit only a wall, it did make a rather deep dent.
It may just be something out of the ordinary.

If a bongo takes 4 to 5 months, how about tumbadoras?

[Berimbau]

Well I never did get the old Gon Bops thing. They are all TOO heavy, crack easily, and so many sound like the thickest cardboard boxes. Seeing the stupidly inflated prices old Gon Bops are selling for on E-Bay just makes me ill! I sold my last set for $400.00 to an old student of mine. I'm not even sure that I paid even that much for them in the 1970s!! Anyway, I'd rather make money playing music than overcharging folks for used drums.
I also sold a Memphis buddy some of my loose Gon Bops hardware for $20.00. His Gon Bops quinto had EXPLODED at a gig and he was distraught that the company had gone out of business. It's amazing the amount of odd drum parts you can collect after nearly 40 years of music making.
Now I think the new Gon Bops look real PRETTY, but can't we just bring back the Vergara drums? And before ya'll e-mail me death threats do know that I'm a big enough Ho to endorse ANY drum company that will send me two sets of FREE tubs, including Gon Bops!!!


Saludos,


Berimbau

[Tonio]

You funny Berimbau !! LOL

Gon Bops , they had the sound in the 70&80's,maybe more on the progressive/pop&jazz chart side of the house..if you know what I mean.
Paulinho, Lenny Castro, Sammy Figueroa, etc etc. They brought the sound of congas to the American public with Gon Bops.

I do think they are(was?)tempermental, and on the fragile side, but had a certain tone to them you cannot get anywhere else.They had that kinda
dead sound (open tones), but the slap was one of a kind.

e.g. Lenny had his set (or 2, 3 for the longest time, and still (up till a few years ago) used the International model-making chrt topping performance recordings. He did have a main stay with studio work, but man.. Also, Paulinho is another . You can't deny his signature sound,,due to Gon Bops, since he changed or got theLP's is seems he almost retired.
Its about the playablility of them.

Not to mention Mongo, Armando, Fransisco.., hey Luis Conte(if that matters) played them too.

Tell me about the Vergara drums please.Talk to me BRO!! I'm glad you don't Ho for endorsements. :;):

Happy Easter!!

T



Edited By Tonio on 1111898808

[Isaac]

re: the New "Gon Bops"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I attended the NAMM show in late January, and got
to see the new "Gon Bops" - all on display within
the DW booth area. The new Gon Bop is their brand now if you
go to the dw website. The California series is essentiallly the
Sol ( I met Akbar there at the show) and sound nice. When they
say North American wood that could mean Mexico. The other models likey come from Taiwan, where DW has been making
some of their drums, or subcontracted to Thailand. DW has high standards regardless of where they're from. So does Pearl.
Its just that they're famous for their drumsets. It's
the design, quality wood, strength of construction, good skins and attention to detail that make for a good instrument.
The Gon Bop assembly plant
just opened in Oxnard, Ca according to Richie Barrientos,
a former Gon Bop manager who's also involved on behalf of DW.
I know there's a nostalgia for the look and sound of the old
Gon Bops -but these aren't them. From seeing them closeup
the California series (by Sol) is a top notch drum. The other models only carry the Brand name of Gon Bop. They are similar
to all the other slick highly polished brands. They are being distinguised one from another like cars - by special paint colors and flame designs, plus the rack mount system. ( would
Mongo have used them? ) If you remember before the original Gon Bops folded they were headed in this direction already with cheaper models. I will say that these new ones are sturdy drums that will outlast the very fragile old Gon Bops of which I've owned two sets and a quinto. All went through many crack repairs. The metal bands were really put on for cosmetic purposes since they didn't really hold the drum together like the real Cuban Vergaras that they were based on. I can vividly remember their unique dry and funky tone as well as seeing them crack before my eyes at a gig! They were my first set in 1977, so I do have fond memories. I still have an one old Gon Bop super quinto in for restoration now at JCR. It will get an alma welded in and some real steel bands plus a mule skin head.
Drums have to built to take a lot of pressure and sound good.
I can live without the flaming decals and yuppie SUV colors. JCR ( who I'm the Sales Rep for) is starting to build traditional cuban style congas again and hopefully will have some ready next month. . . stay tuned.

ISAAC
funkytradition@yahoo.com

[El Conguero]

I just saw a set of DW Gon Bop congas Tumbao series for bid on eBay. Any body out there know the price on these, or the California Series. The websites has no prices.

[Berimbau]

Well I just got off of E-Bay where some fool has four Gon Bops tubs bid up to $2,400.00!!! That price should include a 48 hour marriage to Britney Spears!! I also saw a pair of the new DW Gon Bops and they looked sadder than Michael Jackson's nosejob. Still another guy has a set of Gon Bops on E-Bay with the charactersitic HUGE cracks running down the sides. People are actually bidding on that crappy firewood. I knew that the drug problem was getting out of control in California, but what are those people thinking? These drums are simply NOT all that great!!!! Please put down that crack pipe!!!!
Oh yeah, I do remember Paulinho, especially when he was recording with Dizzy, Joe Pass, and made his Agora disc. Great stuff, indeed. But I still wouldn't shake a tambourine for the Carpenters, although that stuff's creative compared to the current crop of belly-shirted lipsyncers! For Christ sake, Kate Smith was hipper than Ashlee Simpson. At least she knew how to fry a chicken!! Now I heard someone on E refer to the Olsen twin who's not in rehab as the FAT one. I just hate Hollywood!!! Well see Tonio, now you've got me on a rampage. I need a rum drink.......or a timba endorsement. Who's buyin?


Saludos,


Berimbau

[El Conguero]

Hey! I found a price list at http://www.westcoastdrumcenter.com. The California Series congas are priced in the $600.00 range.

Berimbau, I saw that set of Gon Bops for bid at$2400.00 on eBay. That seller also sold a set last week for $1800.00. I guess if they're willing to pay.....But you gotta admit that set of 4 Gon Bops are sweet!

[Berimbau]

Hey El Conguero,
I really should have kept my old Gon Bops to sell in case of an emergency. Like if I had bid 2,400.00 on those Gon Bop drums on E-Bay, then I would need a brain transplant.


Saludos,


Berimbau

[mco]

$2400!! For the April Fool.

[windhorse]

I called Akbar today at Sol prodding him again for my set of stands, which he's working on.
Then, I asked him how his partnership with DW/Gon Bop is going.
He said that rumors of his moving to Mexico are ill-founded, but DW is adding a Mexican division to work on what they had previously delegated to the Chinese & Taiwanese.
He will remain in CA, but is moving out of his San Fran shop and into the DW facility.
He didn't say whether he would continue making "Sol", but he's definitely the high end Gon Bop man.

[Berimbau]

There's yet another set of cracked "classic" Gon Bops firewood for sale on E-Bay. P.T. Barnum was right!!!!


Saludos,


Berimbau