congaplace.com

As far as I know the following is a list of the current independent conga makers,
independent fabricators that are not big corporations like LP and Meinl.

1. Isla Percussions, CA, USA
2. Skin on Skin, NY, USA
3. Moperc, Montreal, CANADA
4. Ritmo (Matt Smith), PA, USA
5. Resolution CA, USA
6. JCR, NY, USA
7. Volcano HI, USA

edit: 8. Timba CA, USA

I keep seeing El Piernas and Columbia Percussion bongos, do they make congas?
What about Pan con Queso? Any Europeans?

I purposefully left Bauer and Gon Bops out. GB is now part of Drum Workshop. I don't
know anything about Bauers.

Any others? Feel free to add to the list, most of these guys have websites, except Skin on Skin.

What's the scoop with TIMBA. Are they still in production ?

Dario

That's right, I forgot about Timba.
They still have a website....and crazy prices.

Not sure I did this right , trying to insert a post from awhile back about a tumba made by Hector Rocha (El Piernas), so have to add him to the list...not to many around, at least not in Puerto Rico, seen only one...


viewtopic.php?f=14&t=3056&st=0&sk=t&sd=d&hilit=el+piernas+tumba

From Germany with pride for the craftsmanship there are:

Jost Reiche
http://www.reiche-Trommelbau.de

Munz & Simonsen


And from Denmark:
PJ

All three offer top-level congas with thick skins, really outstanding craftsmanship.

These brands are more or less well-known in Europe.

Last but not least one should not forget:

Delaporte congas from France! N´est pas, ZunZun?

Do any of the solid-shell conga makers count? There are maybe 4 or 5 of them listed in the thread that is dedicated to that type of conga construction.

You mean like Drumskull and stuff?
Whose the other one? Del Cielo?
Do those makers get their drum shells from Africa and then assemble them?
I know Mambiza gets them like that, Simon is more of an importer than a manufacturer.

Finnish Percussion are supposed to be back in business....but as far as I can make out they are not yet selling product. I wrote to them back in September 2007 and didn't get a reply for about three months. Their website is:

http://www.fpkotaja.com

If they do get these bad boys to market, they aren't going to be cheap.

I'm not sure if I like the hardware design... I prefer a more traditional look.

Mike, those Reich drums look like a bargain if they sound good ....250 euros for a drum handmade out of African Mahogany with a European steer head. Have you played them?

Yeah, it would be interesting to hear a report from player who has those Reich congas!
By the looks I would guess they're similar to Bauers - belly is in the middle and quite pronounced.

Timbas Ismael.

Barriles, Congas and panderos. Junior Ramos, Calle 35, Bld 39 #2, Sierra Bayamon, PR, 1-787-780-1567.

Timbas DelValle.
Barriles, panderos, timbas, bongos, and more. Papo DelValle, artisan, Carolina, 1-787-752-9083

Taller La Plena.
Barriles, panderos, drum skins and more. Juan Fuentes, artisan and owner. Workshop in Canovanas 1-787-886-4276, in Loiza 1-787-256-1586.

Hello guys !

Here is French conga's makers we had in the past :

Asba : just wonderfull drums and congas...
http://www.asbadrums.com/reference/aboutasba.htm

France percussion : I don't find photos of these congas, the guy build only custom drums now and they are fantastic :
http://www.capelledrums.com/

Baak : I don't have photos, very very good congas too.

Pré du rein : I don't try these congas but they have good reputation.
http://www.predurein.com/

Delaporte : wonderfull, as you can see on the photo !

Lot of them (maybe all) stop the manufacture exept the barrel maker of Delaporte who maybe make some shells.

Galou
http://www.myspace.com/congalou

in italy:
http://www.vrpercussioni.it/congas.htm
they look good in very exotic woods but i never got the chance to play one.
tumbador and educator roberto "mamey" evangelisti builds some special drums in the vergara tradition but the waiting list is extremely long.
in cuba:
italo-cuban joint venture guanex.
reportedly ceased production, some inventory is available in italy (can pm me if interested)
go see them at
http://www.cherubini.com/search_catalog.asp
search for guanex under the marcha (brand) scroll down menu
sonoc is still active, to my knowledge although the quality is reportedly unpredictable
peace & blessings

Just the link to Munz & Simonsen.

http://www.simonsen-holzart.de/conga_congas.html

They offer also building workshops. A few weeks ago I visited Kai Simonsen for two days and was allowed to make my own tumba from a prepared raw corpus.